Colorful, vibrant and festive are the three words that we use to describe the beautiful wedding of Shyanne and Keith in Puerto Rico. Filled with personal and meaningful details this couple wanted more than anything for their wedding in Puerto Rico to «feel intimate and festive like a family reunion» as the bride described to us, we just have to say that we just can’t get enough of it!
Captured by Jafet Roman .
«We met at Ithaca College where we bonded over music, books and life’s mysteries. We never dated during college but found our way to each other again afterwards. Keith proposed in October 2020 after one of our early morning urban hikes through Philly. We ended our hike at the top of the Philadelphia Art Museum steps to enjoy the early morning sun. Shyanne enjoyed the view of the city and turned to Keith and he was holding a ring. It was very sweet and intimate and a local photographer happened to be on the steps taking photos of the morning view and captured the moment from afar.», the bride shared with us.
«We wanted the wedding to be colorful and festive but simple. Puerto Rico is gorgeous so we wanted the landscape to be the star. Shyanne’s favorite flower is the bird of paradise so it was a must to include these in the bouquet. Since we married by the beach, everything was green and blue so we chose bright reds and oranges to contrast with the natural surroundings. A favorite detail was using the palm trees to frame us and our officiant during the ceremony so that the ocean served as a natural backdrop.»
I loved our ceremony. It was unique and tailored to our story and style. My best friend married us which was special in itself. We did the tasting of the 4 elements, which is a Yoruba tradition, where bride and groom eat samples of four “flavors,” intended to symbolize four distinct and inevitable elements of marriage.
shyanne, bride
«We had local honey from the philly farm we volunteer at for sweet, Puerto Rican coffee for bitter, lemons from my grandfather’s lemon trees for sour and ginger from my grandparent’s garden for heat. A lot of guests commented on how they had never witnessed this and it was a fun way to enjoy watching two people commit themselves to one another through food.»
The bride’s advice: «Have fun! Remind yourself of your vision and stay focused on that. Don’t get distracted by opinions and what’s trendy. If you find yourself getting overwhelmed or stressed, pause and remember this is supposed to be fun and if it’s not fun maybe you are straying away from who you are and your vision.»
«My wedding dress was a strapless, asymmetrical ball gown I had custom tailored. My inspiration was traditional Bomba y Plena garbs, which is used for dance. I wanted my dress to feel like it had movement at all times, like a waterfall. So I found a dress at BHLDN, that I could see being the base for my vision. I went to a local tailor in Philly and worked with her to create the cascading movement I wanted. I also LOVE, huge fan, of fun sleeves so I wanted detachable bubble sleeves to make the top of the look festive and balance the look so it didn’t feel so bottom heavy with all of the flowy ruffles. The designer at Prim and Perverse did an amazing job making my custom sleeves and convinced me to add some lace for texture and subtle details.»
It was important to us both that our wedding feel intimate and festive like a family reunion!
shyanne, bride
«Shyanne’s family is from Puerto Rico – she is one generation removed from the island, so it is truly her home which is why it was so important to us to marry there. We said we wanted this to feel like an elevated bbq- and it did! We allowed our wedding designer take charge in the little things like napkins, place settings etc. and we focused in on the things that mattered most to us like the ceremony, outfits, music, food and location.» the groom shared with us.