Before Erica even met Kaalen, he’d already made a big impression on her.
When they were both students at West Virginia University, they were residing in the same apartment complex. One day, Kaalen and his then-roomate posted fliers around the building inviting everyone (hundreds of people) to a party in their two-bedroom apartment. It was such a crazy idea, Erica had to learn more about the hosts. After they left their Twitter handles on the fliers, she decided to follow Kaalen and was surprised to find that he followed her back almost immediately. From there, she liked what she saw.
“He was absolutely hilarious and became known around campus as ‘the friendly Black guy'” she tells ESSENCE. When she finally had the chance to meet him in person, recognizing him at a club they both were patronizing long after they’d been Twitter friends, she decided to make a move to introduce herself. It’s now one of the best decisions she’s ever made.
“I told him how much I enjoyed following him and we have not stopped talking since!” she says.
The two would fall in love, dating for years before he surprised her with a proposal. Kaalen popped the question in August 2020, not during a fancy dinner date with all eyes on them, or on a special holiday with family and friends. Instead, he opted to get down on one knee when she’d truly least expect it: a day they set aside to deep clean and organize their home (more on that later!). After a longer engagement due to the COVID pandemic and their own desire to not rush down the aisle, the two became Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, tying the knot in a grand celebration in New Jersey on March 4, 2022 at the stunning Estate at Florentine Gardens. Learn more about their love story and see the photos from their unforgettable wedding in this week’s Bridal Bliss.
“I really don’t know if there was one major moment that I knew he was the one. It was more a culmination of so many small things. From day one he was so supportive of my gymnastics career and traveled to meets whenever he could. Actually, one of the first times we hung out he drove to Pittsburgh to attend my gymnastics meet and we had barely known each other. And then I found myself coming up with silly excuses to see him. I wanted to hang out with him all day every day. As our friendship grew and we talked about building a life together I realized I couldn’t live without him.”
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When the Groom Knew He’d Found the One
“There’s not an exact moment I can point to but as time went by, I started to think more and more about my future and starting a family. It was weird because that was something I rarely thought about but when I did I couldn’t picture it without Erica. It became not just “my future” but “our future”. It made me nervous and excited but there’s no one else I would rather go on this journey with. I always joke, one of the moments I knew Erica was the one was when I was willing to go grocery shopping on Sunday when football was on.”
Derek K Photography
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The Proposal
“I woke up feeling very motivated to deep clean our apartment and organize everything. I had just binged The Home Edit and was on a mission. I believe it was one of the first weekends NBA was back on and that was all that was on his mind. After some pushback on him joining in on the deep clean/organizing I left him to his games and tackled the bedroom. He tried numerous times to get me to come out for a walk and enjoy the nice weather. I didn’t budge. Finally, I was bribed with a walk and trip to the local pier where the food trucks and drinks are too good to pass up. But on the walk we passed right by! I asked why he just kept walking by so confused and he said we could go back later. We sat at another pier and people watched for a few minutes before he wanted to leave and he was eerily quiet. Finally he said, ‘I’m just really nervous’ and I was so scared. I didn’t know if it was COVID related or if he was gonna faint — and then he got down on one knee! I was so shocked and so thrilled I could barely get out a yes!”
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Wedding Planning
“Honestly, wedding planning was so much fun!” Erica says. “I’ve always had an interest in event planning so I feel like I was born ready for this day. We were engaged in August 2020 and booked our venue in January 2021. Because we knew we always wanted a longer engagement and were kind of playing the waiting game of COVID, we had so much time to plan the wedding and were able to take our time. It also helped that we were both working from home, so any downtime was spent on wedding plans.”
Pictured is the outdoor venue they said their vows in at The Estate at Florentine Gardens.
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Choosing Their Venue
“We knew we wanted to get married in New York or New Jersey, even though I’m originally from Missouri,” Erica says. “After that we used sites like The Knot to narrow down choices as well as feedback from friends and family who have attended weddings in New York/New Jersey. We only went to see three venues in person. One that was super modern and a little bit of a wild card, one great venue that was pretty middle ground, nothing over the top and budget friendly, and then the venue I knew we would immediately fall in love with, Florentine Gardens. I saved the best for last on our day of tours and for good reason! It also helped that from day one the entire staff treats you like family and makes the process a total breeze. There really was no other venue after we visited them!”
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Themes and Color Schemes
“We wanted to keep it really classic but with a modern sexy vibe,” Erica says. “We kept our color scheme very neutral. Whites, blacks, and different textures and shades of champagne for the bridesmaids dresses that really highlighted all of their beautiful Black skin tones! Through items like our ring boxes, Kaalen’s shoes, and our guest book we wanted to bring in velvet for that sexy luxurious feel. And then complemented all spaces/tables with tons of candles to set the mood.”
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The Groom and His Guys
Dapper dudes!
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The Bride’s Most Memorable Moment
“My favorite moment was our first look. Kaalen was so emotional seeing me in my dress and it was the sweetest memory. I remember wiping his tears and just being in awe of us finally being in the moment of starting a beautiful life together. We have a daily prayer that we waited to say together in that moment and then exchanged our vows privately. I’ll never forget the special conversations we had in that privacy and the overwhelming love I felt.”
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The Groom’s Most Memorable Moment
In addition to Kaalen watching Erica walk down the aisle, he loved getting to spend some quiet time with her after they said “I do” in the bridal suites. “We had a few moments to relax, eat, enjoy each other and really take in what just happened. We just kept smiling at each other and saying ‘Wow, we’re married.’ It was an indescribable feeling. I don’t think we ever smiled so much.”
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A Towering, Tasty Triumph
The tiered wedding cake looked just as good as it tasted.
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A Kiss As Mr. and Mrs.
The pair shared a romantic kiss in their reception hall before guests came in to celebrate with them.
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It’s a Party!
The couple cut up on the dance floor in front of their loved ones. You know the moves are on fire when the stank face comes out!
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Love and Light
The two took a break from dancing and celebrating with their favorite people to take a few photos with the beautiful twinkling lights hanging on the Estate’s trees.
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Their Hopes for the Future
“We are most looking forward to starting a family together,” Erica says. “We have always talked about all the traditions we want to start with our own family. I’m excited to see Kaalen, who is the most wonderful husband and friend, become an amazing father one day. Also, it has been a beautiful shift in how I feel so much more connected to my husband. We’ve been together for over eight years but after we said ‘I Do,’ that connection was so much stronger than I could have imagined.”
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The Jacksons
From meeting in college to getting married during COVID, these two have seen it all. The Jacksons look forward to building their life together as husband and wife.
