A Romantic Candlelit Garden Wedding at Trump International Beach Resort in Sunny Isles, Florida

Jessica Ghazal and Anthony Mabjeesh first met in college, where they became friends. Their paths crossed again in early 2018, and they began their official relationship right away. A mere nine months later, while visiting NYC for a wedding industry event, Anthony got down on one knee and proposed to Jessica while walking along a pier overlooking the city’s skyline.

“Being both the bride and the wedding planner/designer, I loved every bit of it,” Jessica says. “I loved that I had absolute full design control of every detail, where it allowed me to do what I do best – to express my creativity and design through my own wedding.”

As a wedding professional herself, Jessica had the foresight to plan a bridal portrait session a week before the wedding. She had two wedding dresses and three different bridal looks, so this allowed her and her photographer to capture all the shots she wanted without the stress and time crunch of the wedding day. With her formal photo session done ahead of time, Jessica could fully enjoy her wedding celebration and truly be “in the moment.”

The wedding day was what the couple had envisioned: modern, romantic, classic, traditional, and understatedly elegant with a personal twist. A neutral color palette was used, and the décor created the ambiance of a romantic candlelit garden wedding, reflecting the couple’s style.

“We had all the guests enter the reception first, to take in all the beautiful work that was created,” the bride explains. “We used the same design details from our invitations and incorporated it into our dance floor. That same design, we incorporated into the LED video wall.

I had changed into my reception dress, which was a surprise to everyone including the groom. We’re both from Middle Eastern backgrounds, and we surprised our wedding guests with a grand entrance before announcing us as Mr. and Mrs. We had a live saxophone player walk ahead of us jamming to a traditional Arabic song, and then we came out; every guest came to the dance floor to join us in the Zaffeh.

This was not only memorable, but the pictures of this moment were so special. Every detail, décor, and design was well thought out and executed beautifully on wedding day. I love big bows and I had my cake designer create a bow on our wedding cake that matched the same material as my dress. That was a special personal touch for me. Being in the moment, taking it all in, seeing all that hard work come alive on the wedding day was a great experience. Having our family and friends witness our ceremony, and then enjoying the night with us, was my favorite part.”

The newlyweds traveled to Mexico and stayed at Le Blanc Resort for “part one” of their honeymoon. Part two has been delayed due to Covid-19, but they plan on continuing their honeymoon in Europe.