#swiperightforlove
Like so many, Julia & Moses began their search for love on a dating app, Bumble, to be exact. At the time, Julia was living in Washington, D.C., while Moses was living in Virginia. However, they knew they wanted to meet up again after their initial first date, so they agreed to meet at the National Harbour for coffee. It was a rainy day, and Julia admits to being less than excited to head to the National Harbour (her love for the district is real), but she compromised and went. Well, 6 months after this clearly fateful day, Moses could finally confess that while he doesn’t even like coffee, he really liked the girl!
It was on the couple’s third date to the pier at Warf in D.C, a spot that would later become a very sentimental destination, that he knew this relationship was written in the stars. He says, “There are billions of people in the world, and no two have the same fingerprint, and there was something within her that drew me to her in a way that no-one else had.”
It took Julia a bit longer to recognize Moses as her forever love. However, she notes that the one quality she instantly appreciated about Moses was that “he always stated his intentions, and that there were no real games.” She goes on to say, ” I found I could be completely myself with him. We just came together really naturally, and nothing felt forced.” While Julia admits she wasn’t quite as smitten as Moses on their third date, she notes that there was no doubt in her mind that their “souls were connected on a different level.” The couple was together for 6 months before Moses finally popped the question at the same location.
Upon seeing The Osprey’s for the first time, Moses says, “it was magical!” While they had stumbled upon The Osprey’s early on in their venue search and were instantly called to it, Julia says that she wanted to do her due diligence and do a few other site visits just to have a point of comparison. However, once they arrived to check out The Ospreys in person, the couple says, “Despite the other places we looked, The Osprey’s was the one that was screaming in our ears and our hearts…everything was perfect! We knew that The Ospreys was always the one!”
Both Julia & Moses come from beautifully diverse backgrounds. Moses is Nigerian- American and practices, Hare Krishna. While Julia is Italian-Canadian-American and, in her own words, is “Catholic-light.” Their goal was to blend both of their backgrounds so that all of their guests would feel comfortable. Moses actually chose the color palette for the wedding early on, grey and plum. Julia went from there and worked to create continuity in all their wedding day elements. “We didn’t want to be trendy and leaned more to a classic vibe with a romantic and earthy feel. I guess you can call it Italian-boho-chic, haha.”
Moses’ favorite part of the planning process was, without question, taking part in all the tastings! Julia says her favorite part of the planning process was getting to spend additional time with her mom and having her experience all the things that come with planning a wedding.
While Julia notes that The Ospreys has a great team, she “wanted someone for more than just the day of, because I didn’t want to lean on my friends too much and all of my family members lived in Canada.” The couple also had a second religious ceremony the day after their American ceremony called a Hare Krishna, at a temple in Potomac. So Julia knew she would need additional assistance with that as well. For this reason, the couple opted to hire a wedding planner. From there, she referenced both vendor lists between The Osprey’s & her planner to select a dream team of vendors to help her execute her wedding day vision!
Julia admits that she was initially terrified to go dress shopping since she didn’t think there would be many options for a woman of her build. However, she didn’t let that discourage her from the idea of finding her dream bridal gown. She scheduled three appointments, at various bridal shops, throughout one weekend, and much to her surprise, she says, “it was a fantastic experience! There were tons of options, and on the first day, I thought I found my dress.” However, it wasn’t until the next day when she went to Global Bridal Gallery in Alexandria, VA, she found the one! Julia recalls the experience, “Third dress I tried, I didn’t even have it completely on, and my eyes welled up. When I walked out, my mom went silent, and we were done. This one spoke to me. It spoke to all of us. And when they showed me the veil that went on for days…yeah…doubly done!”
Moses decided to purchase his suit from the Men’s warehouse. It was agreed that the groomsmen would get their suits from Generation Tux because of the ease of access and a wide variety of selections. For the same reasons, the bridesmaids’ dresses were purchased from David’s Bridal.
Julia knew she didn’t want what she called “traditional round, light color floral bouquets.” While she was initially exploring classic fall colors, she started looking and quickly realized she wanted to play off the plum from the bridesmaids’ dresses. “I wanted to pull some colors off that palette with lots of greenery to create some drama.” She connected with local florists, LeRoy French Flowers, and trusted their expertise to help her achieve her wedding day flower goals. “They totally understood my style and went with it. My bouquet brought me to tears. It was better than I could have envisioned!”
Julia said this part was all about going back to the color palette. “Until planning our wedding, I never realized how classic and traditional I am.” She goes on to say, “The Ospreys has everything you need…water, trees, etc. So there’s very little to add just things to make it more personal.” Julia’s mom selected the string quartet for music during the ceremony. While Moses’ family dressed in traditional African attire. Together, the couple wrote their own personal vows. “We created a ceremony that truly represented who we are.”
From the time they started dating, Moses would sing “Always and Forever” by Heatwave to Julia. This made selecting this song as their first dance song a no brainer. Julia says, “Moses is an old soul and loves old school ballads, he grew up knowing that song and believes someone will never know the true meaning of the song until you meet your someone special.”
The couple both agree the most magical moment of the day was the ceremony. Moses says, “When her father was walking her down the aisle, she was like a princess…. at that moment, it was like perfection, the string quartet playing, the beautiful weather outside, it just felt so surreal.”
Julia recounts that “despite all the people watching, it felt like it was just Moses and me up there, by the water, as we have always been.”
With two special ceremonies, the couple agreed that their combined weddings were everything they could have dreamed of and more. With family & friends traveling across the globe to be with them, their marriage is a blessing and the memory of their wedding night is something they will forever cherish. That said, Julia does offer one sage piece of advice for couples who are planning their big day, “Determine what really matters and what you will remember, and focus on that. Take a moment in the middle of it all to look at your partner and soak in everything around you. Because that is what will stay with you. Oh, and trust the Osprey’s team, because they got you. Truly. And I don’t say that lightly.”
Julia & Moses love to travel; however, with the COVID-19 pandemic still lingering, they’ve had to put future travel plans on hold for now. Despite being grounded for the foreseeable future, the couple has not let that stop them from continuing to build a beautiful, happy life together. Julia says, “We plan to start a family soon and keep growing & learning together. Until then, we love to explore the DMV on our bikes or on foot, and make the best of the world around us.”
Vendor Team
Venue | The Ospreys at Belmont Bay
Photography | Leandra Brown
Planning | Chic Weddings & Events
Florist | LeRoy French
Caterer | A Taste of Elegance
Bakery | Fluffy Thoughts
Hair & Makeup | I Do Artistry
String Quartet | Cherry Blossom
DJ | DoubleE Entertainment
Videography | Rimas Vasilulis
Officiant | Weddings by Jeff
Bridal Gown | Global Bridal Gallery
Tux | Men’s Warehouse
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