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This Love was Heaven Sent – Featured Weddings – Dorsae & Lewis

The wedding was the natural outcome. The meeting was a message sent from above…

Her story:

Our lives crossed paths on August 21, 1999 at Sambuca’s Jazz Club and Restaurant in downtown Houston, Texas.  Little did I know that God had a divine appointment on His plate. Like many things in my life, I missed it! But God was determined!  Two days later I was running early for an appointment, I stopped at Luby’s Restaurant at Fondren and Westheimer, nothing fancy, a very plain cafeteria, not far from the manger where Jesus was born!  Lo and behold, there was this stranger that I had met two days earlier.  What a coincidence I thought to myself, still not recognizing that this was a divine appointment from God.

Well to make a long story short, it did not take me long to realize that God had His hands in this encounter.  I have had ups and downs in my life, but because of the love and support of my Lewis, the downs have been few.

His story:

I had set out for an evening of jazz performances at a new venue in downtown Houston, Texas called Sambucas. When the band began its second set, I turned to see three beautiful ladies who suddenly appeared from nowhere to sit immediately on my left. The young lady closest to me struck up a conversation that centered around medicine since she was a nurse. Her friend (Dorsae) barely noticed me because the gentleman next to her had her occupied with stories of grandeur since he was an executive with Continental Airlines, with some 20 million frequent flyer miles under his belt and a loft atop of Sambucas.

Eventually, the five of us decided to have dinner whereby the conversations at the bar evolved to the sitting area of the restaurant. My focus for most of the evening was with Dorsae’s friend and the superb jazz band that played music that a jazz enthusiast could truly appreciate. Dorsae continued to converse with “Mr. Continental Airlines” and totally missed God’s calling for her to “abandon the dude” and follow through on His assignment to meet her future husband.

Nevertheless, the evening ended with me finding out her girl friend was married to a doctor and she was also expecting a baby eight months later. Now it’s 2:00 a.m., Dorsae “dumps” the dude and I never got her personal information. I suspect she thought I was interested in her girlfriend.  Little did she know I was so through with wanting to converse with her friend once I found out she was married. So I left the club thinking that I probably wouldn’t see any of these ladies again in life, especially since I lived in Clear Lake, Texas and Dorsae lived in southwest Houston (… it was sixty miles between both of our homes). But God has a sense of humor! While visiting a client in Houston on the west side of the city, a colleague and I were having lunch at a Luby’s Restaurant on Fondren.  I was telling him about my night out two days earlier with the three ladies, but I also failed to get the number of the “gorgeous single lady” whom I should have been conversing with.

We finished lunch and were leaving for our appointment, when I turned the corner of the restaurant and there she was!  Dorsae was literally having lunch in the same restaurant!  It was though God had said,  … “If you two screw this up this time, I am through with you both!” We both were in awe of seeing each other again, and both felt that this was no coincidence, especially since we lived on opposite sides of the world.

Nevertheless, I followed through on my hunch that this was no ordinary “sister”, rather a unique, smart, statuesque, beautiful woman, that I eventually found out loved the Lord.  In fact our first date was to attend her church, and the rest is history. Yes, God does have a sense of humor!  And I am glad He brought us back together again as He did to prove to both of us, this is no accident.  “I want you two to follow through on My Divine Province for you both!  I want you married to each other!”

The Proposal:

Lewis: Wa ya ma me!!!???
Dorsae: Lewis get that bread out of your mouth, I don’t know what you’re saying
Lewis: Will you marry me?
Dorsae: What?
Lewis:  Will you marry me?
Dorsae:  I don’t see no ring!
Lewis: Rings are non-refundable! Will you marry me or not?
Dorsae:  It depends!
Lewis:  On what?
Dorsae:  Will you love and obey?
Lewis:  It depends!
Dorsae:  On what?
Lewis:  Will you submit and not ask questions?
Dorsae:  It depends!
Lewis:  On what?
Dorsae:  Are you rich?
Lewis:  Yes!
Dorsae:  No further questions!
Lewis:  Honey, I love you!  Will you marry me?
Dorsae:  I love you too honey!  Yes, yes I’ll marry you!
Lewis:  Excuse me!  Can I get a Vodka and tonic?
Dorsae:  Excuse me!  Can I have a box of kleenex?

(American Idol finalist LaKisha Jones sang at the wedding)

Dorsae Riddles and Lewis Bennett – November 29, 2009

Ceremony: Rockerfeller Chapel
Reception: The Palmer House
Flowers: Daniels Floriculture
Photography: Jai Girard Photography

A love so deep – Featured Weddings – Chicago’s Emily and Craig

Emily Miller and Craig Mandell have been together since they were 18. They met 8 years ago at college and both went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but were from nearby Chicago suburbs. They have been living in Chicago, mostly together, since school. Craig is an attorney and Emily is in Healthcare Consulting. StrictlyWeddings.com would like to thank the lovely couple for sharing their beautiful wedding with us.

Photography: Jai Girard Photography
Video: Larry Wayne Evolution Video
Flowers- Kehoe (Vince)
Planner- Barbara Moss Events
Band- Larry King Orchestra
Dress: Divina Sposa
Bridemsaid dresses- Jenny Yoo
Rings- Cy Fredricks
Makeup- Cynde Cosmetics
Hair- Jessica Gryz
Venue: Fairmont

Jeweled Tone Wedding – Chicago’s Mike and Lexi

Chicago photographer and StrictlyWeddings.com partner Rick Aguilar shared these photos of his good friend’s wedding. The couple, Mike and Lexi, chose streamlined looks. Lexi wanted to make sure her bridesmaids looked fresh and cool (check out their shoes!). No beige or white. Lots of black all night. Lexi is a jewelry designer and knew that purples and jewel tones were the right fit for her wedding. One very fun touch was the candy table designed by Linda Alpert.

Photographer: Rick Aguilar Studios

Location: Chicago’s W City Center Hotel.

Wedding Planner: Magnificent Milestone.

Florist: Scarlet Petal.

Cake: Take the Cake.

Wedding Gown: Ungaro.

Featured Wedding: Shivani Sharma and Aalap Shah

“My husband and I met Tom Kehoe through our wedding planner, Sabrina Hans of Sabrina Hans Events.  I still remember the day we went in to discuss our ideas with Tom.  He showed us a few pictures of prior events he had done and we were instantly sold!  We briefly discussed our personalities and some ideas we had and left the rest up to the team at Kehoe Designs,” glowed bride Shivani Sharma-Shah.

From the brief discussion Shivani and fiance, Aalap, had with Tom, they desired clean and simplistic, with touches of their Indian tradition. The couple chose Marriott Oak Brook Hills Resort for their venue; Tom transformed the room into a sumptuous getaway, using extensive white fabric treatment creating a bright glowing feel throughout the room. The ceremony hosted a towering ceremonial mandap which dramatically showcased hundreds of floating green orchids, all of which surrounded a suspended vintage-inspired chandelier. Bright pink floral balls were a unique twist for their aisle décor, while guests wore brightly colored sari’s, all the pieces tied together for a design that married elegance & tradition with lightness & modernity.

“We gave very few suggestions and basically left all the decisions up to the Kehoe team.  They did such a fabulous job! The team at Kehoe Designs is not only the most professional vendor we dealt with, but they are perfectionists.  Every area of our venue was decorated perfectly.  We were totally in love with the décor at all of our wedding events.  We loved everything about our décor and our guests raved about it for months after our wedding,” said bride Shivani.

Décor & Floral: Kehoe Designs, Event Producer: Tom Kehoe
Venue: Oak Brook Hills Marriott Resort
Location: Oak Brook Hills, IL
Photographer: Gerber+Scarpelli
Wedding Coordinator: Sabrina Hans Events

Kehoe Designs: Cultures Unite at this wedding celebration

A wedding celebration with the ultimate unity of cultures! This traditional Indian bride and Western groom from Chicago desired aspects of both customs be taken into account. The festive Sangeet (see definition below) held at The Ritz Carlton transported guests into another world, incorporating rich pinks and violets into entertainment canopies, organic hanging fixtures and exciting centerpieces to finish the look. At the ceremony, gorgeous rouge orchids draped the golden Mondap, while mirrored balustrades and lush floral accented the aisle. The formal reception held at The Drake Hotel, showcased traditional crystal centerpieces filled with yellow and lavender floral atop coordinating patterned table linens provided by BBJ Linens. This beautiful weekend celebration harmoniously fused two cultures in every detail.

Sangeet: It’s a Hindi word, meaning music. In the wedding context, you can refer to it as the bachelorette party!  It’s a time for the female members of the marriage party to get together, have fun, dance, sing and basically have a good time.  Sangeet usually takes place the day before the wedding.  The new trend, of course, is to have professional singers, DJs and live music for Sangeet these days.

Floral and Decor, Kehoe Designs, Chicago

Photographer: Phil Farber, Photo Images, Inc

Event planner: Sabrina Hans Events