Swordplay and anime at this Nightmare Before Christmas wedding

The couple: Angelique & Royce

Location & date: Roswell River Landing, Roswell, GA, 09/28/2018

Wedding budget: $23,000

Give us a few offbeat highlights from your Nightmare Before Christmas wedding: The theme was The Nightmare Before Christmas and the general color scheme was white, black, and pink. There were themed decorations with a basic flow of the color scheme.

From the guests being seated to the processional and reception, we had the DJ play Halloween instrumentals and Halloween love songs.

We took some inspo from this playlist, plus I made a list that included other up-beat Halloween music. During the reception, the DJ played Thriller by Michael Jackson a few times, among other popular songs at the time, and he also had a video of Thriller playing on a big screen. It was perfect.

Tell us about your Nightmare Before Christmas wedding ceremony: At the ceremony, we had one of Angelique's best friends officiate. We've been friends since elementary school. At the time, my friend (Jasmine Terry Okafor) was pregnant, so we wanted some fertility ju-ju to spread on us. It was meant to be. I walked-in to Moonlight Sonata by Mary Shelley. We did the Tasting of the Four Elements as our ritual and took a celebratory shot after to seal the deal. Jasmine signed our wedding certificate, we kissed, and it was official. (Or we kissed and then she signed, can’t remember).

For decorations, I designed the wedding using ideas from Pinterest. You can find my board here.

My Nightmare Before Christmas nails took over 2 hours to complete. Well worth it!!

I made my bouquet, each of the three bridesmaid bouquets, and the groomsmen boutonnieres. Bought the grooms boutonniere from Etsy because I had my eyes on something especially nice.

The swords are Asuna and Kirito's swords from Sword Art Online. Royce is very into anime and swords. I am more into anime now that I’ve met him, but the only anime that I remember seeing and loving pre-Royce was Sword Art Online. Of course, he’d already seen it and we love them as a couple. Hence, the swords being thrown into the theme. We already had these at home and Royce insisted we incorporate swords into the pics. I gladly obliged.

Angelique's vow to Royce:

I am in awe at the connection we have, it's uncanny
When they say opposites attract, they don't mean people not on the same wave length,
they mean people that complement each other, like pieces to a puzzle.
What one brings to the table, the other might lack
What looks nice alone is even better combined, like cookies & milk.
Cake and ice cream.
You’re someone that I can play video games with.
Someone open-minded enough to listen to Gucci, Kehlani, Run the Jewels, and Cage the Elephant. Watch thrillers, SCI-FI’s, and documentaries. Go butterfly watching. Someone that lets me watch Family Guy as I fall asleep every night.
Someone that, when we’re eating chicken wings, prefers the drum so I can eat all the flats.
Someone that loves to bestow his useful (and useless) knowledge of comics, bugs, and all things nerd onto my love of learning.
You have a decade of experience with kids and I love to act like one!
Things neither of us fathomed to be the qualities of a relationship, things that both of us thought we would have to sacrifice to be with someone, we have those things in each other.

So, here I am pledging an oath….
I vow to love you like the Hulk loves to smash
I vow to always be there like the Flash
I vow to never leave your side like Thor's Mjolnir
Love you forever like in old folklore
Royce, you give me energy on a bad day
You are supportive, strong and handsome like Luke Cage
I'll honor this bond throughout our old age

You're a Star Lord kind of silly
with a dash of dark humor like Deadpool
Keeping it fun shall always be our #1 rule
For better or worse, rich or poor, in sickness or health
Never letting my love become Mediocre
Indestructible like Harley and Joker

We'll share the loads of marriage
Like two pilots in a Jaeger
If we had to save the world, our “drift” would be seamless
A dynamic duo
A whole crowd here to give us kudos
Call us the Marvelous Mitchells!!
And now we're official….

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Royce's vows to Angelique:

I stand here today with a woman who truly loves me for me. For those of you who know me well, you know that isn’t always easy. I have the mind of a nerd, the work ethic of a bull, and a temper that can put Hulk to shame at times.
But you, you accept me for it all and love me even more for it.
Because of that today I stand before not just you but all our loved ones and make these solemn vows to you.

On the darkest of days, I shall help to be your light
On days when the world attacks you, I shall be your shield
On days when you feel you are alone, I will always be your player 2
On days when you feel you’ve gone crazy, I’ll be the doctor that brings you back
On days when you can’t whether the storm, I will be the stone for you hold on to.
On days when you can’t see a way through it all, I will help be your vision

I vow to speak words of power into you when you are weak.
I vow to always work to be worthy of your hand.
I vow that my mind will always be open to you and that my eyes will only have you in their sight.
Whether it be out in a spaceship or in a jaeger, you will always be my co-pilot
Whether it be as a Guardian or a Spartan, you will always be my most trusted teammate
Whether you are as mischievous as a kitty or majestic as a unicorn, you will always be the one to put a smile on my face.

Today before all our family and loved ones I stand before my Sun and my Moon, the Marvelous to my Mitchell, and the Love of my Life to make these vows to you. I pledge to honor them as well as you.

What'd you do at your Nightmare Before Christmas wedding reception?

At our reception, we had a couple’s dance right after our first dance. Our first dance song was Beyonce and Luther Vandross – The Closer I Get To You. We chose it as somewhat of a joke, but the lyrics still held true. When Royce first DM’d me in 2017, he said something along the lines of just wanting a friend, to which I scoffed and ignored. So a part of the lyrics are “I try to tell myself that we could never be more than friends, but all the while, inside, I knew it was real, The way you make me feel.” Royce knew he couldn’t deny our meant-to-be-ness. LOL. Afterwards, the guests that wanted to do a speech, did so. We ate chicken and salmon, we cut the cake, threw the bouquet, and when it was time for Royce to throw the garter, all his single friends lined up like they were about to catch it and NONE of them even reached for it. SMH! We drank and danced!! It was magnificent.

What was SINGLE MOST the most important lesson you learned?

The single most important lesson I learned was to just be myself. Originally, I wanted to wear a black wedding gown, but in the end chose not to for different reasons. I look back now and I should have worn BLACK. It would have added to the theme and I would have made it look fabulous. Do you! Be unapologetically YOU!! The other lesson I learned was that everything does not have to be perfect, go with the flow and everything will work out. Your end goal is to marry your soul mate. One day out of the thousands you will spend together will not change a thing. The day of our wedding, it rained, and I was not happy at first. Guess what, it stopped raining, the guests still showed up, and because we were on a lake, it added a cool-looking creepy mist to the water which added to our theme and pics. The rain was perfect!! There’s always a silver lining.

Nightmare Before Christmas wedding vendors:

• Photographer: Mike Moon Studio @mikemoonstudio
• Dress: Anya Bridal Warehouse @anyabridal
• Venue: Roswell River Landing @cityofroswellga
• Shoes: Shoe Coven Shoe Store
• Invitations: Digital Magical Art and Tools by PandorasArt on Etsy
• Groom’s Boutonniere: PumpkinandPye on Etsy
• Nails: Nailed by ViVi @nailedbyvivi
• Cake: For Goodness Cakes @forgoodnesscakeshq

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