The couple share the love story that led to their unforgettable nuptials in Panama and D.C.
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00:00Hi, I'm Natalia Wilson-Armstrong.
00:03And I'm Antoine Coward-Armstrong, and you're watching our Bridal Bliss Story.
00:09So, how I met Antoine.
00:11I had a friend who was serving as like a financial advisor to me,
00:17and we were just kind of starting out, hanging out as well.
00:20And she gave me a call one afternoon and said that she was going to go try cryotherapy.
00:25I had heard about cryotherapy before, but I had never tried it.
00:31And she was like my friend who would try all kinds of new trends, new things in Washington, D.C., where we live.
00:37So anyway, we go to this place, new spot in D.C., called District Cryo.
00:43And that's where you can get full body cryotherapy.
00:46Walk in, and there's a dude at the counter, the check-in counter.
00:50And he kind of looks back at us.
00:51We're like loud, obnoxiously loud as we're walking in.
00:54And he's the one that comes over, apologizes for the mishap to my friend.
00:59And we thought he was just like another patron of District Cryo.
01:03And my friend is an interrogator.
01:05So, as he's doing her cryo facial, she's interrogating him about, wait a minute.
01:10So, you own the spot?
01:11Like, who are you?
01:12How we haven't seen you this whole time?
01:15And anyway, that's how I first met Antoine.
01:17It turns out Antoine Coward Armstrong is the owner of District Cryo, our new favorite thing to do as girls in D.C.
01:25Well, like she said, they were really, really loud, right?
01:29So, you know, when they, you know, walked into the business in the front door, you know, I had other pictures there.
01:34So, you know, that immediately caught my attention.
01:37And I just thought that she was just gorgeous immediately, right?
01:41And then as I escorted them back and we had a chance to, you know, learn about each other, well, more so they were learning about me.
01:49I sort of had some regrets, right, that I didn't capitalize on the moment of, you know, being a little bit more forward and connecting with her.
01:56She came back to the business and I just used that as an opportunity.
02:01She was going away to Cabo on a trip the following day.
02:05So, I just invited her to a drink, a birthday drink when she returned.
02:10And that's pretty much how it happened.
02:13So, when I got back from Cabo, Antoine did follow through and invited me out for drinks for my birthday.
02:21And I got there, I'm at the bar.
02:23This dude is late.
02:25Like, I'm not talking like five minutes late.
02:27He is 45 minutes late.
02:30I call everybody, my mom, my friends, like, girl, what am I doing?
02:34My mom was like, girl, what else you got to do?
02:36Just stay there, wait, see what the man's talking about.
02:39He did text me.
02:41He said something about, you did, you text me.
02:44He said something about he had to go back to get something, his wallet, he left it.
02:51For some reason, I just continued to wait and I sat there, which is not something I would ordinarily do.
02:59And when I arrived, you know, that really wasn't even the topic of conversation.
03:03You just sort of go right into it, everything just flowed.
03:05We didn't look back.
03:07We just started to talk and it wasn't like I gave him a hard time, which I feel like totally I could have done that.
03:13Everything just flowed naturally.
03:16You know, I didn't have any sort of intentions earlier on.
03:21And, you know, when we connected, everything was just authentic, just kind of vibe.
03:27You know, at those stages, when you meet someone like that, you just generally, genuinely just kind of want the best for them.
03:32So, you know, we just kind of flowed.
03:35He actually told me that, which was, I couldn't believe.
03:41He's like, I just, I want you to be happy.
03:43But I had never had anybody just like say that to me.
03:46And I'm like, you don't even really know me.
03:49Right.
03:49So I had questioned it, but it's actually one of those things that has turned out to be so true in his, the way he is with me and how he makes me feel.
04:03I would say about five years.
04:07Yeah.
04:08Five years before.
04:10That he's supposed to be.
04:11Yeah, yeah.
04:12So, you know, sometime there, that's when, you know, it's, you know, kind of special, right?
04:16When there are no sort of agendas and you both just want to want to actively participate.
04:24That was a total surprise to me.
04:27It was just another like Friday night where he asked me to like or told me that we were going to go have dinner.
04:36So he didn't give me any particular like guidance or anything.
04:40We normally like will walk to restaurants and walk home.
04:44So he asked me at dinner, which way I wanted to walk home.
04:49And I said, where the way we normally walk, maybe that should have tipped me off that something was going on, but it didn't.
04:57And so as we're walking, I see like a spotlight on at the top of the stairs.
05:03And it's really, really bright.
05:05I can't make out anybody because it's night time, nightfall at this point.
05:10And it's a spotlight at the top of the stairs.
05:13And I turned to Antoine.
05:15I was like, maybe we shouldn't go this way.
05:17I changed my, you know, like I changed my mind.
05:19Let's like mission abort.
05:21And then Antoine tells me, babe, it's fine.
05:24He asked me to take off my jacket.
05:26I had a, for some reason, it was, it was on November.
05:29So I had like a jacket on.
05:31So I took the jacket off, but I also did that reluctantly.
05:34Still no clue, like what's going on or that this has anything to do with me or him.
05:42And I just want to get out of there.
05:44He takes my jacket and then I'm looking at him like, what is going on?
05:47And then he gets on his knee.
05:49He gets, he like drops to one knee.
05:52And I'm like, oh my God, this for me, like the lights, the, the man in the bushes.
05:58And, you know, and then, um, but I still can't tell what the, what the light is.
06:03But, um, then I, like, it starts to come back.
06:07I think I started crying and then I see the sign says, marry me.
06:11And, um, he says this beauty, he says a lot of stuff while he saw his knee.
06:18I probably, I can probably summarize it.
06:20I can't tell you exactly what it was.
06:22Cause I was just kind of overwhelmed that, you know, this was about us and had everything
06:28to do with us at this like place where, that we love.
06:31Um, and I was clueless.
06:36Okay.
06:36So, and the rain, right.
06:38As a part of that process, um, you know, I pretty much,
06:41designed it from top to bottom, uh, sourced the stone from a, a jewel, a jeweler on the
06:48West coast that I had a connection with.
06:50Um, and then, uh, did the framing here at a, at a local shop.
06:54So yeah, she loves the simplicity of things.
06:56Right.
06:57So, um, she wanted it to be simple.
06:58I know she wanted, you know, the, the rock to be pretty pronounced.
07:02Right.
07:03Uh, but I, you know, added some flair in there with some rose gold and kind of, you know,
07:07an old kind of, uh, you know, charm kind of element, you know, I know those are the things
07:12she likes.
07:12So I did incorporate, um, you know, now my mother-in-law in the process.
07:17Um, and you know, she loved it right away.
07:19So why did we have act one and act two, uh, for our wedding?
07:24So we had two weddings and no other than like my favorite all time, Beyonce knows Carter.
07:32She had released act one Renaissance and act two Cowboy Carter.
07:38And I happen to be having two weddings and I love her website.
07:41I love all things Beyonce.
07:43Beyonce and so I said to Antoine that since we're doing two weddings, Beyonce has act one
07:50and act two, act one Panama and act two DC.
07:54Um, we were, we knew we were going to have two weddings because my dad is from Panama and
08:00Antoine is a native Washingtonian, which is a unicorn here and all of his family go outside.
08:06Somebody's his cousin or aunt or something.
08:08So we knew we had to have a DC wedding.
08:10We decided to have it in Panama because, uh, my wife's father is, uh, is from Panama.
08:16He currently lives there, her parents, right?
08:18And, uh, you know, we wanted, we wanted that element.
08:21By the time we got there, we already had, you know, vendors in place.
08:24We had an idea of where we would, uh, you know, host the wedding.
08:29This was at a point where we had interviewed several wedding planners.
08:33We had seen tons of venues.
08:36I had done all the research of all the places to have a wedding in Panama, you know, the lists
08:43that are out there, including the best places in Casca Viejo.
08:48And so we had, um, I have, we had been there several times at this point, um, visiting, uh,
08:54different places.
08:55And so then we had finally, like our, another visit had decided that we were going to have
09:00it at this one place in Casca Viejo.
09:02We were about to meet with the people to sign and pick the date.
09:06And this Antoine, who is, like I said, he is very thoughtful and very patient.
09:14And he was convinced right before we're like scheduled to meet with these people, we're
09:20at the hotel, uh, to sign.
09:22And he says, babe, I think I saw something before we got here, like on our way here.
09:28Um, let's put off the meeting so I can, like, we can go take a look at it.
09:33And I'm like, you saw what?
09:36You, you didn't see anything.
09:38There is nothing else to see.
09:40I went walking with him and, um, again, kind of kicking and screaming, as you can see
09:46a theme here.
09:48And as we're walking, there is another place and it is actually pretty magical.
09:56And, um, he was like, turn down this alley, go this way.
09:59He knew more than, than me about, uh, this location.
10:03Yeah.
10:04Yeah.
10:04So neither of us had any idea what the other was wearing.
10:08Like I didn't share any details about my dress, but the dress process was super fun.
10:13Like I, um, went to New York, uh, went to different places, uh, with all like what my
10:20mom, Antoine's mom, um, my sister, his sister, who's now my sister-in-law, um, and just friends.
10:27And we had a, an amazing time, like dress shopping dress from at one, I would say was, um, lace
10:35on overload.
10:36I mean, it was from top to bottom, uh, just very delicate lace, uh, from the veil to the
10:45skirt, to the, um, the entire design.
10:49And I just fell in love with it.
10:51I wore a Zoua Marad.
10:52I just remember, you know, looking down the aisle and, you know, it's, uh, about 20, 25
10:59people all with umbrellas, you know, um, surrounding her.
11:04Right.
11:04So that's, that's what I saw initially.
11:06It was almost like she was sort of, um, you know, surrounded by umbrellas.
11:12Right.
11:12I could only see her feet.
11:13And then it just sort of like opened up and revealed rain is coming down.
11:17And it was just, uh, I mean, you couldn't, you couldn't have a better moment.
11:21Seeing my handsome groom was everything.
11:24I had no idea what he was wearing.
11:27Um, actually when, um, Michelle, who did my makeup for act one, she was like, what, what
11:32color is he wearing?
11:34And I was like, I don't know.
11:35She's like, you don't know what, what he's going to have.
11:37Well, I said, no, she said, I hope he wears white.
11:40I can't even describe like with words, how I felt.
11:44I was like taken aback cause he looked so good, but, and I was also really happy that
11:50he had on white, although I didn't even know I wanted him to wear white.
11:54I don't think I had a color in mind, but it was perfect.
11:57So there were a lot of highlights and, uh, I would say special moments for, for act one.
12:02Uh, but if I had to choose one, maybe two, right.
12:06Um, you know, I would say it had to have been a sort of our first dance.
12:10Right.
12:10So we were, uh, we, we, uh, we dashed, uh, uh, Otis Redding's, uh, rendition of, um,
12:18try a little tenderness.
12:19Right.
12:20And, uh, and then we transitioned that into, you know, the whole, the whole then, uh, and
12:26yay, uh, uh, Otis, right.
12:29Uh, remix of that.
12:30And, uh, it was just a good vibe.
12:32Um, that, that moment, that element, like I said, it was raining, the skies literally
12:37opened up for that one moment.
12:40I would say because we had an Anais, an amazing wedding planner, she just paid so much attention
12:46to detail and she made it a point to let us know very early on that her goal was to make
12:52sure that we actually remembered the night and enjoyed every aspect of the wedding that
12:58we worked on so that guests could enjoy.
13:01And at first I was like, it's about the guests.
13:03And she reminded us that it was so important for us to actually really experience what we
13:09had, you know, put in work to, to, to deliver on.
13:13And so I would say the reason why we were able to like really say the act one was a success
13:20and we remember it, every element, it had a lot of fun is because of our wedding planner
13:26in Anais.
13:27So getting prepared for the second wedding was just as much fun.
13:32Um, we already had done it once.
13:33And so we were excited about celebrating again, but in a new backdrop in Washington, DC with
13:40all of our friends and family.
13:41It actually turns out that most of the people that went to Panama at one, they were also looking
13:47forward to doing it twice, getting to party again with us for act two in DC.
13:52I decided to go all in with Zouer Murad for the second wedding as well for act two.
14:00And so I had another Zouer Murad design.
14:02This one was more traditional Hollywood big and just, um, over the top, what I call garden
14:10glam.
14:11Um, so I had a, uh, Zouer Murad that I wore for the ceremony and the entrance.
14:17And then for the wedding reception, I wore an Oscar de la Renta floral print gown, which,
14:24um, kind of played on our garden glam.
14:26We ended up having it at the wharf, but on the boardwalk, um, which is an outdoor, um,
14:32sort of area right on, right at the center of the, of the wharf.
14:36And, um, you know, it, it was, uh, it was an incredible experience, right?
14:40Um, we, we had the entire Dockmaster building.
14:43Um, we, uh, you know, we, we had a great time.
14:47We had a live Go-Go fan.
14:49Yeah, we had a, uh, T.O.B. takeover band perform, uh, with Jatea.
14:54You know, they were incredible as, uh, you know, like I said, it was important for us
14:59for people that were, you know, kind of coming into the city to have, you know, an opportunity
15:04to learn a little bit about the whole, the culture, history, and sort of the distinct
15:08elements of, uh, you know, each of, each one of us.
15:11I'm a divorce lawyer.
15:12That's what I've been, that's all I've ever done.
15:14And that's my practice area here in D.C.
15:17And, you know, I give advice to, um, people who are getting married often, um, going through
15:25my own wedding and planning for that.
15:27I would, um, tell a, a, a new couple when it comes to planning to make sure you're listening
15:33to one another.
15:35Um, at least for us in our experience, if I had not been open to take that walk, I would
15:43not have the La Compañía experience or Anaís or Shine events, the lights that I was hoping
15:51for in the act one and act two.
15:54I wouldn't know what was out there because I wasn't listening to my future partner.
16:00And I think the experience of planning for a wedding can tell you a lot.
16:05Um, and you can learn a lot about each other.
16:08You can learn a lot about the unit, um, that can re that you can really grow on in the relationship.
16:16So what's next for me and my beautiful wife, um, we're, we're just gonna, you know, do
16:24life and do it in a big way.
16:26Right.
16:26Um, you know, we, uh, you know, we support each other.
16:30Um, you know, we lean into each other and, uh, you know, we're, we're, we're, we're living
16:35in a moment, you know, day by day.
16:37So, um, you know, I'm excited, uh, you know, about what the future holds.
16:42I would agree with Antoine in terms of what's next for us.
16:46We very much want to be able to celebrate many years to come and spend a lot of time,
16:52um, with each other, um, so that we can grow as a unit and also be able to share with others,
17:00um, kind of our experience so others can grow who are around us.
17:04Um, spiritually, we have grown a lot, um, since being together.
17:09I've learned so much from Antoine's faith and it's just more of what I want forever.