Barbarah D’Haiti, a pharmaceutical business manager (“By day!” she says) and lifestyle content creator, and her now-husband Fequiere Jr. William, a senior sales consultant, went to the very same high school and even graduated in the same class—but it wasn’t until she saw a photo of him in a mutual friend’s Instagram post in 2017 that she put two and two together. They had never met, but spent the better part of a year in each other’s DMs before they went on their first date in 2018.

Four years later, they got engaged during a private boat tour on Lake Como, and soon began planning a wedding that was equally Europe-inspired—the only thing was that they had no plans to actually tie the knot across the pond. That old-world vision is what guided them towards The Conservatory at BlackBerry Ridge, located in Trenton, Georgia. The only problem? It wasn’t technically built yet. “We booked it with hope and dreams, hoping that it looked like the photos—and the owners and builders nailed it,” Barbarah tells Brides exclusively. “We loved it because it looked like nothing we have seen before in New Jersey where we lived. We also wanted our theme to be French chateau and timeless.” They’d done the wedding circuit in the Garden State enough to know that they wanted to offer their guests something different—without requiring them to leave the country. “We initially wanted to go back to Lake Como since we got engaged there, but it has become so popular and we didn’t want our guests to have to travel too far. Georgia was perfect.”

Barbarah and Fequiere worked with Sacoya Jenkins of Jenkins & Co. Weddings to put together a big-day team of diverse vendors (“I am an immigrant who is part of this beautiful melting pot of the United States and it meant a lot to me to hire other immigrants, locals, people of color with a mix of genders and cultures, as well,” she shares) and an aesthetic that was truly timeless, relying on photographer Rafal Ostrowski to shoot the October 19, 2024, celebration—which kicked off with a rehearsal dinner and welcome party, captured by Anna Panutsa—in a way that was equally classic. “I wanted our wedding to be photographed and designed in a way where if someone were to see it 100 years from now, it would be timeless and they wouldn’t be able to tell what year it was,” the bride explains. “I didn’t want any trends and popular fads at our wedding—just something timeless and chic. I think we nailed it.”

They certainly did: When the big day arrived, their vision, which included a neutral color palette, a lush ceremony with creamy florals leading all the way up to a domed altar, and plenty of nods to their shared Haitian roots (this involved hiring a Haitian chef, DJ, and officiant, as well as prioritizing a bilingual experience for guests who exclusive speak Creole) so “everyone felt seen and included,” was executed to the fullest. See every intentional detail ahead, in images shared exclusively with Brides.

The couple’s wedding weekend kicked off with a rehearsal dinner and welcome party held at The Read House on October 18, 2024.  Barbarah wore a custom dress made in Enugu, Nigeria, by tailor Klothes by Omada; the groom opted for a tailored suit from Moattari Menswear, located in Edison, New Jersey. For the rehearsal dinner, the couple served an Italian menu and kept the décor simple, relying on a table full of candles for maximum vibes.

“We also did all of our speeches at the welcome party with about 60 percent of our guests in attendance,” explains Barbarah, noting that these toasts were some of the overarching highlights of their entire celebration. “This allowed us to have more time to party at our reception the next day.”

A simple white invitation suite, embellished with black double borders and a custom crest, by Patrice Papier gave guests a sneak peek at the couple’s venue via an illustrated envelope liner. The bride spent the morning posing in the halls of the property’s manor in a sheer lace robe.

Barbarah purchased her Sareh Nouri wedding dress, a lace ball gown with long sleeves and a high neckline, from Kleinfeld Bridal in New York City after a long search. “The moment I put it on, I felt butterflies. I kept waiting for these butterflies after trying on 50 to 80 different dresses and it finally (and only!) came with this one,” she explains. She worked with the atelier’s seamstresses to customize the ensemble; they added more buttons down the front to elongate the gown, closed the neckline a bit higher, and introduced more tulle at the bottom for extra drama. “My favorite wedding dresses of all time were worn by Grace Kelly, Kate Middleton, and Jasmine Tooks, so this was the exact look I was going for,” she adds, noting that she was also influenced by her favorite movie, The Princess Diaries. “But I never wanted to be Mia Thermopolis! I’ve always admired and wanted to be Queen Clarisse Renaldi, and this dress was my moment to be her. This is definitely the gown she’d wear.” 

The bride, who held a bouquet of ivory roses arranged by Xpressions Floral Designs, accessorized the look with a custom Kleinfeld veil and crown from Christie Lauren—and then looked in the mirror when drawing inspiration for her big-day glam. “I was the vision for the day’s look! I wanted to look like myself, but more elevated,” Barbarah says. “I asked my glam team to make me look like me—that was very important to me on my wedding day. I wanted to look back and be able to see myself, even with all of the glam.” A sleek updo, which she chose to keep all the attention on her ball gown, and a Russian manicure (she opted for an almond-shaped French manicure) were the finishing touches.

Barbarah’s bridesmaids stepped out in black Anthropologie Weddings dresses of their choosing. “It was very important to me that the girls chose the style of dress that made them the most comfortable and beautiful. My only rule was that the dress was black and floor-length, along with the same silk material,” she explains. “Black is my favorite color and everyone looks chic in black.”

The couple agreed early on that they’d both don white on their wedding day. “The wedding isn’t just about the bride—the groom should feel just as special,” explains Barbarah. Fequiere joined his bride in the wedding’s signature shade in his ensemble from The Black Tux, complete with a white tuxedo jacket, black tuxedo pants, a velvet bow tie, and cap-toe shoes. His half of the wedding party, including his best man, who has known the couple since their school days, also selected tuxedos from The Black Tux.

The bride had a very specific vision for their ceremony’s décor. “I wanted the entire aisle to run all the way up until the gorgeous marble dome, which was covered in white florals. I’ve never loved how wedding aisles seem to stop at the chairs and that there is a gap between the chairs and the altar, so I wanted my flowers to completely cover it, from the entrance of the ceremony all the way up to the marble dome,” she explains. Xpressions Floral Designs delivered and ensured all of the flowers used were white sans greenery, per the bride’s request.

An empty chair was marked to honor the memory of Barbarah’s late brother, who passed away when he was 16.

After the bride’s father walked her down the aisle to “Until I Found You” by Stephen Sanchez and Em Beihold, the couple exchanged vows they’d penned themselves. “I have been working on them since we got engaged in 2022!” says Barbarah. “We had a two-year engagement, so I took the time to write each paragraph on each anniversary of Fequiere’s proposal.”

“My favorite part of the day was seeing a butterfly land right behind my husband as he was saying his vows,” reflects the bride. “Honoring my late brother meant the world to me and I did go visit his gravesite and asked him to show me a butterfly on my wedding day to let me know that he was there. The day was complete for me after seeing the little butterfly—I knew my brother was there with us.”

As for Fequiere’s favorite memory from the service? “When I walked down the aisle, he said the place stood still and it seemed like Heaven’s gates opened,” says Barbarah.

After they were pronounced husband and wife, they recessed back down the lush aisle to “This Will Be (an Everlasting Love)” by Natalie Cole and immediately poured out a celebratory Champagne tower. 

During the cocktail hour, live painter Lexi Brite captured the old-world-inspired scene as guests mingled and left messages on the duo’s After The Tone guest book; when it was time for dinner, attendees found their reception seating assignments on a white blocked seating chart. 

The reception unfolded inside the venue’s greenhouse, where a mix of rectangular and round tables, positioned around a black and white dance floor, filled the space. Gleaming chandeliers cast a warm glow overhead that was reinforced by the glass candelabras on each station. Simple glassware and dinnerware kept the focus on the lush, all-white centerpieces that ate up negative space on the tablescapes.

After making their party debut, the newlyweds shared their first dance to a mix of Sade’s “By Your Side” and “Deeper” by 5lan and Nelson Freitas. Fequiere also shared a special moment with Barbarah’s mother to honor her late son, who didn’t get a chance to dance with his mom at his own wedding before he passed. “They danced to ‘Pour Mieux T’aimer’ by Nana Mouskouri, my mom’s favorite song,” says the bride.

The entire event’s cuisine was handled by the couple’s on-site chef and his team. “Lamartine Alvarez from Chez Lama Haitian Cuisine came all the way from Nashville,” explains the bride. “We had Haitian Fritay for cocktail hour, which is an assortment of fried foods. It consists of a variety of delicacies such as fried plantains, pate kode, accra, and marinade. For dinner, we had their Haitian Black rice, which is made with Djon-Djon mushrooms, which give the rice its distinct black color and texture. Along with fried plantains, we served chicken in sauce topped off with Pikliz, which is a condiment in Haitian cuisine of pickled cabbage, carrots, bell peppers, and other spicy peppers to make the dish spicy.” 

Just before the couple cut their cake–a massive, ruffled confection made by Cake Envy who absolutely “nailed” the bride’s vision, she says—the bride changed into her second look of the night: a strapless, body-hugging boned midi dress from Anthropologie Weddings.

The bride made her final outfit switch-up of the night just ahead of the evening’s surprise fireworks display; the mini dress from Watters was the perfect option for spending the remainder of the night on the dance floor.

Now on the other side of their nuptials—the couple is currently on their honeymoon at the Nobu Hotel in Los Cabos, Mexico—they’ve had a chance to reflect on their planning journey and have this advice for anyone in the midst of their big-day journey. “Plan together and involve each other in the little things. It’s so rewarding to not leave the planning to one person—both of you are just as special as the other and this is a celebration of you as a couple. You will not only bond during the planning process, but it will be an even better night when you’re both seeing the little details you helped plan together come alive,” they say.