‘I Do, Redo’ with Jolicia and Adrian
If CTV’s latest hit ‘I Do, Redo’ has taught us anything, it’s that really special moments are definitely worth revisiting. Taking couples whose original weddings didn’t quite go as planned and giving them the opportunity to recreate the wedding of their dreams, the show focuses on big time second chances and incredibly resilient romances.
We took a moment to chat with recently featured ‘I Do, Redo’ couple Jolicia and Adrian Ward whose real life practical and understated Southern romance is truly a love for the ages.
CBG: Jolicia, Adrian, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! Tell us a bit about yourselves. Who are you?
Jolicia: If I could describe who I am and keep it short and sweet, I would say I’m a true city girl from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania raised in the Coastal life of Hampton Roads, Virginia. That makes me fast talker, shopping lover and travel guru with a true love for water right off the beach. I have excelled in communication and still dream of one day being a news anchor and sharing my passion for journalism with the world. As for now though I’m a mother, wife, and business women working in the healthcare sector helping military families everyday. I’m right where God needs me to be.
Adrian: Who am I? Well, I’m a true Southern gentleman raised in a small town in Virginia. I was blessed to share family land with my love ones and have had the opportunity to maintain friendships from kindergarten until today. I have a love for my home, church, and travel, but my family and my children are what drives me to be the best that I can be. A true Army Veteran who’s always ready for the next adventure and just hopes that my luck never runs short.
CBG: Wow - what introductions. Thank you so much for sharing all of that. We have to say, we were totally enchanted with your episode of ‘I Do, Re Do’. The connection you two had was absolutely electric. If you could describe your love in one sentence, what would it be?
Jolicia & Adrian: We have that can’t eat, can’t sleep, jump over the moon type of LOVE.
CBG: And that’s totally the reason why viewers absolutely loved you. The authentic connection was just so undeniable. Now ‘I Do, Redo’ is all about featuring couples whose original weddings didn’t quite go as planned - Tell us about your original wedding?
Jolicia: Our original wedding took place in a court house in Virginia. We only had two weeks to prepare for our wedding so we had to purchase a small two tier cake from Walmart and we purchased some roses and the figurine separate to add to the cake.
CBG: Oh my goodness, such a fast turnaround. Lucky you were able to find so much of what you needed in one place!
Jolicia: I also purchased Adrian’s wedding ring from Walmart. It was less than $50, but it was all I had at the time. The court house ceremony was quick and unfortunately some of our direct family members couldn’t attend because there wasn’t enough time in advance for them to prepare.
CBG: Oh, no, we’re so sorry to hear it. What happened after the ceremony?
Jolicia: After the courthouse, we took some photos holding our marriage certificate and then we headed to a local restaurant for our reception. Everyone covered their own tab but luckily we had dessert covered!
CBG: Ha, the two tiered Walmart cake!
Jolicia: Exactly. Our first wedding was filled with anxiety, unknown, and sorry because Adrian was getting ready to leave myself and our two year old daughter for over six months. We were more concerned about his absence and my personal health than we were the wedding. I wouldn’t trade our original wedding for the world because it showed true love and sacrifice, but I had always dreamed of just having another chance to solely enjoy our love and nothing less.
CBG: We can only imagine. What made you want to step up and submit yourselves for this once in a lifetime opportunity?
Jolicia: To be honest, it came across as an opportunity of a lifetime! All we had to do was share our story and we can have a dream wedding? What! Are you kidding me? I couldn’t even believe the opportunity was real! A wedding was all that we were ever missing in our journey! We went to college, we had children, we became homeowners and worked great jobs, but we never had a real wedding photo to frame. The opportunity was worth more than the lotto and like my mama always says, “you got to be in it to win it” so I applied and here we are today!
CBG: That’s phenomenal! It definitely sounds like it was more than meant to be. Now Adrian, you went from living a civilian life to a military life, and now, all the way to a reality TV life - what has that transition been like for you? Has it been hard adapting to your new realities?
Adrian: The transition has been surreal. At first I wasn’t ready for my military journey to come to end because of not knowing what’s next. Having the opportunity to be apart of reality TV has proven to me that it’s perfectly ok to not know what’s next and that everything happens for a reason. The wedding was an experience of a lifetime and I’m still on cloud nine from it. At this point I’m taking it one day at time.
CBG: Aw, well if that’s not the most charming response in the world we don’t know what is. Jolicia, what about you? Was it hard getting used to having cameras around all the time?
Jolicia: Well let me tell y’all! Jessica Mulroney was on point when she said there is nothing shy about me. When those cameras were rolling I was ready! Maybe because they had so many surprises for us in store.
CBG: That could definitely have been a part of it. So much genuine excitement!
Jolicia: They never ever told us what we were doing or where we were going. We were always surprised with something way beyond anything we could ever imagine and I was so overwhelmed and grateful that I would forget that the cameras were even there. I was just living in the moment and hoping that it never ends.
CBG: How amazing! No wonder you were so engaged - you were literally living out your dreams. While that must have been magical, it also must have been a bit odd getting the chance to live out such a drastically different wedding to the original one you had. I mean, you went from getting married in a simple dress in a courthouse to wearing the wedding gown of your dreams, how did that change your perspective on weddings?
Jolicia: You know I always had such a grand perspective on weddings. Having the opportunity to try on dresses & chose your color schemes was just something I felt every girl should be able to experience after finding her soulmate. It’s like the perfect recipe to our forever. At times I would convince myself that a wedding doesn’t define your love, which was true at the time, but after experiencing having the wedding of my dreams, I’m here to testify that a wedding not only defines your love, but also celebrates your love with the ones you both love the most. My perspective on weddings will forever be more meaningful and significant and I can finally stop crying at every single one I attend now that I’ve finally experienced one of my own!
CBG: Now that's such a sweet and meaningful perspective shift! The best part was that not only did you get to have the “love defining” wedding of your dreams, you also got to work with some game changing professionals! Working with an internationally acclaimed stylist and ‘Bridal Guru’ like Canadian legend Jessica Mulroney must have been a total dream come true. What were some of the biggest takeaways that you learned from her?
Jolicia: I was completely honoured to have the opportunity to work the legendary Jessica Mulroney! She was amazing. She made me comfortable and she was so easy to talk to and relate to. Especially since she’s a mom just like myself. She understand the sacrifices we as women have to make not only for the sake of our careers, but for our health.
CBG: Absolutely. That must have been so special.
Jolicia: Sharing our University memories with her was special, but sharing the Cayman Islands with her was even better. I just sit back and smile at all our great moments. Even when the cameras stopped rolling and we just shared the dance floor together with sandy feet surrounded by love. She taught me that love is strong, women are strong, and to never give up on what you love or who you love. She’s a true inspiration.
CBG: Absolutely, we couldn’t agree more. Now we know that Jessica is known for finding beautiful and meaningful ways to really celebrate the couples that she works with, were there any “must have” details that you really wanted to have included in your day?
Jolicia: There really wasn’t anything mandatory for our special day outside of getting all of our direct family there and situated safe and sound. I was just so grateful for the overall experience that I knew I would love anything they created for us. The only thing I can truly say that I asked for was to add a touch of the color mauve.
CBG: Mauve, how interesting! Why Mauve?
Jolicia: Mauve is the pale bluish purple that sits between violent and pink in the color wheel. It evokes feelings of devotion, romance and renewal and we were traveling millions of miles to renew our love.
Adrian: What really mattered to me the most was the overall beach setting. Her dream was always to get married somewhere off the water so I know that that small detail would contribute to making her dreams come true. Also having our family attend considering the simple fact that some of them didn’t have the opportunity to make it the first time. Our families are very important to the both of us and it contributes to both of our happiness and union.
CBG: Sigh, you two really are ten steps past perfect aren’t you? Was there anything that you thought you really wanted in a big day, but then later realized wasn’t really as important as you had initially planned?
Jolicia & Adrian: We both always said we wanted a lot of people at our wedding because we have so many friends and so many family members outside of our direct family but we quickly realized at the Cayman Islands that that wasn’t really as important as we initially planned. We had our front line, the ones who helped us with our baby when we needed it, the ones who prayed for us and the ones who fought for us and because of this union there wasn’t one dry eye in our audience.
CBG: Sounds magical. While every wedding is beautiful, there’s always one or two standout moments that just find a way to stick with you. What were some of your favourite magic moments from your Caribbean Club ‘I Do, Redo’ wedding?
Jolicia: The overall experience of having an outdoor beach wedding at The Caribbean Club was pure magic! The moment that still sticks with me the most that felt like an outer body experience was when I was saying my wedding vowels that I initially wrote at home in a private setting. I said to him, “You pray for my safety, my security, my happiness and most importantly our family but what I really love the most is when I have days when I’m not feeling my best and I say, “Baby, how do I look?” and you always say, “Girl, I’ll holla.” He started to cry instantly. At first I was kind of confused, like why did that part make you cry? But then I get to our reception just to find out that he made an entire line of his own rum with Casper and named the rum, “I’ll Holla.” We still can’t believe it, but it just goes to show you how we really are just soulmates.
CBG: Oh wow, what are the odds! That must have been both hilarious and incredible! Adrian, what about you?
Adrian: My initial standout moment would of course be when I saw her for the first time in a wedding gown. I literally was speechless, loss for words because she was that breathtaking. But the moment that continues to make me smile over and over was our family singing The Temptations’ “My Girl” around our dinner table as we waited to be served. It was a blessing to just see it all come together and witness everyone singing in the middle of paradise. These memories will last a lifetime.
CBG: We can only imagine. Sounds like you really did have a lifetime full of magical moments all in one evening. Now that it’s all said and done and you can look back on it a bit, what did being featured on ‘I Do, Redo’ mean to you?
Jolicia & Adrian: Having the opportunity to be apart of such an amazing show means the world to the both of us! This really is a feel good show! We are not only honoured to have the opportunity to share our story with the world, but to add a dream wedding in the end puts the icing on the cake!
We are just grateful to have been selected along with nine other couples and take on the ride of our lives.
CBG: And what a ride it has been. Many couples as of late have had to reroute their scheduled celebrations. What advice do you have for others who might be having to make adjustments to their current dream wedding plans?
Jolicia: I would tell every couple in the world that if you had to postpone or make adjustments to your current wedding plans, love is not canceled. In the end, love conquers all. You will vow to stick together through all trials and tribulations and these unfortunate circumstances lie within your vows. This is the time where we all unwind and reevaluate what matters the most and love is what matters the most. Your time to celebrate your union will come but what you endure now will be apart of your testimony for trial. Hang in there!
Adrian: I say if you really love that person you will find a way. These unfortunate times are only just a road block. Keep in mind that real love conquers all. I waited over a decade before I saw my beautiful wife in a gown that I never knew if I would even have the opportunity to see. The wait is always worth it.
CBG: How meaningful and oh so true. Alright, finally, what takeaway do you hope this show gives others who might be watching at home?
Jolicia & Adrian: To all of you watching at home, we hope this show brings you faith, we hope this show brings you hope, but most importantly we hope this show brings you love! Dreams come true so keep dreaming and continue to walk in love.
CBG: Amazing. Well thank you so much for talking to us Jolicia and Adrian. It truly was such a pleasure.
Be sure to catch Jolicia & Adrian on their latest episode of ‘I DO, REDO’
and don’t forget to catch the season finale of this Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on CTV.
