Arizona Engagement Session: DeJana + Lawrence

ENGAGEMENTS

DeJana + Lawrence

OLD TOWN ALEXANDRIA, VA & HORSE SHOE BEND, AZ

WEDDING DATE: Summer 2020WEDDING LOCATION: Amalfi Coast, Italy

HOW THEY MET: "We met on the campus of Hampton University. I first saw Lawrence outside of the Student Center and felt instant butterflies. He had arrived on campus not too long ago from the Bahamas, so he had that nice dark chocolate tan going on to match his pearly white teeth and perfect smile. Whew! We didn’t speak until one evening I saw him again in DuBois Hall, being tutored for one of his advanced math classes. That’s when I heard his British-Caribbean accent. Lawd! We had the same group of mutual friends, and we were friends for more than a year before we considered dating." - DeJana

THE PROPOSAL: Seven years later, both of us had fully begun our career journey. We were contemplating what the future would look like for us together. He decided he wanted us to build a house. I was nervous because we weren’t engaged or talked about getting married beyond the surface level. I knew I wanted to spend

the rest of my life with him because he made me feel so safe and secure and cared for. I decided to trust Lawrence’s vision and God’s plan. We went forward with the construction. A few months into the house project I was about to celebrate my birthday. Lawrence had secretly invited my family and our friends to visit on one of our regular site visits. I walked inside first and was surprised by everyone, thinking it was solely for my birthday. He got down on one knee and proposed

DESCRIBE YOUR ENGAGEMENT SESSION: Stanley and Lawrence knew each other prior because of their Bahamian connection. He originally traveled to D.C. to take our engagement photos in historic Old Town, Alexandria. Those pictures were amazing. Stanley thought we’d be the perfect couple to shoot at Grand Canyon Village and told us to meet him in Las Vegas because he would be out there. Me and Lawrence are always up for a good trip so we decided to fly out and spend a few days in LA for a change in scenery and then we would road trip to Las Vegas to meet up with Stanley. We got

to Vegas and drove out to Arizona the next day where we took the photos. It was cold and there was even snow on the ground in some parts of Vegas. The scenery speaks for itself. Horseshoe Bend. Stunning location, with the best photographer in the Game.

WHAT DID YOU DO ON YOUR FIRST DATE? Our first date wasn’t really a planned date. I had a rough day of classes and during one of our normal evening debriefs, he spontaneously asked me to go see a movie. It helped me to get my mind off the day.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO AS A COUPLE? We love to travel and host dinner parties with our friends. We enjoy going to NBA and baseball games. We first started going to baseball games when I visited him while he lived in Chicago working on his masters. We’ve been baseball fans ever since and he always says he will encourage our kids to play baseball. We also enjoy our random movie dates that end with a trip to Rita’s.

HOW HAS WEDDING PLANNING BEEN SO FAR? Lawrence: “We’re on a budget! My favorite question to ask in vendor meetings has been: ‘is that complementary?’ Then De always pinches me under the table, I’ve personally made fun of the sessions. I would like something, but then De would not, so then it’s out. The end. I’m big on experience, so De has largely defaulted to me on those decisions when it comes to menu and guest experience. The programmatic elements." DeJana: “Planning has really been great because we have amazing wedding planners! Thelma and Jennifer are so incredibly talented. From helping us decide invitation paper weight, to color palettes, to planning activities for our guest to picking out the right typeface and fonts…Their consulting firm Infatuating Affairs is living up to the hype. And yes, we’re on budget.”