Black-Tie Affair
by Carolina Hernandez
Courtney, a clinical pharmacist, and Kolby, a utilization and training consultant, attended new Faith Church for years without noticing each other. Kolby’s mom urged him to meet the “cute girl at church”, but he didn’t know who she was talking about. They finally met when Courtney was about 22 years old. Kolby followed up with a message through Facebook and she responded…three months later! Courtney continued taking her sweet time to respond to his messages; Kolby took this as a challenge. After avoiding an actual date for quite some time, Courtney finally gave in and one chance was all it took.
Courtney graduated from pharmacy school in 2013. Her parents and sister gave speeches after the graduation ceremony, Kolby followed. He said how proud he was; he regretted the shoes he bought as her graduation gift, didn’t come in time. Instead, he had “the gift of song”. The music to ‘Marry Me’ by Train began to play and Kolby attempted to sing, but became so choked up he was only able to get out
about 9 words! “I said yes obviously!” Courtney says.
When they toured Chateau Cocomar, Courtney remembers feeling like a princess entering her castle, making it the obvious choice for their wedding. Going along with the venue’s formal and classic theme, cocktail-hour kicked off a great black-tie evening. Eleven bridesmaids flanked Courtney, in her ivory silk Ysa Makino gown
with a dropped waistline and a pleated bottom; 11 groomsmen stood by Kolby. The ceremony and dinner were very classy, and afterwards everyone enjoyed cake from Edible Designs by Jessie and celebrating with the new couple. Riviera Maya, Mexico was chosen for their honeymoon, and they enjoyed their romantic stay at Grand Velas Resorts.
Courtney's Advice
• Do your homework and start planning early enough so you have time to assess several different vendors for each part of your wedding.
• Don’t let anyone try to “save you from your own ideas”. If you love it and want it, go for it! It’s your day!
• Do a wishing well for the wedding rather than registering.
• Expect your guest list to increase by at least 50 people from your first count.
• Create a joint “wedding bank account” with your fiancé and deposit money in it monthly. Pay all of your wedding expenses out of this account.