Her story- It’s so funny because we are both from Baltimore, and have a similar background attending private/catholic schools and we are both very social. I am surprised we didn’t meet sooner! Instead one random weekend I was scrolling Instagram and “Instagram being Instagram”, knew to put men in suits on my explore page. So up pops this tall, chocolate man in a tailored grey suit and I clicked that “like” button so fast. Next thing I know I get all of these notifications that this same man is liking my pictures, and then talking to his friends under my picture LOL. So after we ended up having a conversation after he slid in MY dms, we exchanged numbers and despite the fact that at the time, I was living 7 hours away from Baltimore, we talked every day as if it didn’t matter. We went from texting all day, and late night phone calls, to planning dates to visit each other and our first international trip together, three months later. His story- IT GOES DOWN IN THE DMs … But seriously, I owe our introduction all to Instagram. IG’s algorithms propelled my post from a wedding near Charlotte, NC (where Shonté had been attending Law school) to the top of Shonté’s feed. She “liked” the post. I curiously checked out her account and noticed that she had a post about Howard University. I tagged some friends in the comment section of her post. She then slid into my DMs to inquire about my connection to her alma mater. And boom, there you have it!
Her story- I remember some time ago, Derrick asked me what my dream proposal was, and I said in Paris near the Eiffel tower. As our relationship progressed and we traveled so much, I realized that no matter how he proposed it would be special. So when the pandemic hit and we were banned from several countries, and issued a stay at home order, he became randomly frustrated and antsy. ( I found out later it was because he had planned on proposing in Paris!!!) During Covid we started spending more time outdoors, taking roadtrips to waterfalls and wineries etc. So when he said he wanted to go to a sunflower garden to practice his photography, I was so excited! I did my makeup, hair, and wore a gorgeous white tulle dress, something I figured would photograph well. It did cross my mind that he was acting weird when he went and got a haircut exactly a week after he JUST got a haircut. But because I love flowers so much, we got to the sunflower field on the perfect sunny day and I was engulfed with the beauty of the field. I remember derrick saying “ I think they have roses on that side” and then it’s all a blur. We’re walking, and then all of a sudden I see my dad and some close family and friends, and then I had tunnel vision on my now fiance’ doing the ugly cry as he got down on one knee and asked me to be his forever. August 23rd, 2020. His story- Surprising a person who claims “I can never be surprised” is no small task, but sit back and read along as I explain how I got her good! One very important detail you must know is that Shonté LOVES flowers. Because of that, I chose The Sun Flower Gardens of Westminster, MD as the location of the proposal. Shonté knows that I enjoy photography as a hobby and is always willing to be the subject of my shots. Using that as a decoy, I asked her to come with me to the gardens for some practice and to pick a fresh bouquet of flowers. Fast forward to the day. After fifteen minutes of picking flowers and taking photos, I walked her to an area of the gardens where our friends and family were hiding. And to say that she was surprised was an understatement! Moments after a pause to let the astonishment and high emotions subside, I got on one knee and asked her to marry me. She said, “yes” of course, and the rest is history!