This Black-and-White Wedding in Charlotte, North Carolina, Gave New Meaning to the Word Classic

Bekah Blake and Damiere Byrd met outside a food truck, of all places, in Charlotte, North Carolina, in June 2017. “I happened to sit down at the same table Damiere was at,” Bekah recalls, and the rest was history. Four years later, in July 2021, they got engaged. “We moved to Seattle in January 2020, and on one of our first walks around our neighborhood, we saw a couple get engaged at Kerry Park and thought it was really special,” Bekah shares. “So, when we were moving out of Seattle, Damiere proposed in the same park on one of our last walks."

They were leaving Seattle, in fact, to return to where it all began—this time for professional reasons: Damiere is a wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers. And so Charlotte became, once again, the perfect place to say “I do.” “We wanted our wedding to be clean and classic, so that we could look back years from now and it would not feel dated,” Bekah says. “I loved the overall aesthetic of the Grand Bohemian Hotel Charlotte, with the beautiful artwork and interiors, and felt like it would be the perfect foundation to build a wedding around.” The locations would also allow them to showcase their city with a lovely outdoor ceremony. 

As they waded through wedding planning, Bekah and Damiere were intentional with their choices. “We worked with diverse vendors because we wanted to make sure that both of our identities were being captured and celebrated, not only by the feel of the wedding and our guests, but also through the vendors we worked with,” the bride says. They selected the best of the best to bring it all together on March 25, 2023. Keep scrolling to see beautiful details from their big day, planned by Tina Sheets at A Simple Affair Events and photographed by The Axtells.

"I wanted a very clean glam look because I am pretty simple in my everyday makeup,” Bekah says. “I swear by Charlotte Tilbury setting spray and my makeup lasted all day. I also used the Fenty Invisimatte setting and blotting powder throughout the day and have incorporated that product into my everyday routine, as well.” She spent a lot of time considering hairstyles and ultimately went with one of her go-tos—a slick bun. “However, instead of just a normal twisted bun, my hairstylist added braids into it, which added a layer of dimension.”

When dress shopping, “I wanted to make sure I didn’t get so caught up in the emotion of the experience that I made a rash decision,” Bekah says. “So I tried on a lot of dresses and took pictures of every one from different angles so I could fully digest what they looked like on me—which meant that I didn’t say yes to the dress immediately.” Thus, she never regretted her choice: a matte satin deep-V strapless gown from Rita Vinieris’ Alyne collection. 

Damiere put a personalized spin on classic black-tie with a custom tux from OMJ Clothing featuring a shawl collar and U-shaped paisley vest.  

“The first look was a moment for us to celebrate our journey together and be able to ground ourselves prior to the rest of the day,” Bekah shares. “The moment was two years in the making, so it almost felt surreal for it to be happening.”

Bekah selected an unconventional color for her bridesmaids: white. “We wanted the wedding party to look classic and timeless, so the groomsmen had black tuxes and the bridesmaids all wore white dresses,” she says. “I knew I wanted white, but left it up to each bridesmaid to pick her dress, because they know what fits their body best and what budget they were most comfortable spending.”

Their ceremony setting put Charlotte on display, so additional décor was minimal. Two long runners of baby’s breath led toward the altar, which was set off by four large complementary arrangements. 

Bekah’s father walked her down the aisle to Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love.” 

The couple exchanged traditional vows, but selected a special quote as a reading. “It was a beautiful quote about love and friendship, because we truly feel like the foundation of our relationship is having a solid friendship,” Bekah shares. 

After the ceremony, the newlyweds went on a little adventure with their photographer. “We really wanted to get elevator pictures, but the elevator doors shut so quickly,” Bekah recalls with a laugh. “So we would ride the elevator up and down, and our photographer, Stephanie, would snap photos so quick, and then the doors would close and we would start the process over again. We were all laughing trying to capture the photos, but we ended up with some good shots!”

“We are both independent people, which means I didn’t change my last name,” Bekah shares. “We really wanted to focus on celebrating our identity as a couple while still making space for the individual, so we were thoughtful about verbiage used during the ceremony as well as monograms that we used for our cocktail napkins, menus, and escort cards on our Champagne glasses.”

Baby’s breath was the star of the reception decor, as well, with short and tall arrangements topping white linens. “Our florist was mindful of having multipurpose floral arrangements, so our aisle runner was flipped and used on our head table and family tables, and our altar arrangements were used as the key feature pieces on the head table,” Bekah shares (this is a great budgeting tip!). “We wanted to keep everything clean and classic, so we used white linens and clear chargers with a black rim to add depth to the setting."

Their best man and maid of honor gave speeches at the rehearsal dinner, so at the reception, the newlyweds gave their own thank-you toast. It made for a moment Bekah won’t soon forget: “Hearing Damiere call me his wife for the first time.” 

The couple kicked things off with a first dance to “Latch” by Sam Smith. “We had a couple of songs that we definitely wanted to have played, but met with Cease Fire Productions a few times prior to the wedding, so the DJ had a great feel for our vibe and created a perfect playlist.” 

The bride changed into a party-ready second look— Amanda Uprichard x Revolve's Samba gown—before she and Damiere cut the cake, also dressed up with baby’s breath. 

“The wedding planning process was hard because I am a perfectionist, but so worth it,” Bekah reflects. “I remember thinking to myself I would go through planning all over to have a day like my wedding again.”