Bridal Bliss: We Love Rhema and Thyrie's Simply Elegant Wedding

“I felt proud to be a groom because of who I was marrying. It was everything I dreamed it would be,” said Thyrie.

“Being a bride that day was beyond what I could have dreamed,” said Rhema about her big day. “I tend to be a little bit of a pessimist, so I was so sure things were going to go wrong that day, but I was surrounded by so many people dedicated to making sure I felt completely relaxed. Everything was exquisite. I felt beautiful, loved and very, very blessed.”

Thyrie opted for some festively fun socks to round out his wedding day look! The colors perfectly matched to the colors of the big day. 

“I chose my little sister and two of my closest friends to serve as my bridesmaids,” said Rhema. How beautiful everyone looks!

Thyrie and his groomsmen looked awfully dapper on his wedding day! 

Rhema and Thyrie both chose some of their closest family and friends to serve in their wedding party and with great friends comes great fun!

While Thyrie chose a best man, Rhema couldn’t bring herself to single out one specific friend to be her maid of honor. “They were all my maids of honor! I asked another very close friend of mine to serve as the hostess of the wedding,” she said.

Both the bride and the groom have a knack for journalism–they did infact meet after Rhema interviewed at the city paper where Thyrie worked! Their wedding day incorporated a simple and elgeant theme with a touch of journalistic flare!​

Love was in the air when Rhema and Thyrie tied the knot! The groom and his groomsmen were on cloud nine on the big day.

So precious are moments between a dad and his little girl!

“Surprisingly, neither of us cried during the ceremony,” said the bride. “There was one moment when I got a little choked up while reading my vows, but no tears. Thyrie is not a crier so that was not a surprise, but I really thought I was going to be a wreck. I just felt so calm walking toward him.”

Rhema’s relationship with her dad hasn’t always been the best but on her big day, she wouldn’t have anyone had her off to her husband. “He will always be dad, and I will always love him,” she said. “I have learned a lot from him, and I see a lot of him in me. It was important that he be the one to give me away.”

Rhema and Thyrie’s simple and elegany Florida wedding wouldn’t be complete without a kiss!

“I chose to make Rhema my wife because I’ve never felt as close to anyone as I feel to her,” said the groom.

During their first dance, Rhema and Thyrie danced to both Brian McKnight and Prince! The couple didn’t want to bore their guests with a slow, romantic moment that lasted too long so instead the dedicated a special tribute to Prince. 

ESSENCE.com’s very own photo editor Joslyn Winkfield served as a bridesmaids for her dear friend’s big day! How sweet!

“He’s intelligent but not arrogant, talented and hardworking but humble,” said Rhema of her new husband. “On the surface, he can seem serious, but he’s really, very silly, and he is a true, Southern gentleman.”

“He really seemed to respect me as a person and the friendship we had,” said Rhema. “With time, that respect and trustworthiness is what attracted me to him and restored my faith in true love.”

The newly announced Mr. and Mrs. entered their wedding reception to “We Found Love” because they really did!

“I love red velvet cake so it was kind of a given that we’d serve it at the wedding,” said Rhema. “For our wedding, we chose a red velvet three-tier [and] it looked and tasted amazing.”

“In keeping with news theme, I asked them to wrap the middle tier in newsprint,” stated Rhema. “The print they used was actually from an article Thyrie and I included in our wedding invitation. They placed the entire article—dateline and all—on the cake in script font and covered the top and bottom tiers in gold. It went perfectly with the rest of the décor.”

Thyrie’s niece served as the couple’s flower girl. How cute!

“We settled on coral, gold and cream as our wedding colors, said the bride as to the decor for the big day. “We wanted a simple but pretty look to compliment the elegance of the library.” Mission accomplished!

“I felt at peace and so comfortable,” said the groom on his wedding day.

Nothing beats celebrating love with love!