Even though the bride and groom had friends in common at the time, they had never met before the 2012 chance encounter that changed everything. We loved their unique wedding style, which is definitely for the culture!
Bride: Kateshia Arminn Faulkner, 37, Accountant
Groom: Keedran Terrell Franklin, 31, Union & Community Organizer
The Big Day: November 11, 2017
Location: Memphis, TN
Style/Theme: Modern with an Ethnic Twist
Vendors:
Photographer: Talisha Ingram (Total Icon Photography)
MUA: Anastasia Davis (LaFlare Faces)
Cake: Ashley Holder (Indulge Bake Shop 901)
Florist: Sharon Nagassar
Bridal Skirt: Wardrobe by Dulcinea
Venue: Colonial Country Club
DJ: Courtney Taylor
“It felt almost surreal to be a bride,” admitted Kateshia. “I had always hoped to get married one day, but as the years passed me by I had kind of started to accept the fact that I may never get married, so to have that dream finally manifest itself was an unbelievable feeling! I’m sure it’s the closest I will ever get to an “out of body” experience.”
“On our wedding day I felt like all was at ease like I was at the peak of a mountain looking over the edge at more beauty to come,” said Keedran of how he felt on his big day. “I had no idea how I would feel so I think that contributed to me being completely full – emotionally and spiritually.”
“My husband actually had my niece and nephew do the proposal. My brother & sister-in-law stopped by to visit with the children, which was totally normal. Everyone was just laughing and talking, I stepped into the kitchen for something and when I came back into the living room – my niece had a ring box and she and my nephew both said: “Auntie will you marry Keedran!?!” At this point, Keedran was already on one knee with the ring in his hand and I was so excited that I didn’t even see the ring! I knocked the ring out of his hand as I was hugging him so tight! !!!! It was such a special moment and the fact he involved my niece & nephew in it meant THE WORLD to me because he knows how close I am to them. I cried FOR DAYS!”
“My Dad walked me down the aisle because he was the most important man in my life until Keedran came along,” said the bride. “I am his only daughter, the youngest of 3, his baby girl – so I know that it meant the world to him to walk me down the aisle. Of course, it’s a moment I had been looking forward to having with him my whole life.”
“I would describe my husband as one of the most loving, stubborn, and fearless people I have ever known,” said the bride of her groom. “A true Gemini. He’s a soldier and he’s my sanity.”
By his side on his big day, the groom had family and friends by his side to make the day nothing short of memorable–and they all looked so great!
“Looking into her eyes, I felt joy, happiness, and peace. I was at an all-time high. For once in my lifetime, time stood still for me, and I witnessed God staring back at me.”
“Both of us cried like babies as I was coming down the aisle,” the bride shared.
“What I love most about her is her personality, that’s what makes her so special to me,” said the groom of what he loves most about his bride. “She is who she is, unapologetically. That’s her spirit and I’m deeply rooted and aligned with her spirit.”
Talisha Ingram
“I said yes because I knew I wanted to continue sharing my entire life with him,” said the bride. “I knew I wanted to raise children with him and grow old with him. He knew things about me that I had always been ashamed to share and he still loved me anyway, flaws and all. I knew that I had become a better person and learned so much more about life and myself since I had been with him and wanted all of that to continue, forever.”
“I chose to make her my wife because our relationship made my whole perception of marriage change, so I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her,” said Keedran. “Our lives have been revolving around each other for the last 5years, our families know and love each other, and we are both very family-oriented. I knew the only thing left to do was be the bridge to conjoin two beautiful families and solidify our union – with the thought of growing our community. It was an easy decision, marrying my Life-Time Partner.”
“What I love most about my husband is how he values family,” the bride revealed. “The relationship he has with his niece and nephews is amazing to me. I love how important it is to him to be a huge part of their lives. Oh, and his beautiful chocolate skin!”
Talisha Ingram
“The woman I married is tactful, considerate, intelligent, humble, sarcastic, left-handed, loud, nurturing, my peace when the world beats me up, the other end of my spectrum, and my balance,” the groom admitted. “She is tenacious and undoubtedly, unapologetically herself.”
“My bridesmaids all wore skirts and tops as well because I didn’t want traditional dresses. Each bridesmaid wore a different African print skirt and they all wore the same ivory top with their skirts. I knew I wanted to incorporate African prints in the wedding from the beginning and I have always loved the floor length African print skirts with pockets and thought they would be perfect for any height and body type.”
“I actually had no idea that Keedran and I would turn into this,” admitted the bride on if she thought she’d ever find true love. “With him being younger than me, I really didn’t expect him to be at the point in his life where he would want true love or to be married, I’m so glad I was completely and utterly wrong! I knew Keedran was ‘the one’ pretty early on in our relationship, maybe after about a year or so into our relationship. I realized that whenever I would think about my future, I saw him there, next to me. When I thought about having children I saw him there being such a great father to them. When I would think about all the places in the world I wanted to go, I saw him right next to me. All of sudden whenever I thought about all the most important things in life, I realized that I wanted to experience all of them with him. I had never felt that way about anyone so I knew that I wanted to marry this man. I envisioned it – I could actually see it in my head. It’s funny because, when we first met, he felt like I just ‘looked right past him.’ Not even a year later, I was smitten, and could not even see pass him if I tried to. He was it.”
“Our wedding cake was 4 tiered and in African print. We had a layer of plain wedding cake, a layer of strawberry, a layer of red velvet, and a layer of Bavarian cream filled lemon. We picked the flavors that we liked but also thought the guests would like the best. Of course, having an African print cake was without question what we wanted!”
