Goodgyalknd
✧・゚: *✧・゚:* in my princess era *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
Lauren and Larry first met while attending Florida A&M University. Friendly, and occasionally flirty exchanges led them to go on their first date and they have been by each other’s sides ever since!
Bride Lauren describes the proposal as “An absolute moment in time!”. After a day of parading and celebrating, Larry surprised Lauren by purposing to her at the end of the annual Carnival celebration in Antigua, W.I.
Originally having planned a destination wedding in Jamaica, the couple had to completely change their plans due to the pandemic. Despite the difficulties, they wouldn’t have changed a thing about their big day. Their intimate, stress-free tropical wedding in Palm Beach was more perfect than they could have ever imagined.
See more details below!
- Couple: Lauren Joseph & Larry Polynice
- Occupations: Account Managers with CSXT (Bride) and Pepsi Co. (Larry)
- Wedding date: November 21,2020
- Wedding location: Palm Beach, Florida
- Photography: Renee Hollingshead Photography
Quick Facts
- Ceremony entrance song: “Eternal Source of Light Divine” by Elin Manahan Thomas
- First dance song: “Into You” ft Tamia by Fabolous
How did you meet?
We met while pursuing our MBAs at Florida A&M University in our Commercial Banking class in the Fall of 2014. Although we spoke in class and exchanged answers a time or two (lol!), our interaction didn’t go beyond that. One day, after class ended, myself, Larry and his friend Elexander were walking to our cars. We were all casually conversing when Elexander stated an aspect of my physique that he asked Larry to confirm – “Larry, Lauren has a lil’ a** back there, doesn’t she?!”, which Larry slowed down to positively confirm, ha! As we approached our cars, Larry invited me to a birthday party he was heading to that evening, which I politely declined. After various interactions in and outside of the classroom, I asked Larry if he’d like to get tacos for lunch. He likes to highlight that he was impressed that I paid! Ever since then, we’ve been by each other’s side.Tell us about the proposal
The proposal was an absolute moment in time! After over a year of planning, in August 2019, Larry and I, along with our family, traveled to Antigua, W.I. to attend and participate in the annual Carnival season – a two week celebration that takes place at the end of July to the first Tuesday in August that represents the emancipation of slavery in Antigua & Barbuda.Upon our arrival, we fully immersed ourselves in the celebration, participating in fetes, cultural events and our fair share of rum! All of the events that occur build up the anticipation for the grand finale, Carnival Tuesday, which is an ongoing parade of bands, costumes, music and beautiful people. Unbeknownst to me, I had no idea how grand this finale was truly going to be. With soca and rum in our system, we paraded through the streets of St. John’s with Myst Carnival from sun up to sundown, having the time of our lives. Towards the end of the parade, there is a judging point at the Recreation Grounds that determines which mas troupe showcases the most energy and has the best costumes when revelers cross the stage. Our mas troupe eventually crosses, however, Larry tells us to wait by the stage as opposed to leaving the arena. Soon after, the MC calls his name, instructing him to come to the front of the stage as he’s “won a prize”, and asks me to follow him. In all my years of playing mass, I have never known them to give out prizes, and certainly not at this time, but hey! who says they can’t start new traditions?!
As we make our way to the front of the stage, they pass the mic to him for his “acceptance speech”, and he says, “Lauren, I love you so much, you are my everything. Will you marry me, babe?”. At this point he’s on bended knee, the crowd is going wild, a piece of the stage that was make-shift gave way, surrendering to the weight of those who crowed on it to see the commotion, and in this moment it hits me! Coming back into focus, I exclaimed “I DO!”, but Larry’s cousin would not accept anything less than a “yes!”. So they passed the microphone to me, in which I excitedly said “YESSSS!!!”, and the crowd went wild! It was an exhilarating and special moment, surrounded by our family, in attendance on and below the stage, and with love. It was quite the surprise!
Wedding Style
My wedding dress was chic, modern, elegant, but simple. It was a custom look that was designed and made by Laurie Underwood of Laury Bride, and we collaboratively worked together to come up with the design. I provided my inspiration of the dolman sleeve, the column skirt, and to add a touch of detail, having the cuffs be exaggerated in length and with pearls. Laurie added her touch with the fit, the beautiful detachable tulle train and the off the shoulder look of the dress. My desire was to have a clean and chic vibe, but it all comes together when one includes their pieces — a modern take on a pearl earring, my mother’s rings and my floral birdcage headpiece by Filipa Cardoso Millinery in London. Larry’s suit was also a custom design by Jean Francilon of Garcon Couture, a double breasted hunter-green suit, complemented with Giuseppe Zanotti smoking slippers. I would say that my wedding shopping experience was successful. I was not the type of bride that dreamt about my wedding day before being engaged, haha! In fact, I didn’t think about it at all, so I approached this experience with an open mind and heart, and with absolutely no fanfare.The first two bridal salons I visited, I quickly realized what I liked and didn’t like in regards to fabric preference, embellishments, how dramatic or how simple a dress was, the style and fit, and which designers I preferred. From that experience, I came to realize that there were certain aspects I enjoyed about the dresses I tried on, but none truly rang through as “this is THEE dress!”. I never had that moment that we as brides hear about, celebrating finding the one over champagne and with friends and family. So, I decided to take those elements that I liked to design a custom dress that specifically spoke to me, my style and my vibe.