Ivy and Eugene met in 2006 in college at a homecoming party. "We were always cordial from that point but never had any intentions of dating. Our black Greek letter organizations caused us to be around each other more often and then we started dating in 2011," recalls Ivy. Check out their special day captured by J. Guess Photography !
Bride: Ivy W. Sowell, 28, Health Educator
Groom: Eugene D. Sowell II, 27, Director of Youth Development
Place of residence: Louisville, KY
Wedding date: 9/27/14
Wedding location: Frazier History Museum
Honeymoon Destination: Punta Cana, DR
Engagement story:
Eugene was out of state finishing his masters degree at the time. This particular weekend he hadn’t made plans to come visit and my friends birthday dinner was set for that Friday and I was excited to have plans with my girls. Eugene decided to surprise me and come visit for the weekend. Earlier in the week he had picked a fight with me over something. I can’t even remember what it was, but I now know it was all a part of the plan. On the way to the birthday dinner he pulled over on campus. He began to apologize and tell me how much he really loved me. He got out of the car and walked around and opened my door. Me being me…I look at him crazy and say something like, “boy get in this car its too cold for you to be playing these games! We settled that days ago!” I was sure he had lost his mind. He asked me to get out and give him a hug, so I did. When I stepped out of the car I seen the ring sitting on a statue with rose petals scattered around. The only thing I could say was, “Why did you leave that ring out here unsupervised?” In that moment I heard the shutter of a camera. He had made arrangements for someone to video and take pictures of our special moment. He got down on his knee and proposed on campus…the place that brought us together. After I cried and laughed we decided we needed to get to the birthday dinner. When I walked in everyone stood and cheered and I realized that the birthday dinner was actually our engagement party. Our family and friends had traveled from near and far to help us celebrate. It was truly a great night!
From the Groom:
It was a great day; I can’t even begin to explain how happy and excited I was to be marring the love of my life. I remembering saying to myself how blessed we were to have this day and be united in God. I remember seeing her walk down the aisle on that beautiful fall day and being even more ready to spend the rest of my life with her. It was by far one of the best days of my life.
Your best/most memorable moment:
Most memorable moment for Ivy is when Eugene was reading his vows. I felt so loved in that moment. I knew he loved me but he had never verbalized it the way he did that day. For Eugene it was when our pastor announced that he could now kiss his bride.
From the Bride:
I was very excited and it all felt surreal. I felt like I was watching a wedding story on television. The weather was perfect for our roof top wedding, the sun was in the most perfect spot, the clouds were so white and full, the wind blew right on time. I remember holding Eugene’s hand and looking at the clouds and thinking how beautiful and blessed the day was. It all happened very fast but flowed perfectly.
What makes your love special?
Our love is special because it has been completely appointed by God. Our plan for our first date was made at church after many attempts to make plans together. Every time we decided not to take dating each other seriously, God made it a point to set us straight. We eventually could not deny our love for each other nor could we deny the fact that this is what God wanted for us. We knew our love was a gift and we wanted to honor God by waiting until or wedding night to have sex.
Wedding song:
When God Made You. In every card I gave Eugene I would write some of the lyrics to the song…”When God made you, he must have been thinking about me. He must have known everything I would need.” He had never heard the song before or even knew it was a song until I walked down the aisle to it.
What are you most looking forward to as a married couple?
We hope that our story will motivate other young couples to keep God first in their lives independently and then focus on God together as a couple.
Advice for a Bride/Groom on their wedding day:
Have a moment to yourselves after the wedding ceremony. Have a designated place just for the two of you to bask in the beauty and greatness of what just happened. Give yourselves at least 5 minutes together. The guests will be there and your photographer can wait, but you will never get that moment back.
Congrats to the newlyweds Ivy and Eugene! We wish you many more years of wedded bliss!
Vendors:
Photographer: Jami Guess of J. Guess Photography
Ceremony & Reception: Frazier History Museum
Bridal gown: Melissa Sweet/Bridal By Lori
Bridesmaids: MJVO Couture
Groomsmen: Men’s Wearhouse
Groom’s tux: Aspen/Rebecca’s Black Tie
Cake: Heitzman’s Bakery
Caterer: Neiman’s Catering
Music: DJ Nerd Boi
Hair: Shea Brown at Shea Coiffure
Make up: Melanie Cox
Videographer: Montaze Lavon Trumbo
Curated by our Wedding Features Editor, C.K. Alexander. C.K. is the owner and founder of Love Ink and Brownstone Bridal. Keep up with C.K. on Twitter here: @Love_Ink
