In today’s world, the word love is used (perhaps abused) so much that talking about it causes many to immediately roll their eyes or prepare themselves for a list of bubbly cliches that washes out the meaning of love (whatever that meaning is, we are still trying to decide). Here, we are discussing the love between two people. This love can come suddenly (see this quote), or it can develop over time. Perhaps love can come along prematurely, only to be disposed of for a time and found again later down the road. It’s not that the love was there and then fled the scene, quite the contrary, it was always there…the time just wasn’t right. This seems to be the love of Michael and Nikia. For reasons that are not necessary to discuss, they had love once, let it slip through their fingers, explored the world only to find that the love they experienced with one another was unique and could only be found in one place.

This time was the time.

The day started hot and sunny as we arrived to the Civic Center. The bride was in the midst of getting ready; attempting to take in the entire scene produced a dizzying effect as it seemed there was something going on in every corner of the room. Hair products in the one corner, the bride in a chair getting make up done in the other, two beautiful little girls patiently watching their mother as she prepares herself for one of the most important days of her life (other important days must obviously include the births of each one of her three children). This bride, Nikia, did not get suckered into the black hole sometimes called the wedding industry. She, like many other modern brides, decided to go the DIY route. She was fortunate enough to have her bridesmaids there to help with preparation, she designed and created all of the bouquets and she did something very unique with her wedding shoes.

Soulful music filled the room with life and kept everyone relaxed. Time never seemed like a factor on this day. For once, nothing was going to go wrong.

The scene inside the hotel room where she was getting ready was more relaxed than many would think. It almost felt like the entire preparation process could be summed up in one very long sigh and a confident line like, “I’m ready.” The time was approaching, everything they had been through was coming down to a few moments at the altar. The bride never gave off that she was nervous. One could see in her eyes just how much history their family had and that this was the start of a new beginning. As she added those final touches of makeup and applied her hair piece and looked gazingly out the window of the hotel room, one could feel the sense of calm streaming across the room. Everyone looked to Nikia for reassurance that nothing would go wrong this day and she reciprocated this reassurance with a calm, strong confidence that illuminated the entire room.

About a five minutes walk away, the atmosphere of the gentlemen’s preparation area was quieter than the ladies’. No music filled the room, just a few long gazes back and forth between friends, silently reminiscing on their youthful adventures and coming to the realization that such an important day was upon them. As time dragged on the men loosened up and began to take in the moment and even relish in it. Michael’s best man pointed out that he noticed Michael getting nervous, and that it was making him nervous. Michael’s son, also named Michael, shared a similar demeanor to his father, not to mention looking like the spitting image of him, and he quietly played video games in anticipation for the marriage ceremony of his parents.

Michael at first seemed somewhat out of his league, he didn’t appear to be someone who gets nervous over many things and it was very apparent that as the time got closer the nerves were getting to him. He and his best friend had no other analogy to make other than to compare this level of nervous tension to that of a moment minutes before an epic basketball game, where Michael felt himself linked to the Great Michael Jordan, right before going out and scoring a blazing 30 points against the opponent team. Michael’s best man bettered this by suggested he was “about to score 60,” to which Michael added “And I’m going to do it smooth too.”

It is indeed a rare occurance for even a great NBA legend to score 60 points in a single game, it takes a special tenacity to achieve such greatness. In that moment, only Michael could harness that sort of determination to go out and do one more than just score 60, he was going to marry the love of his life; an achievement only certain Great Men in this world can not only achieve, but see the ride to its completion. Michael’s conversations in this room, despite his nerves creeping up on him, left everyone in good spirits and knowing that the stars had truly aligned and Nikia and Michael would not only make it through this day, but they would make it until death do they part.

The two would get a unique opportunity to see one another at the secluded Hollis Gardens. The weather could not have been any better, sunny but a mild breeze to keep things somewhat cool. To add the drama and the glamour of the day, the Gardens played gorgeous classical music. Michael patiently waited towards the end of the gardens as his wife to be gracefully walked up behind him, and as he turned they revealed themselves to one another and the sparks literally flew.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this wedding, where we’ll discuss their Ceremony and some information about how we filmed their wedding. We’ll also discuss the process of song selection and how incredibly perfect this song fits with Michael and Nikia.

In the meantime, check out their Wedding Highlights!

[vimeo width=”640″ height=”360″ video_id=”72037438″]

All photos provided by Lionhart Media.

-APL