CINZIA + JEROME'S WHITE OAKS RESORT WEDDING // DANIEL RICCI WEDDINGS

Feb 28

In honour and celebration of Black History Month, we are focusing all of our blog sharing for the month of February on the beauty of BIPOC couples and weddings! We are so lucky to have a beautiful selection of inspiration to share with our readers and our hope is to pair that inspiration along with Black History messaging in order to use our Vineyard Bride platform positively and responsibly.

The next feature in our Black History Month series is this gorgeous wedding from Daniel Ricci Wedding Photography.

From bride, Cinzia: I think we symbolize what an interracial couple looks like and how two cultures can come together.

We were able to chat with Cinzia and Jerome a little bit more about their love story and why we should be having important conversations around Black History Month, and they provided the most beautiful insight with us! Read on to learn more about Cinzia and Jerome.

How did you meet? We meet online, on Match. It was during Covid.

How long have you been together? We have been together for 2 years and 2 months. We got engaged after 11 months together.

Tell us about your engagement story. To understand our engagement story, you have to know our first "real date". We dated virtually for about a month before we met in person due to the lockdown and Covid restrictions. Jerome picked me up in downtown Toronto, and we drove to Oakville. We went to Dimitri's and ordered cheesecake and ate it in the car since there was only take-out service available. We then drove to the Oakville waterfront, walked and sat on this huge rock overlooking the water and talked for hours. We also shared our first kiss there. That was the start of our love story.

Fast forward 11 months later, living together and completely in love. Jerome told me we were going to an Italian restaurant for dinner. He said to dress up for date night. I loved our date nights, so I was excited. He was acting a little weird, but I was so oblivious in the car, talking about the latest Sopranos episode that we had watched the night before. The restaurant was in Oakville, and since we were a little early, he suggested a walk at the Oakville waterfront. We started walking hand in hand to the special rock and area we had our first date when I noticed a little pavilion that had all lights by the water. It was so pretty so we walked that way. When we got there, he turned to me, took my hands and said a whole bunch of stuff I can't remember, and then got on his knee and asked me to be his wife. I was crying and said YES. He then told me that the day before he had driven all the way to Welland to ask my parents their permission. This meant the world to me, as my dad was sick and immobile. We then Facetimed our families. We celebrated at dinner with champagne and yummy food.

Tell us about your wedding day plans. We got married in Niagara-on-the-Lake. I grew up close to the area, and we both loved it. We wanted our wedding to be very romantic, dreamy, and full of the people that we loved. We choose to have lots of white florals, greenery, candles and intimate moments. We got married at White Oaks Resort and Spa which was amazing since we had many out of town guests. Having the ceremony and service in one place was so great. We chose to write our own vows, and we picked our readings and took time to bond with our officiant Paul. It felt like we were married by a family friend. We had a beautiful singer/guitarist that filled the room and there was so much love surrounding us. We went on to celebrate into the night with beautiful speeches, delicious foods including an evening poutine station, a photo booth and lots of dancing.

Important conversations have been happening surrounding Black Lives Matter and now with Black History Month on the horizon, we want to offer additional light and education with our readers. One day, we would like to grow our family and we think it is important as an interracial couple to be able to be honest and have open conversations with our mixed child (children) to help them understand that not everyone is treated equally even though they should be. Educating them on the things that are happening in society today that could affect them is extremely important to us. Education is key, and being open to uncomfortable and tough conversations is crucial in starting to move forward towards change.

What would you like to communicate to this platform as we continue our conversations about black history month and interracial marriages? We would like people to see us and understand that we have come together with two different backgrounds and upbringings but we found love in our bond and commitment to our families, our faith and our positive outlook on life. We hold the same values and beliefs regardless of the background we were born into. In our marriage now, we are incorporating our heritage and combining both of our families into one which is such a beautiful thing to be a part of.

Did you experience any discrimination because you are an interracial or black couple while you were wedding planning? No, we did not. We worked with some of the most incredibly kind and loving vendors. Throughout our experience we were shown respect and professionalism. I lost my father 3 weeks before our wedding, right at crunch time and the amount of understanding and compassion I received from all of our vendors was so touching. We will forever hold a place in our hearts for all of them..

If there are any other points you want us to know, or how we can open up a new line of conversation, please do! We believe that love has no colour, no boundaries and no limits. We have both been blessed in our lives separately, but since coming together we are so much richer in our diversity and understanding of one another and that is really what life is all about. So take time to learn and educate yourself and keep your mind and especially your heart open!