Bride Feature - Andrea Roa

The Wedding with a Cultural Mix

Andrea and Josh were married in April of 2019 and theirs was a wedding that combined the indoors and outdoors, cultural elements from the bride's heritage  and traditional notes that make celebrations memorable. Andrea grew up in Venezuela so she wanted to incorporate specific elements into the day while keeping the ceremony fun. They wanted a party and that's what they got!

The wedding event began with an outside ceremony at Coley Hall at The Liberty and it had a rooftop feel accompanied by beautiful flowers at the altar and live music (guitar and violin). They kept the actual ceremony short, sweet, "easy on the religion," and filled with genuine character and love. While the bride and groom decided not to write their own vows, there was laughter and there were tears as a scripture that spoke to us of them was read. 

Along with modern vows they did add a traditional touch and held the Arras ceremony. Andrea vividly remembered seeing this done at weddings from her childhood and while Josh dropped one of the coins, it was still something unique that ​everyone enjoyed witnessing.

The Couple

We always ask couples for a little backstory about how they met, so we'll let Andrea handle this, because she does it so well!

A DEER AND A MECHANIC ON HALLOWEEN
"Our story began October 2013, Halloween to be exact. Like most young people we were getting dressed up and going out with our friends. Just so happened her friend was meeting his friend for the first time and we both were set up to be the "co-pilots." Little did we know after a night of meeting at '"Johnny and Junes" for a dollar night rager we would end up taking things seriously.
Josh was a bachelor with roommates and partied like he was on MTV. Andrea was a Junior at Salem College, recently single, and with no intentions of settling down any time soon. It took a lot of persistence but slowly he started to change her mind and win her over. After months of talking, dating, and crazy adventures she eventually caved in and gave him a chance. They started dating, he bought them a dog, she graduated spring of 2015, and they bought a house in the summer of 2017. 

Then in December of 2017 he finally found the courage to take her to the Biltmore Estate with some close friends and asked her to marry him!"

These two shared that their best moments were the doors opening to the aisle and seeing each other's faces; the adult pinata that contained surprise items and then the La Hora Loca, which is
something done traditionally in Venezuela at any big celebration. There were goody bags that included a mask, beads, glowsticks and glow wands, boas, and party items! 

From there, it was all about the DJ, the dancing, toasts and celebration. 

The Gown

Andrea was conscious of price and wanted something clean, timeless and with little or no lace. She also wanted a gown that was form-fitting because her dress for her quinceanera was a ballgown. As for neckline or sleeves, she was open. The gown she chose has lace and was strapless, but she added the capped sleeves for the ceremony. It absolutely worked beautifully on her and she just looks radiantly beautiful. 

"The fact that I was able to make the dress my own was a huge plus. I loved my champagne veil and the flower hair accessories that I added when I took off the veil. And the ladies at BT were great! I felt comfortable and cared about. Sometimes things like this can be intimidating and the people attending to you might not give off the most supportive or friendlest vibe but the ladies at BT did. They worked with me and my schedule and made sure that everything was how it was supposed to be."

Andrea works for Wake Forest University and Josh and his Dad own a construction company. This couple is well on their way to many years of happiness if their wedding is any indication of how they do life together.

Congratulations! Don't forget to do the things that you love the most - work out, play with your fur babies, go to the pool, and create memories with people with love. Those items that bring joy will lengthen your days.

Photos Courtesy of Sweet Bliss Media