Wedding Nouveau is the Premier style guide for intercultural brides and multi-ethnic wedding inspiration featuring wedding dresses, wedding customs, traditions and photography around the world. Celebrating interfaith, intercultural, interracial and multi-ethnic wedding style and inspiration for today’s modern & global savvy bride and that is why we are so thrilled to be mentioned in the Spring Issue. You can see our favorite event planner, Lisa Light, in the behind the scenes section as well as read more about the Maya Marriage of Many in this years spring issue. But wait, there is more! For a limited time, you can download a free copy of the spring issue and read all about the Maya Marriage of Many happening 12-12-2012 by visiting http://weddingnouveau.com/magazine and subscribing.

Check out some of the photos below!

I’ve been terrible about giving updates on the MMM. It’s been an absolute whirl-wind, and i havent worked this hard since i was VP of something or other at a pretty big company. I have to say, i absolutely love it. This couple, this event, everything – it really has brought my past to my present, and my present toward my future.

The Trifecta of Love – Hope, Belief and Faith. Live and in action. crazy, i tell ya!

So, here’s their story, in their own words:

Tell us why you want to be a part of the epic Maya Marriage of Many on 12.12.12.
Being a part of the epic Maya Marriage of Many on 12.12.12 would be an unforgettable experience and a day full of many memories. I would sincerely enjoy being a part of this because I believe my fiancé deserves a day so memorable, so unforgettable and so magical that we would have to look back at pictures to believe such a thing happened to us. I say my fiancé is so deserving because he has done so much to not only win my love and devotion but the love and respect of my family as well, something I thought would never happen. For you see, neither of us ever thought we would marry. For the last twenty something years I never wanted to marry because I had never met anyone I thought was worth my life long love, respect and utter devotion. Most of the gentleman I was privileged to meet seemed to be a bunch of curmudgeons, so my heart was hidden away among ivory towersand incased in ice. In all my years my fiancé Abel has been the only man to try and succeed in climbing over all the walls I had erected and melting the ice around my heart. I feel that being a part of this Maya Marriage would not signify the conclusion but the beginning of a lifetime of adventure, loveand laughter with a man who is a king among princes and better than any girlhood dream. Participating in the Maya Marriage of Many with my fiancé would make me feel as if I have truly lived, truly loved and done something I never thought I would: expose my heart.

Photo: AJ Photography www.ajlovestories.com

Bio and History of the Couple
Abel Garcia Jr and Mary Janelle Franklin
Engaged October 8th, 2011 on top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
Ring- 3 diamonds, (2 carats) from Zales

Abel’s info: Graduated from Lake Dallas HS in 2005 and went on to become a part time owner and Vice President of AFFM ( Abel’s Fine Furniture Movers) in Dallas.
Born in: Corpus Christi, Tx on July 29, 1986 Parents: Abel Sr and Rebecca Garcia

Janelle: Graduated from: Lake Dallas HS in 2006 and went on to graduate from Harding University May 2011 in Searcy, Ar. Majored in Social Sciences.
Born: February 18, 1987 in Dallas, Tx but grew up in Lae, Papua New Guinea. Parents: Willie and Pam Franklin.

Engagement story: We originally met in High School in 2005 but lost touch once I graduated and then three years ago we were reacquainted and have been best friends since then. October 1st we were scheduled to take a business trip to France for one our clients, Ligne Roset, for a period of ten days. Little did I know that Abel had previously asked my dad for my hand in marriage and had been carrying the ring around in his pocket trying to decide when and how to propose.I of course had no idea, I was just so exhausted from working but excited to be there and see the sights. October 8th, 2 days before we wee scheduled to return home, he suggested we visit the Eiffel Tower at night to see it light up and to see the view from the top. So after dinner we made our way over to the tower and made the decision to take the stairs and walk all the way up to the top! I was told that it is over 100 stories tall, so as you can imagine we had worked up a light sweat by the time we reached the top, but the view was beyond beautiful. For the next forty-five minutes we strolled around on the tower but I kept noticing Abel was engaging several people in conversations and seems a little distracted. He later told me he was “interviewing” people to try and find someone to record the proposal for our family back home. He ended up meeting this sweet couple from Moscow celebrating their one year anniversary and they agreed to record us so we could make a video for everyone at home. As soon as they hit the record button Abel got down on one knee and said something along the lines of this: ” Family, friends this is for all of you who are at home right now. I want to ask you, Janelle, to take this ring and be my wife and I want you to know that this is a symbol of our love and a promise that we will make it to our wedding; no quitting, no giving up because I want forever with you. Will you marry me? ” I of course was crying and smiling and disbelieving that he would do something so publicly. During the proposal a crowd of 250 or more had gathered around and were cheering and taking pictures, which just added to the excitement. We returned home two days, shared the news with our families and they, of course, were laughing and crying and happy as could be. Ever since then, Abel and I have been planning to join or lives together and live as man and wife. Some say we have lived a fairytale, but I say it has been better than any fairytale and Abel has been better than any prince I could have dreamed of.

Janelle

Photo: AJ Photography www.ajlovestories.com

On February 13 at 1030 am, Frisco, Tx Councilman John Keating, Mayor Pro-Tem and House of Representatives Candidate Pat Fallon, and Mayor Maher Muso were on hand to unveil the winner of the Maya Marriage of Many Contest. The very deserving couple, Janelle Franklin and Abel Garcia, Jr along with a dozen of their family members were on hand to find out if they won. They did!

Check out the video that aired on the NBC Channel 5 News in Dallas at 5pm , 6pm and again this morning never been on the news before

nbc5 today at 5_30am-belize wedding contest – frisco couple -2012-2-14 (1)

For Immediate Release

photo by jose luis zapata photography

For One Local Bride, Valentines Day just turned South, way South…All the way to Belize, Central America!

A Frisco, TX bride-and-groom-to-be who entered the www.2012weddingsbelize.com Facebook Maya Marriage of Many contest is about to get a big surprise! Will it be the Grand Prize or an amazing Runner Up package?

Influency Group in Frisco contacted the Blushing Bride Boutique on Main Street to identify the perfect couple to participate in the contest. They worked diligently to inform as many people as possible about the contest and get them to fall in love with their story and vote for them in hopes of winning a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be married in the Mayan Mountains of Belize on the steps of the 3200 year old ancient Mayan Palace of Cahal Pech on 12/12/12.

Our local couple is within the top two slots to win the Grand Prize – one of the only 12 coveted available Bridal Packages for the Maya Marriage of Many on 12/12/12. The Grand Prize is valued over $16,000 and includes the exotic, exclusive wedding ceremony and a honeymoon on the tropical paradise island of Ambergris Caye. The ceremony will be orchestrated by Lara Goldman of Romantic Travel Belize, in conjunction with luxury wedding planner Lisa Light of Lisa Light Destination Bride and celebrity photographer, Terry Gruber, among others. Second Prize is Wedding for Two plus a Free 5 Night Package in Belize, and many other amazing prizes valued over $3000.

The 12.12.12 Event will bring together 12 ‘blushing brides’ and their fiancés, along with six of their closest friends and family. This incredibly romantic, intimate and elegant affair is one befitting of its origins. The Maya Marriage of Many will be the one and only time multiple weddings will take place together on any Maya site in Belize, therefore, each couple’s love story is forever woven into the fabric of Mayan culture and tradition.

The 12.12.12 Event is being held in honor of the last remaining days of the 5126 year old Mayan calendar and the beliefs of many will be tested as time ticks down in 2012. On December 21, 2012, the world as we know it will end – or so it’s thought by those who believe the culmination of the 5126 year old Mayan calendar signals the end of time. Of course, the Maya who still live in Belize, would beg to differ. Many of the Maya in Belize, the epicenter of the ancient Mayan world, reject popular doomsday scenarios and instead see the calendar’s end as a joyous time of spiritual rebirth, renewal and new beginnings.

“As the home of the Western Hemisphere’s largest barrier reef and majestic mountains dotted with Maya sites, Belize is a culturally rich destination wedding location for those looking to celebrate their love and good fortune in a truly epic way,” says Lara Goldman, a destination management consultant and owner and founder of Romantic Travel Belize. “Since this is the only place in the Yucatan where you can get married on the actual Maya Palace’s themselves. The site of this epic event dates back to 1200 BC. Guests will truly experience something extraordinary.”

The Big Reveal, including a formal announcement of the Grand Prize winning couple, will be made at a press conference the morning of February 13 at 10:30 a.m. inside the Lebanon Church on the grounds of the Frisco Heritage Center with Councilman John Keating, Lara Goldman, and representatives from the Frisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, Influency Group, Blushing Bride Boutique, and more.

Later that day, there will be an evening “UnBelizeably in Love Cocktail Reception” and event at the Frisco Heritage Center Depot February 13 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at 6321 Page Street. The event will include exclusive vendors for all things weddings, a Belize information booth, wine and food, a fashion show, and giveaways on a local, national and international level. You will not want to miss this event – the public is invited to attend.

You Betta Belize It!

Contact: Lara Goldman
Romantic Travel Belize, Ltd
US 215-469-2496
Belize – 011-501-670-5272
Lara@romantictravelbelize.com
www.2012weddingsbelize.com

Kara Cleaver
Influency Group, Inc
kcleaver@influencygroup.com
www.InfluencyGroup.com
972-200-0538