A Timeless Museum Wedding in Charlotte, North Carolina

Ashley Appiagyei and Michael Cole met on a dating app in April of 2018. At the time, Ashley was in her last year of medical school and Michael was teaching middle school science in Charlotte. “We both immediately felt comfortable with each other and ended up talking for almost four hours,” Ashley says. After that, their conversation never ebbed. The duo found themselves spending every day together that week, so it came as little surprise to either when a relationship naturally formed. Two years later, in October of 2020, Michael proposed at a secluded fountain during a trip to Puerto Rico.

Ashley and Michael tied the knot in private during the pandemic, but they were thrilled to invite 250 guests to join them for the official party a few years later. The couple decided to celebrate their love with a a black-tie wedding on September 3, 2023, at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Even though we went with a black-tie affair for our wedding, we still wanted to capture a sense of ease and fun,” Ashley notes. “The Mint Museum is a gorgeous venue in Uptown Charlotte that has a magnificent view of the Charlotte skyline which our guests got to enjoy all night long.”

With help from Evelyn Kibwana from Evelyn Events, Ashley and Michael threw a classic, elegant celebration with a black and white color palette. “As soon as we met her, we instantly connected, and felt reassured that she would handle all the complexities with the wedding,” Ashley says of the spark the duo felt with their planner.

Here, every timeless detail from the couple’s wedding celebration, as documented by Casey H Photos. 

Since they waited years to celebrate with all of their loved ones, Ashley and Michael made sure to throw all of the events they wanted. The weekend kicked off with a rehearsal dinner and a cultural wedding celebration. Ashley wore a gold beaded dress with a corset bodice and mermaid skirt while Michael wore a white and gold outfit. The couple and their guests also took part in a money dance.

Ashley spent two full weeks shopping for her wedding dress. “I knew I wanted something form fitting but otherwise was very open when it came to styles,” she explains. When she tried on a strapless mermaid wedding dress with detachable sleeves from Anne Barge in a Boston salon, she knew it was the one. “I immediately felt glamorous and beautiful, and could imagine all the beautiful photos that I would get to look at for the rest of my life in that dress,” she remembers.

The bride finished her look with a cathedral length veil from Etsy and drop earrings. She wanted her dress to be the focal point, so she kept her makeup look simple and went with an updo hairstyle. 

Ashley held a cascading bouquet of white flowers and greenery, including calla lilies, orchids, and roses. “Created by CLUX and we were going with an elaborate, eye-catching effect with its flowing, waterfall-like design,” the bride notes.

Michael wore a black tuxedo from Generation Tux, which he paired with Buffalo Bills cufflinks (he’s a big fan!). The couple had a first look before the ceremony and took photos at the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s office with their son, Oliver.

That morning, Ashley’s brother, Osei, was on duty to get their one and a half year old son, Ollie, ready for the wedding. When they couldn’t find his black dress shoes, they spent the afternoon running around the city looking for new shoes. “Turns out it is not that easy to find black toddler dress shoes at the last minute!” Michael says.

One of the couple’s favorite memories of the day was taking photos with their son, who was barefoot but full of celebratory energy.

The couple chose to emphasize the beauty of the museum during their ceremony. Rows of white chairs were set for guests to sit in as they watched the couple exchange vows. The aisle was lined with floating candles in glass hurricanes and arrangements of baby’s breath placed on tall black pillars.

When the ceremony began, Michael made his entrance with Ollie before Ashley walked down the aisle with her parents. The couple chose “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers for the processional.

Ashley and Michael enlisted their mothers to help with a handfasting ceremony, where their hands were symbolically tied together. Then, they exchanged vows they wrote for each other. “Mike’s vows were about four pages long and I kept mine short and sweet,” Ashley says. 

In keeping with the celebration’s black and white color palette, the reception tables were dressed in white linens and paired with black chairs. The centerpieces included low white floral arrangements of hydrangeas and roses, tall baby’s breath arrangements in black vases, and candles at various heights.

The place settings featured black-rimmed chargers, black and white custom place settings, and matching menus. 

Ashley and Michael shared their first dance to “When You Love Someone” by Lukas Graham. After, the bride and her dad danced to “Dance With My Father” by Luther Vandross and Michael shared a dance with his mom to “Mama” by Boyz 2 Men. 

For dessert, guests dug into slices of the couple’s four-tiered wedding cake, which was decorated with a textured design in the buttercream icing and white flowers. “We went with an all-white-on-white wedding cake which is the epitome of elegance and sophistication,” Ashley says. “The goal was to create a stunning visual statement, offering a timeless and classic appeal.”

They chose vanilla bean cake with chocolate decadence filling, red velvet cake with cream cheese filling, and chocolate fudge cake with peanut butter cup filling.

After the wedding was over, the couple spent their honeymoon in Ochos Rios, Jamaica. To other duos planning a wedding, Ashley has some advice: “Give yourself some cushion room if you can, because things always cost more than you originally think,” she says. “We initially thought we wanted something simple, but once we started visiting venues and vendors, we realized that all the things we liked were much more expensive than we realized!”