Jason + Rukiya

Jason & Rukiya // 09.03.17

“We met in 2010 during the fall of our freshman year at Princeton. Though neither of us can pinpoint the first time we met, throughout our freshman year and sophomore fall Jason would introduce himself to Rukiya as though they hadn’t previously met. According to him, he didn’t want to assume that she remembered who he was. The summer after their freshman year found them both on campus for various reasons. Jason became very romantically interested in Rukiya. During his sophomore year he joked with his friends about finally having a real conversation with her. At the very end of sophomore year (May 2012), the opportunity presented itself. A social function began very slowly one evening and he struck up conversation about how they were both from Michigan. They danced and talked all night. Rukiya didn’t think much of it and was surprised that he actually texted the next day as promised. They went out shortly after and have been together since then (5.5 years).”

Ceremony & Reception: Meadowbrook Hall Rock Garden, http://meadowbrookhall.org/
Bridal gown: Hayley Paige, Kleinfeld Bridal, Rae Gown https://www.kleinfeldbridal.com/ https://www.jlmcouture.com/Hayley-Paige
Bridal party attire: various dresses from the Dessy Group https://dessy.com/
Groom’s tux: The Black Tux https://theblacktux.com/
Cake: Sweet Dreams https://sweetdreamsweb.com/
Caterer: food was catered by Meadowbrook
Music: Platinum Event Group http://pegweddings.com/; DJ: Ben Heavenrich and MC: Josh George
Hair and makeup: BeatbyMo https://www.styleseat.com/m/book/v/moriahmierreartistry https://www.instagram.com/beatbymo/?hl=en
Tishay Russell https://www.instagram.com/hairbeauty_by_tishay/
Flowers: Blumz by JR Designs http://www.blumz.com/
Videographer: Fairytale Productions https://fairytaleproductions.net/ Cory Taylor and Yuriy Sherman

“We got married the Sunday over Memorial Day weekend so we made a weekend over the festivities which was AMAZING. We really wanted our guests to explore Detroit so we had Welcome Drinks at a Downtown Detroit bar. It was a great opportunity to greet out of towners, particularly family members of each others’ that we still had not met. Saturday we planned a trip to two rival Coney Islands (it’s a Detroit thing) to commune with our family and friends and introduce them to a hometown staple. Last minute dress drama meant I also picked my dress up that morning – luckily it was perfect!
The day went so smoothly it was unreal. I woke up on my own. My bridesmaids were all asleep (or still out from the night before O_O). We all shared an Airbnb which was amazing for the weekend. The hair dresser (my wonderful cousin) arrived and got right to work on one of the girls. The makeup artist arrived shortly after. We had a great time eating and drinking champagne. When the photographers and videographer arrived we got some great shots. Finally it was time to go to the venue. When we arrived, we took pictures with just the ladies – Jason and I had chosen not to do a first look. Everybody was in great spirits and suddenly we could hear the men! We made sure to have them go away and kept shooting.
My maid of honor delivered a gift to Jason from me – a Shinola watch. Jason was then brought to the bridal suite to share a prayer with me. We stood on opposite sides of the door so we couldn’t see anything. It was the MOST beautiful prayer I’ve ever heard and made me so excited for the journey we were embarking on. Shortly after it was time to go get married! Our ceremony was really personalized and special. We had readers read from the Bible, Anne of Green Gables, and even a short comedy piece about love. We were announced married and then we jumped the broom! Our pastor gave a great description of the jumping the broom tradition for our guests.
We were welcomed by the staff with a champagne toast for the bridal party & parents. Then we signed our marriage license and proceeded to take many more pictures with family and the bridal party.
When we completed the pictures, it was time to enter the tent. We entered to Rihanna’s Cake which was super fun! When we got to the cake, we actually couldn’t figure out how to get the slice out so we didn’t feed each other but it made for a really funny moment. As we sat, our dads welcomed the crowd and we were surprised that our parents had put together a slideshow to display. Everybody was laughing and crying. Our 2 best men and 2 maids of honor gave the BEST speeches I’ve ever seen. I was literally in shock that all 4 would give such amazing speeches!! We gave our own welcome and thank you and finally it was time to eat! The food was amazing! We got up before dessert to say hello to our guests since we had too many to see before the night was over. Our first dance was so fun! We danced to Kiss by Prince. Everybody was whooping and cheering and we had a grand dramatic dip at the end of it. We danced the night away, made sure to take pics in the photo booth, and tried to talk to as many guests as we could.”