Chelsea and Joseph’s love story began by way of mutual friends who brought them together on their first date. The connection between them on that first date was immediate. The sparks flew as they sat court side the Boston Celtics game. Living along opposite coasts, their relationship remained long distance for some time, but that did not at all hinder their love from developing into the most meaningful relationship of their lives…
Continue reading all about Chelsea & Joseph’s love story, romantic surprise proposal, and wedding aspirations, in their elegant, regal romance engagement in Washington, DC – beautifully captured by MunaLuchi Coterie member Unique2Chic Photography.
Bride & Groom: Chelsea & Joseph
Occupations: Pharmacist & Engineer
Wedding date: October 13th, 2018
Wedding location: Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, Ohio
Location of engagement shoot: National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Tell us how you met and all about the proposal. We met through our fraternity (Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.) and sorority (Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.) brother and sister. My sorority sister, and best friend, was dating Joseph’s fraternity brother and Joseph asked his brother to “hook him up” with one of his girlfriend’s friends. Somehow my name got thrown into the hat as the most eligible bachelorette and my sorority sister sent me a picture of him with a message that read “This guy wants to talk to you.” My response was “Lol. How does he know me?” She responded with a laugh and never provided any information about him after I kept pestering her with questions. Two days later my phone rang and surprisingly I answered the unknown number. It was Joseph. We hit it off immediately. We had our first date over face time the next day and we’ve talked every day since. I was living in San Diego, California and he was living in Boston, Massachusetts at the time. Within a week I was planning a trip to fly from San Diego to Boston to meet face to face!
The proposal: The proposal was magical. We both had relocated to Washington, D.C. to end our east coast-west coast long distance relationship. He sent me a text around 11pm on a Thursday night telling me to meet me him at a hotel in the city and pack a bag. I thought he was joking and responded, “lol.” The next morning, I asked him if he was serious about the text he sent and he said yes, and to pack a bag and dress up. He said he wanted to take me on a nice date and show his appreciation for all I’d been doing lately. Of course I agreed. I got to the hotel after work and he brought me up to the room. He told me to wait outside the room for a minute while he finished something up. I was extremely skeptical and nervous at this point twiddling my thumbs outside the hotel room door. He finally let me into the room and it was dimly lit with the song “Matrimony” by Wale and Usher playing in the background. The room was decorated with flowers, candles, and champagne. He had I love you “Cococohels” (my nickname) written in rose petals on the floor. I was extremely excited, surprised, and taken aback. We then changed into our dress up clothes and he told me his friend was an Uber driver who’d be chauffeuring us around D.C. Of course this sounded completely believable to me and I agreed to take the ride. We walked outside to catch our “Uber,” and a stretch Hummer limo was there. He told me “that’s our ride.” We rode in style to our favorite jazz club in D.C. for dinner.
We sat at dinner talking before our food arrived and he told me he was going to the restroom. It had been about 10 minutes and I started to get worried he’d stood me up. I sent him a text and said “Did you skip town?” Then, I heard him on the mic near the jazz band saying he wanted to “Dedicate a song to Dr. Chelsea.” He proceeded to sing Al Green’s “So in Love With You” in his best singing voice possible. I ran to the stage in my heels to catch this up close and personal song dedication. I was completely in awe. We walked back to our table holding hands and talking about his solo. He seemed completely nervous. He then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him and I said YES! Apparently, he planned the night out with the staff and band! We were so excited we couldn’t finish our dinner and left the restaurant. We rode around in our limo to different monuments and lounges in D.C. taking pictures and soaking in the moment. We’ll both never forget that night!
Describe your engagement session. Our theme was romantic, regal, and elegant. We we’re going for a presidential ball look that would showcase not only our physical features, but our personal style. We wanted to get dressed up and take beautiful pictures we’d have for a lifetime.
What did you do on your first date? We had court side seats to the Boston Celtics game! This was our first time having a face to face date and we wanted to be in a comfortable environment doing something we both loved. It was an amazing time spent together.
How has wedding planning been so far? Wedding planning has been good so far. We’ve even got a team of wedding planners since we’re planning the wedding from out of state! I’m feeling like we’re ahead of the game. My fiance has been very involved and always shows up with an iPad to take notes and pictures when we meet up with our vendors.
Tell us what you’re looking forward to most on the wedding day. I’m looking forward to seeing all the pieces of the wedding puzzle come together while spending a magical evening with our family and friends as husband and wife. I can’t wait to see my fiance’s smile light up that day!
Vendors:
Photographer – Elizabeth Davis, Unique2Chic Photography
Makeup – Makeup by Pnang
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