Welcome to Our Love Story!

We met sometime in Spring of 2012. Our mutual friend, J-ron was guest bartending at a bar called E.R. (now Skyline). Mike (Shanuard's best friend) wanted to play pool so he asked DeDe and Erica (DeDe's sister) to play. We played a few games and had a shot of tequila together. Unfortunately, DeDe was a little tipsy after that shot and doesn't remember us meeting that night! LoL A few months after that we reconnected at a bar called Area 98. We both became regulars and got closer as friends.

One night at Area 98, we spent the entire night dancing and talking one on one for the first time. After that night we secretly continued to spend more time together (movies, dinner, after hour spots) and realized we were more than just friends. Shanuard stayed over my apartment one night and never left. After practically moving in, it was obvious that we had to let everyone in on our little secret. We were now a couple!

Once Essie entered the world, our lives changed forever. We knew we wanted to become better people and strived to build a better life for her. Essie's presence solidified the reason we were in each other's lives. Through all the tests of life, we managed to be the best partners we could be not only for Essie, but for each other. In the end there was no doubt we were in love.

On March 7, 2018, we made the decision to finally get married in 2019. Although DeDe started the planning process full force she made it very clear that a formal proposal was still expected! Plan #1 The proposal plan which I conspired with Erica (DeDe's sister), was going to take place on her birthday in August. We planned to do a surprise birthday party at our favorite restaurant Texas de Brazil, with our close family and friends. I purchased the engagement ring a few weeks before. The delivery date was scheduled for a week before her birthday. The day before the party the ring still hadn't arrived and when I called the company they confirmed it wasn't going to be delivered in time. The surprise party was a success but my proposal plan failed. The ring arrived the following day. Plan #2 My plan was to propose after a friend's wedding that took place the end of September. I figured we would be all fancy without giving up the plan. I had the ring in my suit jacket pocket. Go figure, DeDe gets a fever and feels cold right before the ceremony and grabs my suit jacket. Of course, she feels the box! Now she knows the proposal is coming. Plan #3 On the morning of October 1st, while DeDe was still in bed, I had Essie call her into the livingroom. I stood on my knee and waited. Essie came back and said, "Mommy said she's not coming". I gave Essie the ring box and told her to go back with the ring. She yelled, "Mommy your ring". DeDe ran to the livingroom and saw me down on one knee. I was finally able to ask her "would you marry me?". She said "YES!"