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Nichelle & Dwayne

Woodbridge, VA

Nichelle & Dwayne

Woodbridge, VA

The Evolution from Loss to Love

They say sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us. This is the story of Nichelle and Dwayne. In 2016 we both lost our mothers to pancreatic cancer before we knew each other, and somehow fate brought us together. After blindly becoming friends (soon realizing we had over 100 mutual friends – thanks, Facebook), it was clear that aside from sharing the loss of loved ones, we shared so much more. We just clicked. We met for the first time in person at Brio in Plantation, Florida and after talking in the parking lot way past goodbyes, there was something there. We kept in touch, and planned for a weekend in D.C. together including attending a Beyoncé concert and running a 5K to raise funds for pancreatic cancer, followed by a wedding – seemingly A LOT for a "first date", but it just made sense and felt right. We spent "all summer 16" together, shuttling back and forth between D.C. and Brooklyn, falling in love along the way. From more funerals, to vacations and ultimately a move to Dallas (for one of us - creating even more distance!), the love flourished and we knew that we always wanted to go through this thing called life together, no matter what. It sounds made up to us sometimes, but it was the way it was meant to be. Through life's ups and downs, there are glimmers of pure unquestionable joy, and that is where we find ourselves. Thank you for being a part of the journey.

The Proposal

7/7/17

It was a beautiful day in Dallas, Texas and I knew my boyfriend was coming in town for the weekend (he lived in DC). My boss told me to head out early because it was Friday and she knew he was going to be in town. "Great," I thought, "I can head home early, relax, and then make it to dinner."

When I got home, DC was just on the couch relaxing, so we had an afternoon drink before getting ready for dinner. I proposed two different outfits: one was white, one was black. He voted for the white outfit.

Earlier in the week, DC mentioned that he wanted to check out this park, Klyde Warren Park, because he thought it was cool that it was over the highway. I thought it would be cool to check out too, so we made plans to go before dinner. (And we had dinner plans because we were going to celebrate our anniversary since we wouldn't be able to the following month.)

I get dressed, do my hair, do my makeup and we head out. We park and start strolling through the park chatting casually and admiring the park (I was still new to Dallas so everything was new and exciting to see). We kept strolling and we turned a corner, and I saw sunflowers waiting on a table. Confused, I turned to him and asked, "Did you put those there??" He responds, "Yes, it's our anniversary so I thought it would be nice."

I didn't think about the logistics of how or when he would have done it, I just knew they were for me.

"Aww, that's so sweet," I replied. He then follows up with, "Yeah, this park has a bunch of sunflowers, if you just turn this corner you'll see!"

I turned the corner, and to my HUGE surprise, there were sunflowers (which are my fave) but there was also a massive sign made of wood with the words, "Will You Marry Me" staked in the ground. My jaw dropped and I kept saying, "No way, this isn't real, this isn't really happening, I don't believe it."

DC proceeded to say words that of course I barely heard, then got down on one knee, presented the ring and asked the question every girl waits her whole life to hear, "Will you marry me?"

I immediately said yes, and had to get closer to the woodwork and admired the engravings on it with special dates - the day we met, when I met his dad, our anniversary, our birthdays...it was all so well thought out and magical.

He even hired a photographer to capture the special moment! I was blown away, and so began our happily ever after.

Notable Mention: DC emailed my boss earlier that week and asked if she could let me go home earlier on Friday because we had "dinner plans" and he wanted to make sure we made it on time.