A Storybook Wedding at The Harvey B. Gantt Center in Charlotte, North Carolina

Alicia Steed (now Terry, 32 and a senior investigator of elder abuse and financial exploitation) and Tameka Terry’s (36 and health and PE teacher) once upon a time began in college at UNC Greensboro. After a mountaintop proposal and a three-year engagement, the couple kicked off their happily ever after with a royal affair. “I felt like a princess in a modern fairy tale,” Alicia says. To drive home the theme, old-fashioned storybooks topped tables, and the newlyweds exited in a carriage. After the ceremony, Alicia and Tameka welcomed loved ones to a party at the Gantt Center’s rooftop pavilion. Gold chiavari chairs and floating candles sparkled against the space’s floor-to-ceiling windows. The newlyweds cut into a regal gold and ivory cake with layers of almond and strawberry lemonade.  Alicia and Tameka gifted guests with wine corks for practical reasons: “Our family and friends love to party, so they’ll use them,” Alicia says.