ENGAGEMENTS

44 LONDON + SHAGARI 48 BRITTANY + CHARLIE 51 JAMEKIA + AUSTIN 52 CORDDARRYL + JEFFREY 54 LARELLE + JOJUAN

REEM PHOTOGRAPHY

London+ Shagari

LITTLE RIVER STUDIOS - MIAMI, FL

PHOTOGRAPHED BY REEM

PHOTOGRAPHY

WEDDING DATE: March 11, 2023

WEDDING LOCATION: The Majestic Downtown

OCCUPATIONS: London is a Digital Marketing Strategist & Shagari is a Wedding and Portrait Photographer, Owner of Achroma Studio, and a Real Estate Agent HOW THEY MET: We met at a party in 2009 and then connected on Twitter (Shagari slid in my DMs) shortly after.

PROPOSAL STORY: We planned a trip to Tulum, Mexico for some much-needed "r&r". This was good cover as Shagari had been working nonstop. On the second day of our trip, we started the morning at Yaan Healing Sanctuary with a two-and-a-half-hour couples treatment. It was so relaxing and therapeutic. That night we visited Kin Toh Azulik, a treehouse restaurant nestled in the Mayan Jungle. As we were being led to our nest to eat we were interrupted by the restaurant staff asking if they could take a picture of us for their social media account. We followed them across the property and settled to take photos in a beautiful secluded location near the water. While taking the photos, Shagari got down and popped the question! Turns out, the photos were not for the restaurant’s social media page! Shagari is a photographer and understood the importance of having this moment captured in time. He hired a photographer to come out

FAVORITE THING TO DO AS A COUPLE? We make self-care and traveling a priority so we don’t lose ourselves in work and become disconnected. We love anything that involves food and new experiences, lol. So, it’s a pleasure when we get to combine them into one. We both enjoy traveling and trying new things. The first thing we do after booking a flight is research all the restaurants we would like to try in the area. London is a true foodie so our meal itinerary is always an adventure. We make sure to have date nights even if it’s not always out, we will plan romantic dinners at home or a backyard movie night.

HOW HAS WEDDING PLANNING BEEN SO FAR? Wedding planning has been easy and enjoyable since the start. We were able to secure all of our preferred vendors without any trouble. We have documents and spreadsheets set up to help us stay on track monthly with our planning responsibilities. We like to bounce ideas off of each other on how things should look or how we want people to experience things on our big day. It’s been fun to combine our creative strengths to make one of the biggest days of our lives magical. Shagari’s knowledge of weddings as a wedding photographer has been so useful in

and play along with his master plan to surprise me with a proposal. I said yes of course. We returned to our room where the staff had champagne, a beautiful bouquet of roses, and rose petals adorning the room. Our travel agent and everyone had been in on everything the entire time.

ENGAGEMENT SESSION THEME: Our engagement session took place at Little River Studios in Miami where our photographer is based. We thought it would be a great way to sneak in a little trip and get another much-needed break. We didn’t have a theme but wanted the looks to be timeless. The location allowed us to do both indoor and outdoor with several different backdrops and looks. FIRST DATE? We got crawfish and a daiquiri and talked for hours. The key to a woman’s heart in Louisiana is to buy her crawfish.

our planning process. He’s been to more weddings than the average person and knows how the flow is supposed to go, what guests enjoy and how couples can make the most out of the experience.

TELL US WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST ON

THE WEDDING DAY: The first look. Both of our primary love languages are quality time and we know we will spend the majority of the day celebrating with our loved ones so this small period where it will just be the two of us is something we are both looking forward to. To make it extra special, we’ve decided to share our private vows during this time.

(Shagari) I get to take the next step and become one with my best friend, a woman I have loved relentlessly. We are sharing this moment with the people that mean the most to us. My father is an ordained elder who will be performing his first wedding and it happens to be our wedding ceremony. I already felt blessed getting to marry London, but to have my loving father do this makes it that much more meaningful.

How did you know your partner was the one?

London is everything that any man would want. She’s ambitious, smart, caring and beautiful. She’s supportive and trustworthy. Our story isn’t the perfect love story and we have had our share of disagreements and breakups in the past. In our time apart, nothing came close to the feeling of being in her arms. Nothing has ever felt quite like our love. When we disagree over trivial things I always go back to what life felt like without her. We wake up and choose one another every day. She’s already my best friend. She gets me and I always want to be better for her, myself and our future family. I admire how loving she is with her friends and family. It’s the sweetest thing to see her get excited about everyone’s special moments and how much she values family. She’ll be a great wife and mother. I love her smile and all of our inside jokes. It’s a feeling you can’t buy. So it’s not that I can’t live without her. She’s the one because I feel so much more alive with her. She’s the one I would choose over and over without hesitation. - Shagari I knew he was the one when I felt in my soul that I was loved, safe and comfortable in his energy. I had a feeling that I could undoubtedly trust him to lead us as a family. Being with Shagari has not only made me think about our long-term future but actually plan it out by sitting down and talking through how we plan to achieve each goal or milestone in our timeline. He is kind, smart, thoughtful, loving and a great communicator. He’s my absolute best friend and I can be my whole, weird and goofy self with him. I admire his work ethic and drive to succeed. He makes me want to be better every single day. I’ve had so many friends and family tell me since I’ve been engaged that I’ve been radiating with love and lightness. He makes life easy for me. I never feel like I have to stress over a situation without him jumping in to help find a solution. We share the same values and that is what is important to me. - London

PHOTOGRAPHER: Kareem Virgo of Reem Photography MAKEUP: Tia Codrington of YSBeautyCo HAIR INSTALL: Christina Michelle of Nola Beauty TUX, SUIT & BOWTIES STYLED BY: Wayne Willis of Well Groomed Man

Brittany+ Charlie

JOSHUA TREE, CA

PHOTOGRAPHED BY REEM

PHOTOGRAPHY

WEDDING DATE: January 27, 2023

WEDDING LOCATION: The Majestic Downtown

OCCUPATIONS: (Brittany) Head of HR, (Charlie) Senior Marketer HOW THEY MET: Our initial encounter could be described as the epitome of a Hollywood Love Story. We first met during the let-out of a Beverly Hills club. I was leaving with my best friend, who is my maid of honor, and Charlie was doing the same with some of his friends. While we were both waiting for our cars at the valet, Charlie and my best friend recognized each other; they attended the same college and hadn’t seen each other since they graduated 5+ years prior. but that was it. Fast forward to a year later, we ended up at a mutual friend’s (at the time) birthday dinner. Funny enough, we sat directly across from each other so Charlie swears that I was staring at him from across the table in awe as he cracked his jokes which prompted him to shoot his shot. The rest is history.

PROPOSAL STORY: March 2020 was a crazy time for us. Not only were we living through a pandemic like the rest of the world, but we also had this crazy idea to purchase a home in the middle of a national lockdown. Knowing that this would be a new chapter for us and the home would take close to a year to be built, Charlie decided to plan the proposal around our close of escrow date.

On March 20, 2021, almost a year to the exact day we first inquired about our home, Charlie pulled off the surprise proposal in front of an

intimate group of our family and friends, inside of our new home, on the day we received our keys. Charlie got on one knee, I said "Of course I will!" and we became engaged and first-time homeowners all at the same time!

ENGAGEMENT SESSION THEME: We knew that we wanted our wedding to be an all-black, black-tie affair, so we used that as a starting point for our engagement session. When it came to location, we wanted to shoot somewhere that was beautiful but would really allow us to stand out. We wanted a desert, but with character. Joshua Tree gave us all we were looking for.

FIRST DATE? We met up to catch a movie and dinner for our first date. This was our first time really getting to talk to each other and get to know each other outside of social media, so we spent hours together talking and laughing. He’s actually pretty funny.

FAVORITE THING TO DO AS A COUPLE? We do a lot together so it’s hard to pick favorites, but if we had to pick it would be shopping and working out together.

HOW HAS WEDDING PLANNING BEEN SO FAR? It’s been great, honestly. Because we got engaged and bought a house at the same time, we decided to hold off on planning for a couple of months to give each moment its own time. We found our wedding planner, Elana Walker, in our early stages and she’s really helped us stay ahead on our planning. We're planners ourselves in all areas of our lives and knew a lot of what we wanted so we've enjoyed being hands-on with the planning but having her in our corner has made it much more enjoyable than stressful, thankfully.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Reem Photography MAKEUP: Natalie Aguirre

Jamekia + Austin

THE HOWEY MANSION IN HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, FLORIDA

PHOTOGRAPHED BY

FOCAL MUSE PHOTOGRAPHY

WEDDING DATE: SWAN HOUSE AT ATLANTA June 26, 2022 WEDDING LOCATION: HISTORY CENTER Clearwater Beach, Florida OCCUPATIONS: Pharmacists

HOW THEY MET: Austin and I met at Florida A & M University in 2014 when we started pharmacy school together.

THE PROPOSAL: We planned a trip last summer to a luxury resort in St. Lucia for Jamekia’s 30th Birthday. She had no idea I was also in contact with them planning the proposal. Jamekia is very hard to surprise, so I had to be careful. The trickiest part was packing all the supplies I was giving the resort to set up without her noticing. There were a few close calls like my suitcase being exactly at the 50-pound limit. If my suitcase weighed a single pound more, I would have had to open my bag and the surprise would have been ruined. But luckily, I was able to check my luggage without a problem. Jamekia didn’t have the slightest idea. She just kept asking “Why is your suitcase so heavy?”. After we arrived at the resort, we prepared for the private oceanside dinner I had arranged for her birthday. Surprisingly, she still did not suspect anything. That night, we headed over to the cabana where our dinner would be held. When she approached the cabana and saw the glowing “Marry Me” sign the tears of joy started right away. I kneeled on one knee, pulled out the ring, and asked her to spend forever with me. She made me the happiest man in the world when she said yes.

HOW DID YOU KNOW HE/SHE WAS "THE

ONE"? When we were in school, we became inseparable. We studied together, stressed together about exams, and motivated each other to finish the program. We missed each other when we were apart and enjoyed our moments together. Upon graduating, we knew we did not want to pursue life without having one another.

FAVORITE THING TO DO AS A COUPLE?

There are very few things we love as much as traveling and eating. Jamekia always jokes about our love language being food. We love to eat and experience different types of cuisine as a couple. Whenever we can find free time on the weekends, we look for different restaurants to try. We have also traveled all over the world as a couple. We like to have new adventures that we would not have if we stayed home.

FIRST DATE? Our first date was on Valentine’s Day. We love going to new restaurants, so we decided to try a nice fondue restaurant downtown. It was so much fun. We spent the entire night talking, laughing, and enjoying the food.

HOW HAS WEDDING PLANNING BEEN?

The wedding planning has been great so far, we have booked most of our vendors. And we have a great wedding planner, Tica, who has been helping us with coordinating everything. It is definitely a whole lot of work and planning but we have been enjoying every bit of it. We cannot wait to see the result of it all.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Focal Muse Photography PLANNER/COORDINATOR: Tica Rose Events VENUE: The Howey Mansion MAKEUP: Krystal Briggs HAIRSTYLIST: Dasia Johnson PURPLE DRESS: Albina Dyla RED DRESS: Miss Circle

Corddarryl+ Jeffrey

ATLANTA + CHARLOTTE

PHOTOGRAPHED BY CXLLAB PRODUCTIONS &

ELEVEN03 PHOTOGRAPHY

WEDDING DATE: September 4, 2022 WEDDING LOCATION: Stateview Hotel, Raleigh NC OCCUPATIONS: Corddarryl works for the United States Postal Service and Jeffrey is a Photographer and Content Creator HOW DID YOU MEET? I (Jeffrey) met Corddarryl (Corey for short) while leaving my apartment with my best friend/best man that had come into town for a visit. This was in 2015. We were heading to run a few errands and I saw him at my apartment mailboxes delivering mail. He caught my eye and I said Hello. Once we returned from our errands, Corey was still delivering mail. We were gone for almost 2 hours so once I saw he was still there, I went to drop off items at my apartment and I told my best friend that I was gonna go back out and talk to him. We exchanged social media handles and he later DM’d me his number and we talked for about 3 hours that first night

THE PROPOSAL: Jeffrey was approaching his 30th Birthday in 2020 and I came up with an idea to throw him a surprise birthday celebration. I began planning in January 2020 and started reaching out to his family and friends about what I wanted for him. I wanted this to be a token of my appreciation for how he completely came into my life and changed it for the better. After figuring out the logistics and how I wanted things to be, I said to myself "what can I gift him outside of just throwing him a party?” I immediately thought "what do you give a person that's just as picky as you are, and has almost everything?" I instantly said to myself "a ring." So I turned this celebration into not only a birthday celebration but also a proposal. I felt after 5yrs of dating it was now time to make a true commitment to my love. So on top of planning for the party, I then had to figure out how I would propose to him as well (The Pressure). I came up with this amazing idea to reach out to one of Jeffrey's industry colleagues, Jamaal Torrance (who I had never met) through social media and introduced myself to him and he knew exactly who I was. We then scheduled a call and I informed him about the surprise birthday celebration that I was planning, but that I was also going to propose at the event and needed his assistance in making it a proposal to remember. He was instantly on board and went into creative mode and came up with an amazing idea for the video. After months of planning with Jamaal, I snuck away and finally met him in person to shoot the proposal video. It was an amazing filming experience and it turned out exactly how I wanted it. His birthday, October 25th, approached and I was a nervous wreck filled with many emotions. I had been planning tirelessly for 9 months, in the midst of planning we got hit with a pandemic that required me to make several changes. I had to pick up the engagement ring that day that I had been hiding, and try to stay as normal as I possibly could while making sure I didn't throw out any signals – it was tough! As he and I prepared ourselves that evening to go out, Jeffrey was under the impression that we were going to this new five-star restaurant that had just opened in the area, it just so happened to be near the hotel where the party was happening. I got to the restaurant and called his sister to let her know that we

were there and asked if she arrived with their mother. She said no and that we had to pick them up from their hotel (that was the queue to let them know we were close). We arrived at the hotel and Jeffrey was trying to piece things together. We entered the room and everyone was there belting out "Surprise”. After several hugs and everyone welcoming us in, it was now time to do the big proposal. The video that Jamaal filmed of me began to play and there we were upfront watching. As he watched me in the video, I stepped from beside him to get behind him as I prepared myself to get down on one knee. The video ended and he turned around not knowing I would be on bended knee and he immediately lost it. His mother and sister walked up with the ring box, handed me the box, and at that moment I asked if he would be willing to spend the rest of his life with me. He said “Yes!", softly through tears, and now we're here on the #ROADTOROSE.

ENGAGEMENT SESSION THEME: With me (Jeffrey) being a wedding and engagement photographer, I knew I wanted something regal, bespoke, classy, and something that not only represented us but something that was a tasteful tease of how glamorous the actual wedding would be. I knew that I didn’t want the setting to be at the same old photo locations in NC that I would normally take my own clients to, so we had to think outside the box. We ordered bespoke suits to make a statement and set the tone for our Save the Dates and for our big event. FIRST DATE? He (Corey) cooked for me. I was hooked lol. I think it was wings and Mac and cheese. The first date we went to publicly was Sushi Blues in Downtown Raleigh, NC. This is still one of our favorite places to dine. The sushi rolls are named after Jazz Icons and songs. Our favorites are Sweet Home Alabama, the Etta James, and the Coltrane.

FAVORITE THING TO DO AS A COUPLE? We love to do everything together. We love eating out, watching reality TV, spending time with family, decorating, traveling, and exploring. We love vacations where there is water and attending concerts! We’ve seen so many of our favorites live. Beyonce, Toni Braxton, TLC, SWV, Gladys Knight, and Fantasia. Corddaryl even got a chance to perform live with the legendary Patti Labelle when she brought him on stage. He is a diehard Patti fan!

HOW HAS WEDDING PLANNING BEEN? Wedding planning has been long, exciting, challenging, and inspirational. Not even 3 days after the engagement, we began looking at venues and dates. It will be exciting to finally see where our investments have gone too. I (Jeffrey), photograph weddings often, and it's so weird to be on the other side of this process, selecting vendors and planning. We are both very particular about what we like and want. Corey is more so the planner than myself. He loves thinking outside of the box in ways that I would never consider. I mean the man had a giant ice sculpture carved at my 30th Bday Proposal party!

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO

ON YOUR WEDDING DAY? We are looking forward to seeing the entire day come together with the attire, designs, decor, and having our huge families together under one roof celebrating us. We are excited to see our Groomsmaids slay in their adornment and our Groomsmen serve up the swag. We have a total of 17 in our wedding party. We are even more excited for our life together after the wedding and planning our family. First and foremost, we do not and have not ever referred to our upcoming event as a “Gay Wedding” but rather a celebration of love. We are aware that 95% of our guests have never witnessed two members of the same sex exchanging nuptials so our ultimate goal is to set the standard and enlighten others on other ways that a healthy love looks like.

PHOTOGRAPHERS: Cxllab Productions & Eleven03 Photography VIDEOGRAPHER: Howard Photo and Film GROOMS’ ATTIRE: Audacious By Arminius MAKEUP ARTISTS: Bianca Willis of Bella Beauty Bar LLC & Jhalessa Cameron of SIlent H Makeup

Larelle + JoJuan

WHITE SANDS, NEW MEXICO

WEDDING DATE: September 4th, 2022

WEDDING LOCATION: Houston, TX

OCCUPATIONS: Larelle is a Bodily Injury Adjuster and Entrepreneur and JoJuan is an Operations Manager and Entrepreneur

HOW THEY MET: We met in 2005 as teenagers while working at Burger King.

Larelle: The first time I saw Jo I knew he was special and I was drawn to him instantly. I would get so excited to go into work to see him and be in his presence. It literally took him like 3 months to finally work up the nerve to ask me out and when he finally did ask me out he had a whole speech prepared explaining why I should go out with him. It was so thoughtful and exactly how I knew him to be. It was definitely a teenage love affair. We made it official 2/27/2006 and have been inseparable ever since.

PROPOSAL STORY: Jo: In 2016 we decided to book a trip to Greece to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. It was while in Santorini I decided to surprise Larelle with popping the question. Around this time we had adopted the tradition of sending out annual Christmas cards to friends and family using images of places we’d travel to that year so I was able to use that as a cover to get her to unknowingly participate in the proposal without my cover being blown. I was able to hire a photographer, have her get her hair and makeup done and wear a beautiful formal dress as well. She’s always told me over the years whenever I propose it had to be in a beautiful location and to make sure she looked perfect. To me it was a dream come true. Some of the images from that shoot actually went viral and were made into memes.

DESCRIBE YOUR ENGAGEMENT SESSION.

Larelle: We really wanted our engagement session to be 3 things. Timeless, Classic, and something we’d never done before as we are lovers of new experiences. We’d never been photographed in a desert-like area before so it was exciting and perfect for what we were looking for. Jo kept it classic with a

black tuxedo and I opted to wear a classic sparking gown.

Reem captured us beautifully and he was a joy to work with. He gave us so much direction, and attention. He even took the time to make little behind the scene stories of our session for us to post on IG! He is a MASTER of his craft and we're so grateful we were able to work with him. We’re so in love with our photos and without a doubt, we know they’ll age beautifully! So MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

FIRST DATE? Larelle: Geez it was so many years ago and we were so young and thoughtless we genuinely can't remember. We met in 2005 in a world of much simpler times and neither of us was technically looking for “the one.” We were also teenagers with limited resources and I also was not allowed to date openly lol so by the time we had a real first date I think we had already been a couple for some months.

FAVORITE THING TO DO AS A COUPLE?

We love to travel. We bond so deeply through the new adventures and experiences. We've had the pleasure of vacationing in France, Italy, Greece, Columbia, and all over Central America and the Caribbean. We’ve also visited 36 of 50 U.S states. We hope to knock out the final 14 before we start having kids.

HOW HAS WEDDING PLANNING BEEN SO

FAR? Larelle: Wedding planning this time around has been a breeze since we hired Darryl of D'Concierge. With his services we’re kinda on the outside of the process (thank God) otherwise I probably would just quit again lol. This is actually our 3rd time on the wedding planning journey. We started initially when we 1st got engaged in 2016 and I quit when things became too overwhelming (I'm kinda big on self-care), then again in 2019 when covid broke, so of course that halted us. So it's 2022 and now we're here and I've always heard the 3rd-times-a-charm so we can’t wait to get to the aisle. Currently, we're just selecting vendors from options that are sent to us by our planner and paying invoices..

TELL US WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST ON THE WEDDING

DAY. Both: Getting Married!!!!! Finally tying the knot, celebrating our love, and moving forward into the next phase of life. Both of our families think we’re pretty overdue for children so we’re looking forward to starting our family as well. here giving me something to be grateful for and making miracles happen daily.

JoJuan: So I was hanging out late with my friends one night and I got this call from a number I didn’t recognize, so I let it go to voicemail. When I checked the voicemail it was her calling me from a payphone; as soon as I heard her voice I dropped everything I was doing and rushed to her.

I immediately went into protective mode even though she wasn’t in danger and I felt sad that I missed her call. I felt like I missed the most important call of my life; even though in her voicemail she was just calling to say "Hi" lol, but this was the day I realized she was the one. I felt responsible for her safety, happiness, and well-being. I bought her a cell phone the next day so she would never have to use a pay phone again. 16 years later she still has the same phone number.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Reem Photography WEDDING PLANNER: Darryl of D'Concierge MAKEUP: Charniq G HAIR: Tenia of Black Eyon Beauty VENUE: White Sands National Monument & The Plaza Hotel Of El Paso BRIDES ATTIRE: Me for Me GROOMS ATTIRE: Nifty Niche & Company BRIDE'S SHOES: Amina Muddani & Tom Ford GROOM'S SHOES: Christian Louboutin & Gucci

HOW DID YOU KNOW YOUR PARTNER WAS "THE ONE"?

Larelle: TBH I hated life before I met Jo. Around the time we met there were so many things going on in my life that were negative that I had no control over. He was also in a similar situation where we were the underdog so we bonded closely over our misfortune (we both had lived in foster care before and had also been homeless for a period of time).

I felt as if we had our own world that only we existed in and he was the only person I ever felt comfortable talking to about my life and its complications. Prior to him, I felt myself giving up on life, but he was my mustard seed and I developed a totally new outlook, joy, and faith in life. I undoubtedly knew Jo was the one when he made all my problems his problems.

He wasn’t only interested in the good or beautiful parts of me but he was also willing to get his hands dirty and put himself in uncomfortable situations that would help me and make my life better. He was willing to do anything he could to contribute to my happiness or overall wellbeing. Even in parts of my life that didn’t directly involve him, he involved him. Jo literally solved all my problems within a year or so of us meeting. He literally became my superhero. He became the 1st person in my life that I could undoubtedly depend on. 16 years later he’s still