We had the honor of kicking off wedding season with a breathtaking April garden wedding ceremony for a lovely couple with a very romantic story. Congratulations, Jacqueline and Sulayman! Thank you so much for sharing your wedding day with us. And special thanks to Mary Brunst Photography for capturing each moment and sharing the stunning photos with us.
Welcome to Jacqueline & Sulayman’s April garden wedding at Gramercy Mansion
The following questions answered by Jacqueline
A little bit about you both: Where do you live, occupations, interests?
We reside in Hampstead, Maryland. Jacqueline (the bride) is a production manager on an organic vegetable farm in northern Baltimore country. Sulayman (the groom), is a man of all trades, unable to work yet in the United States he has taken up many different voluntary activities such as farming, outdoor furniture renovations, and landscaping. We are both interested in outdoor activities such as hiking and kayaking, but also enjoy attending music entertainment and cooking.
Your story: Where/how did you first meet? What were your impressions of each other?
We met on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in The Gambia, West Africa. Jacqueline was studying abroad for a semester as part of her degree at Juniata College. I arrived in Gambia in January of 2013 and met Sulayman soon thereafter through a mutual friend (a fellow student). We spent the next 6 months getting to know each other. It is a lot easier to get to know someone when you do not have all the luxuries and distractions that we have here in The United States. When he was introduced to me as the fellow student’s best friend, he was convinced that we also would become best friends.
I never in a million years thought that we would start a relationship, let alone maintain one, knowing that I would be leaving the country and returning home in a matter of a couple of months. However, as each day passed, I began to feel more and more at home in this strange country that was very distant from my hometown, Hampstead, Maryland. I eventually realized that I was feeling more and more at home, not because of the cold showers I was getting out of a bucket of water, but because Sulayman became home for me. Before I left The Gambia in June of 2013, Sulayman and I decided to fight against the odds of a long distance relationship. I returned home and I told him, and myself, that if I could not shake him off my mind and my heart after returning home, well then I had to listen to my heart and stick with it. And we did!
For the first year we communicated through scratch-off calling cards that only gave us 10 minutes to speak to one another, through letters that took a month to get from one country to the other, through Skype and internet cafes, with generators in the background that were sometimes so loud we could not even hear each other. Eventually free calling apps became more accessible to us and popular so that we were able to communicate on a daily basis. I had one more year of college to go, and I went to see him on my winter break. I convinced my mother to go with me to prove to her that this guy was worth it all. However, she was convinced that she would travel to meet him and prove to me that he was not worth it all. Well, needless to say, once they met, her heart melted and she couldn’t say no.
After school I began work on a vegetable farm and the next winter I traveled back and spent two more months living in Gambia with him and his family, gaining a better understanding of his cultural and religious values. Through a tedious visa process, Sulayman arrived in the United States at the end of February 2016. I never in a million years thought that I would study abroad and fall in love. We never in a million years even thought that we would both be living in the same place permanently. And we never in a million years thought that our wedding would have been as perfect as it was. Everyone usually says their wedding day was perfect, but ours truly was. Even the birds were chirping. Literally!
The proposal: When and how did he propose?
I actually proposed to him. I went out, I bought him a ring. I sent it with someone to give to him with a note in it that said “will you marry me.” I didn’t know this, but while his ring was in route, he was coordinating with my parents about my mother’s original engagement ring to be given to me. He arranged with my parents flowers for me as well as other significant items for me to find around my home, that led me to my mother’s engagement ring in a box under my pillow with a hand-written card. When I was searching for the ring he was on the phone with me describing to me where to go around my house. Balloons, flowers, a crown, and then the ring. He was on the other line of the phone, and was across the Atlantic ocean, but he still managed to get down on one knee and ask me to marry him. This, of course, was all being done after he had arranged for Kola Nuts (a nut traditionally given to the parents of the bride to be as permission to marry their daughter and give blessings) to be delivered to my parents.
What made you choose Gramercy as the venue for your ceremony?
We wanted something simple. Everyone says that, but really, we wanted something simple. We did not want a lot of distractions and a lot of manufactured beauty on our wedding day. We had looked at a number of locations but none of them spoke to us like the Gramercy did. The landscape with all the flowers and lush trees was simple and beautiful enough that we didn’t need a lot to make our day beautiful. What really sold us was that the Plan B (if it rained) was just as beautiful as Plan A. Our wedding, being in April, made us very conscientious about having a Plan B in case of inclement weather. We wanted to be secure in our location no matter what circumstances Mother Nature threw our way.
Reception: Did you have a reception following? Where was the reception?
We had a reception lunch at The Oregon Grille afterwards. Since it was a ceremony with a small attendance we wanted to keep it simple at a restaurant setting so that friends and family members that have not seen each other in a long time, could really sit down, connect, and enjoy.
Flowers and décor: Who provided the flowers, the color scheme. Inspiration.
The flowers were provided by Tierra Blooms, a CSA flower-farm in Taneytown, MD. I told Jackie Coldsmith at Tierra Blooms that I just wanted pink and white flowers, of whatever was in season at the time of our wedding day. She did the rest and we couldn’t have asked for more beautiful, eye popping flowers!
Décor for the ceremony was provided by my brother’s girlfriend who has a knack for DIY projects and she put together the wonderful pink and white pinwheels, that made a tasteful accent to our wedding ceremony location at the Gramercy.
Bride’s dress: designer, type of dress and the inspiration for it.
The brides dress was purchased at Yvonne’s Bridal in Hanover, PA. Not certain of the designer, but it was an off-the-rack dress. We planned our wedding once Sulayman arrived in the United States so most dresses were off limits since they took a bit of time to be ordered. I tried on numerous off-the-rack dresses at different locations, but once I found the one-shoulder dress with the flowers and feathers on it, I had that moment that “This Is it!” I only tried on 12 dresses total in all of my search before I found the one I wore on my wedding day.
Groom’s attire: What he wore. What groomsmen wore.
The groom’s attire was traditional African clothes made in Senegal, West Africa, where Sulayman underwent his visa process. Made from a wax cotton cloth, hand-sewn, and hand-embroidered. The best man (the only groomsmen) also wore traditional African clothes made in The Gambia, West Africa. His mother sent the clothes for him as Sulayman and I planned our wedding and it fit our color scheme perfectly. We still don’t know how that all happened! His best man grew up in the same neighborhood In the Gambia (who now also resides in Maryland) and they had not seen each other in many years until the morning of our wedding day.
Where did you/will you honeymoon?
We plan to go to the Carolinas for our honeymoon in the late summer.
Thank you again, Jackie and Sulayman! It was such an honor to host your ceremony and we wish you a lifetime of love and happiness.
To learn more about hosting your wedding ceremony or reception at Gramercy Mansion, visit our weddings page.