The Bride Was Barefoot For This Free-Spirited Fall Wedding

When Samantha + Kayen first started planning their Richmond, Virginia wedding, pictures from Kayen’s romantic sunset proposal in Malibu were a key source of inspiration. 

“When we were looking back on our engagement photos and the overall aesthetic of that incredible Malibu trip,” says the couple, “we noticed a pattern of terracotta orange and sage green following us. We started with that and ultimately allowed intuition to dictate our next steps.”

From there a free-spirited Fall wedding at Mankin Mansion took shape. The vibe was ethereal + autumnal, the music choices were immaculate, and the colorful changing leaves provided a perfect backdrop. One of our favorite details? Bride Samantha spent her whole wedding day barefoot!

Samantha + Kayen brought thoughtful intentionality to every decision they made, and you can feel the glorious “golden mood” they created in all of the pictures that Rise & Roam snapped throughout the celebration.

“Grace Loves Lace was the first and only wedding dress boutique I entered, and I immediately found my wedding dress,” remembers Samantha. “Before the appointment I was asked to select five gowns in advance for me to try on, so I selected a nice variety with the understanding that one dress in particular was my favorite. My mother and I arrived at the appointment and were greeted with a warm smile and rose petal tea. Our stylist, Emily, was so kind and personable. We had the whole boutique to ourselves and felt right at home.”

“The last dress I tried on was Noah,” says Samantha of the moment she found *the one,* “and I selected it for my ceremony dress”

This beautiful bridal party pic is your sign to go with a mismatched bridal party palette and let each of your besties rock their own favorite color from your wedding’s color world.

The couple’s decision to make the day’s whimsical, warm-tone florals a mix of fresh and dried flowers was about more than just decor: “We were inspired by fall florals as the main stage of decor but also representative of the timeline of our lives,” Samantha + Kayen say. “Growing with promise while also acknowledging the necessity of pruning what no longer serves us. Dried flowers alongside fresh cuttings were a nod to this motif.”

What’s more front page-worthy than your wedding day! So cute that Kayen + Samantha went for a wedding newspaper as their ceremony program.

“The Love Altar we created was assembled in a ceremony by our bridal party,” the couple says of the ceremonial setup beneath their floral archway. “Each Bridesbabe and Groomsmen brought an item to our altar, which was nested under the flower-adorned iron arch where we shared our vows. Each item represented aspects of our relationship that we wanted to continue fostering in our marriage: such as a strong foundation rooted in clear communication, prosperity, wisdom, love, vitality, protection, remembrance, gratitude, commitment, cleansing energy, and grounding.

“Our favorite part about the altar was watching each person carry their offering with pride and creating this magical space for our family, friends, and ancestors to witness the cementing of our Union. After Samantha’s father gave her away, Kayen and Samantha placed their own offerings (crystals and the bouquet) together as the last act before officially becoming husband and wife.” 

Guitarist Jose Pomier and percussionists Tommy Rogers and DeSean Gault graced the ceremony with intentionally chosen flamenco music and West African drumming.

How perfect are the pearl hairpins that Samantha tucked into her updo above her wedding veil!

Check out our collection of aisle decor ideas if you’re loving the bohemian feel of those aisle-lining antique rugs.

Our Favorite Memory From The Wedding
{Kayen} Our first look was unforgettable, to say the least. Mainly because what I thought was the first look was actually my best man, Jordan Mason, in his own wife’s wedding dress. This was his payback because I did the same to him on his wedding day two years prior. The real first look with Samantha was tearful and comforting. We originally planned on not having a first look, but I am so glad we did otherwise, I would have been an absolute MESS at the altar.
{Kayen} I remember sitting at the head table with Samantha and looking out at all of the people conversing with one another during dinner. It was absolutely amazing to see so many of our cherished friends and family having a great time. To watch my uncle clink glasses with our friends Morgan and Dylan, to see Samantha’s older sister Nikole and my younger brother Ty do the Kid-n-Play dance move when she was a whole eight months pregnant…it was timeless, it was priceless, it was everything I could have dreamed of and more.
{Samantha} My favorite memory was listening to our friend and rapper for Kayen’s band Weekend Plans, Marquis Hazelwood, A.K.A Logos The Poetic, recite an original Love Poem he wrote for our wedding. His poem ignited the beginning of our ceremony and laid out our love in such a beautiful and powerful way. His lyricism and use of double entendres were profound, and everyone who witnessed his performance was awe-struck. We cried, laughed, gasped, and affirmed everything he said. It was such an honor to be seen and loved by someone so talented as Marquis.
{Samantha} Hands down, my mom getting up in front of everyone and singing her revised version of It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie by The Ink Spots was one of my favorite moments of the wedding. For one, she doesn’t sing in public- at all! And two, the song she rewrote was actually a song Kayen, his best friend Justin, and I covered for my grandfather’s birthday years ago. My grandfather has since passed, so what a beautiful way to honor his memory than by singing one of his favorite tunes. There was not a dry eye in the house. I remember running to her and holding her tightly, pressing my forehead to hers, and thanking her for her sweet, brave offering.

Definitely explore our lists of the best terracotta bridesmaid dresses, floral bridesmaid dresses, champagne bridesmaid dresses ,and sage green bridesmaid dresses if you’re into the color world that Samantha’s crew created with their looks!

“Behind our head table Kayen curated a plant wall which now serves as our marital altar in our home,” says Samantha. “He chose plants that represented prosperity, love, protection, luck, abundance and fertility. You’ll see pothos varieties, a bromeliad, and an orchid behind us in the reception, fostering all the good energy we invoked in our ceremony.”

We are HERE for Samantha’s hair transformation! Why not go for two different looks your big day?

“As we are both musicians, we wanted to envelop our wedding day with sounds that are old, new, and worldly,” says the couple of their carefully curated evening of West African drumming, jazz combos, and R&B, and Hip Hop classics.

Rhythm of Love kept the tunes coming so the happy couple and their guests could tear up the dance floor.

Our Advice To Those Planning Now
-Your wedding should be about YOU; your interests, your aesthetic, and your overall vibe. If you are putting your money and time into planning, then your wedding should be a reflection of who you are as a couple. Keeping specific details about your planning process between the two of you helps. This way, third-party commentary/opinions do not alter your shared vision. When people asked, “How’s wedding planning going?” we simply responded with “It’s great!”. And it truly was great because we were committed to a process that worked for us, not anyone else.
-If possible, have a long engagement. We planned our wedding for exactly two years. Literally, We were engaged on October 27th, 2021, and on October 27th, 2023 we were writing our vows and finalizing last-minute decisions on our ceremony script. We spaced out our planning to once a week on Wednesdays. We lovingly referred to it as “Wedding Wednesdays” and enjoyed planning with a glass of wine and our wedding planner binder from Barnes and Noble. We front-loaded big decisions like choosing the venue, florist, hair and make-up artist, and catering first because those are the services that get booked up quickly.
-Check-in and make changes. Sometimes Wednesday wasn’t the best day to think about wedding planning that week. We made it a habit to check in, and share our mental capacity to plan, how we were emotionally responding to the process, and discussed if any changes needed to be made or if we simply needed to take a break from planning.
-Premarital counseling was essential for us. Couples therapy is not just for relationships that are failing. Our therapist took what was already a healthy functioning relationship and made room for us to share dedicated space for just us. Wedding planning, work-life, and social drama didn’t matter in our sessions because we were talking about our relationship and what mattered the most to us. Some incredibly beautiful moments were shared in our sessions, and we are eager to continue this work throughout our marriage. We see couples therapy as a proactive practice of commitment more so than a reactive choice to “fix” anything. Quite honestly, there’s nothing to “fix” if you are devoted to clear and consistent communication with your partner. And this type of mentality was the air under our wings in terms of wedding planning.
-If you are really wanting to “ride in style”, rent a party bus; limos are overrated.
-Stay by each other's side, every moment of the day if you can. The day goes by so fast, and you want every memory to be with your life partner.

A Grand Exit

At the end of the day, is there anything better than sharing some fries with your person? So glad Rise & Roam caught this intimate backseat late night snack moment before the newlyweds were whisked away by Richmond Limousine.

Congratulations, Samantha + Kayen! Your Richmond wedding day was an ethereal, autumnal dream. Best wishes from GWS!!