E N G AG E M E N T S
Amira + Kester PRINCETON UNIVERSIT Y
THE PROPOSAL: Kester planned a romantic getaway to the
Catskill Mountains to celebrate our f ive-year anniversary in one of the most beautiful Fall locations. Leading up to the trip, Kester made sure he found a way to hide the ring so I wouldn't f ind it by mistake while we were unpacking. When we arrived at our private getaway in the Catskill Mountains, we prepared a dinner together and danced to Afro Beats. The evening couldn't have been more perfect. While I was getting dressed to continue to celebrate, Kester strategically placed a camera in front of the dinner table and pressed record to make sure he captured the entire surprise moment. When I came out to enjoy the dinner, Kester suggested that we exchange anniversary gifts. He gave me a large box to open f irst, and as I
WEDDING DATE: April 23, 2020
struggled to open it, Kester went to get the ring from his secret hiding spot. I pulled out a t-shirt from the box and read the note
WEDDING LOCATION: Pompton Plains, NJ
inside that said "A Forever Love." As I was holding the t-shirt up
HOW THEY MET: It all started on October 26, 2013. I was at Shannon
covering my face, I didn't realize that Kester was on one knee behind
Rose having a girls night with some of my closest friends. I was enjoying
it! In pure astonishment, denial, and excitement, I slowly put the
the single life, and wasn't planning on being in a relationship any time
shirt down and listened to Kester as he said the most heartfelt words
soon. One of my best friends, who always invites her boyfriend to girls
and concluded with "Will You Marry Me?" I experienced every
night, didn't miss a beat in doing the same thing that evening. When
emotion in that short moment, and 20 minutes later (literally), I
she got up to meet him at the door and didn't return, I went looking
f inally said "Yes, Duh!" We spent the rest of our anniversary trip in
for her, and as I turned the corner I saw a group of guys and thought to
pure bliss and couldn't wait to share the news with our family and
myself, so they came rolling deep. I walked up to the group to be polite
friends!
and introduced myself to them and said, "Hi, I'm Amira." One of the guys was Kester! After I greeted them, I turned away and started talking to one of my friends. Kester came back up to me and as I turned to face him, I accidentally hit him in the face with my left hand (coincidence?). I apologized profusely and then he said, "it's okay now you have to dance
FIRST DATE? Kester and I went rock climbing on our f irst date.
We are far from clichĂŠ and wanted to do something adventurous for our f irst outing together. It allowed us to get to know one another without being in an awkward sit down environment. .
with me." I thought, oh that was smooth. We brief ly danced and then he
FAVORITE THING TO DO AS A COUPLE?
offered to buy me a drink, and I thought, oh wow a gentlemen too. We all
travel to serene locations. We love the mountains, amazing
headed to a mutual friend's house afterwards, and Kester and I exchanged
scenery, and architecture. We also enjoy quality time with
numbers before the night was over. The rest is history!
one another by simply relaxing at our new home in front of
Kester and I love to
the f ireplace, and watching movies together. HOW HAS WEDDING PLANNING BEEN? Wedding planning
has been amazing! Kester is a phenomenal partner. He is always asking what's next on the list to ensure we are keeping things moving. I love how involved he's been in the entire planning process, and seeing him so happy to get things done, is so amazing to see. For myself, I have a planner personality and I also do project management for a living, so I am truly in my element with keeping things moving. Hiring a professional wedding planner was never even a thought. The overall process has been seamless, and all of our vendors have been great to work with so far. We've been adamant about ensuring our wedding is organized and fun! We want our wedding to be a big dance party f illed with love and positivity.
