Some love stories build slowly. Others seem to arrive from nowhere. For years, Brittany and Eddie Roman lived separate lives in separate cities, offering separate prayers with no real reason to believe those prayers were aimed at the same horizon. But they were. What looked like a whirlwind from the outside was more than a decade in the making—quietly, faithfully shaped by patience and trust.
Their paths first crossed in 2014, then stretched across states and seasons before finally landing on the same sun-soaked street in South Florida. Both had chosen faith over rushing and growth over convenience. When what they’d each been trusting in private became impossible to ignore, they didn’t overthink it. They followed where God led.
How They Met
In 2014, Brittany was living in Philadelphia and praying for a husband. “I left it to God,” she says. That same year, Eddie was in Atlanta managing a charity event for Brad Smith of the Philadelphia Eagles—The Style Games, a fashion showcase at Saks Fifth Avenue on the Main Line. He extended a VIP invitation to Brittany, a plus-size model.
Brittany got the email and ignored it. Days later, something nudged her back. An icon in Eddie’s email signature caught her eye, and she decided to RSVP. “That started the ball rolling,” recalls Eddie.
When they spoke for the first time, Brittany was struck by how openly and unapologetically Eddie carried his faith. “It resonated with me,” she says. The conversation flowed easily.
On her way to the event, Brittany received a call from Eddie asking for help. The airline had lost the luggage of a celebrity photographer covering the event, leaving her without anything to wear. Knowing Brittany’s background as a plus-size model, Eddie turned to her for help finding an outfit. That unexpected call became a turning point in their relationship. “Ever since then, our romance blossomed from a friendship,” says Brittany. For Eddie, the realization was even more profound. “God put it into my heart that Brittany was my wife.”
Over the next several years, they stayed connected through emails, texts and calls; it was always friendship first. Long before romance, the couple was dedicated to doing the internal work that forms a strong foundation for a marriage. Over time, the connection deepened across the miles.
They finally came together in person again in May of 2018, when Eddie traveled to Philadelphia. “It felt like it was real, but we still had work to do,” says Brittany. When he returned that Christmas, the question they’d both been circling could no longer wait.
“That trip was when we said, ‘What are we doing?'” recalls Brittany. From there, an intentional relationship began.
By 2019, both were working in Dallas. Then, before COVID-19 shut everything down in early 2020, Eddie had already relocated to South Florida. Brittany felt called to follow. A door opened, and Eddie drove to Pennsylvania to help move her to Miami, not yet understanding the full weight of the trip. “I didn’t know I was coming to get my wife,” he says.
Months later, Brittany found an apartment on the very same street, a five-minute walk from Eddie’s front door. “That’s when we knew it was not only a coincidence to be living that close,” Eddie says. “It was destiny.”
The Proposal
Eddie was at work when the feeling arrived, certain and unhurried. “God pulled me from work to go propose,” he says. “He showed me a restaurant in Miami: Juniper on the Water. I made the reservation. I went to the jewelry store and bought the rings. I bought 12 cards professing my love and our future together. Then I rushed home.”
Brittany had no idea. He told her to get dressed, that he was taking her out. “She looked beautiful,” Eddie recalls.
The restaurant staff knew what was coming and could barely contain themselves. Dessert arrived, bread pudding with a candle. The waiter was so overwhelmed with nerves he couldn’t light the candle. As Eddie proposed, the staff emerged with one ring, one band and one flower. When Brittany said yes, he presented all 12 cards, one by one.
“This was our first real date, and he proposed. We did everything in reverse. We got to know each other first. We did all the hard work first. We knew who each other was. We became best friends,” Brittany says.
The couple had a three-year engagement and planned the wedding themselves, with their friend Tye Gordon of DGM Flowers in Fort Lauderdale helping translate the vision into reality. “Tye made every single piece of what I wanted come to life,” says Brittany.
The Details
On December 21, 2023, Brittany and Eddie Roman welcomed 55 family members and friends to the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa in Fort Lauderdale for a ceremony they called A Royal Wedding by the Sea. The day was anchored in 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood…”, and every element was chosen with purpose.
“Today is the day ripe with symbolism and meaning. The numbers 12 21 are the same forward and backward. Symbolically, the date represents the beginning, the middle and the end,” the reverend spoke.
The oceanfront ceremony unfolded at sunset beneath a golden arch of cascading white florals, the Atlantic Ocean stretching endlessly behind them. Crystal chandeliers suspended from curved white arched structures lined the aisle, creating the illusion of an elegant ballroom. Deep red floral arrangements featuring roses, spray roses and hydrangeas rested atop sculptural gold stands reminiscent of Art Deco arches, adding height, drama and architectural elegance to the ceremony.
At the altar, gold arched framework was flanked by sweeping white orchids and roses, adding romance to the structured modern lines. Minimal greenery kept the design modern and dramatic. Seating was arranged traditionally with black and white ceremony chairs for contrast and sophistication. “For us, we felt commissioned to ‘bring Heaven to Earth’ in our ceremony and to invite our guests to participate in being a part of God’s kingdom by illustrating what it means to be a part of His royal priesthood through various components of our wedding, and the backdrop on the altar was a huge part of it,” says Eddie.
During the ceremony, the couple took communion. The couple’s last name was legally changed to Roman to represent a new generation and legacy as the king and queen of the new Roman family name. They were adorned with crowns during a crowning ceremony before the exchanging of rings.
As the ceremony began, a praise dancer performed a special dance down the aisle to the song Speak the Name by Koryn Hawthorne. The performance represented the spiritual anointing and worship being set in the atmosphere before the wedding vows and testimony took place.
Great-nephews and a great-niece served as junior groomsman and crown bearer, ring bearer and flower girl. Hotel guests paused to watch as the ceremony unfolded. “It ended up being 500 with everyone watching,” recalls Eddie.
The groom wore an ivory floral jacquard tuxedo jacket with black satin peak lapels from Milano Menswear, accented with a crystal-studded crown lapel pin and a black satin bow tie featuring a crystal pavé centerpiece. A deep red rose boutonniere with baby’s breath mirrored the bride’s bouquet. His groomsmen wore traditional black tuxedos with coordinating red and black bow ties, red pocket squares and white rose boutonnieres with baby’s breath.
The bride wore a dramatic custom strapless gown with a voluminous ruffled train from Jean Ralph Thurin Custom Design House, paired with a cathedral-length veil that swept the aisle behind her. She carried a bouquet of beautiful red roses accented with crystal embellishments that echoed the royal elegance woven throughout the celebration.
For the bridal party, Brittany chose red satin gowns by Jessica Angle that mirrored the bride’s florals and a bouquet of white roses.
The Celebration
By design, nothing about the reception was traditional. Guests had traveled from the Caribbean and Europe, and the room honored every mile they’d come. Latin GRAMMY-nominated Dominican singer-songwriter EliaCiM was also in attendance. A a live set by Dr. Cameron Trueblood as the couple made their entrance to the rendition of Bruno Mars’ Finesse, setting the tone for an evening that was equal parts elegant and joyful.
Rather than signing a traditional guest book, family and friends wrote messages on individual wooden leaves and added them to a family tree sculpture—a symbol of the new legacy Brittany and Eddie were beginning together.
“Every single part of our wedding was immensely deliberate and meaningful. For us, if you were a guest, we considered you family; and as we are starting a new family line from scratch with our name change, we thought for us what would be more meaningful was to have a family tree-type sign-in versus a traditional guestbook. Every guest became a leaf to our tree by witnessing and celebrating our union,” says Brittany and Eddie.
The ballroom carried the ceremony’s modern-glam aesthetic indoors. Black linens, gold chairs, towering floral centerpieces repurposed from the ceremony and crystal accents created a sophisticated, royal setting, while the sweetheart table echoed the altar with abundant white orchids, roses and regal crystal-beaded wine goblets gifted by the bride’s mother.
One of the evening’s most profound moments was a tradition the couple created expressly for the generations that will follow them: the Dance of Generations. With Here & Now by Luther Vandross filling the room, Eddie and Brittany called each family to the dance floor by their wedding year, one group at a time, until finally the newlyweds joined last. When Brittany’s mother, who was recovering from a broken leg, entered the dance floor, guests surrounded her as Dionne Warwick’s I Say a Little Prayer played, turning the moment into an emotional celebration of family, resilience and love.
The festivities continued with a spirited napkin toss set to Italian music—a new Roman family tradition—and concluded with Eddie and Brittany leading their guests through a Soul Train line, glow sticks in hand, to Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now. Dessert featured five tiers of custom cupcakes from Sweeter Days Bake Shop, along with an elegant two-tier buttercream cake accented with crystal-inspired gold detailing and red roses, providing a sweet finale to a celebration as unforgettable as the journey that led them there.
As the last guests departed and the celebration ended, what remained wasn’t simply the memory of an extraordinary wedding. It was the quiet certainty that had guided Brittany and Eddie from the very beginning. The beauty of the day wasn’t measured by the breathtaking oceanfront setting, the cascading florals or the celebration. It was found in the years of friendship, the seasons of waiting and the unwavering faith that the right love would arrive at the right time.
Their Royal Wedding by the Sea wasn’t the beginning of their story. It was the joyful celebration of a journey more than a decade in the making—one built on patience, purpose and the belief that some love stories unfold exactly as they’re meant to.
The Team
Venue: Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa
Florals & Decor: Tye Gordon, DGM Flowers
Bride’s Attire: Jean Ralph Thurin Custom Design House
Hair & Makeup: Shirley of Diva Artistry
Groom’s Attire: Milano Menswear
Praise Dancer: Patrice Clarke
DJ: DJ T-Willy
Wedding Singer: Dr. Cameron Trueblood
Draping: Preston Latouche
Photography: Jasmine Pritchett
Videography: Complete Wedding + Events
Cake/Dessert: Sweeter Days Bake Shop