"A Divine Romance" - Porsha and Isreal's Engagement Session in Atlanta -Munaluchi Bride

“A Divine Romance…” A soulmate is your souls equal in another, the other half of the whole…a significant other so absolutely ideal their very presence within your life feels like divine intervention – as if the highest of powers created them just for you. When looking into each other’s eyes, Porsha and Isreal would whole-heartedly agree with this sentiment, feeling as if “God placed us together as soulmates to help each other be the best versions of ourselves…”

Read all about Porsha & Isreal’s love story and surprise proposal in this stunning engagement session in Atlanta.

Bride & Groom-to-be: Porsha & Isreal
Occupations: Porsha – Juvenile Probation Officer; SC Department of Juvenile Justice, and co-founder of The Ambition Experience. Isreal – Environmental Engineer; FUJIFILM, and Trustee & Church Treasurer; Tabernacle Baptist Church, Greenwood, SC.
Wedding location: Sacred Heart Cultural Center in Augusta, GA
Location of Engagement shoot: The Swan House in Atlanta, GA. Photos were also taken at the notorious Jackson Street Bridge in Atlanta.

Tell us how you met and all about the proposal. Porsha & Isreal met while they were students at Clemson University. Isreal is a brother of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and before Porsha became a sister of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. she went to the Sigmas’ Founder’s Day celebration in January 2010. As he was going around thanking people for coming out, they met each other and danced with each other for a few songs. There was a social event the next night hosted by another organization, and they happened to run into each other again. About a week later he sent her a Facebook Chat message thanking her for coming, and they chatted for hours about their hometowns, school, and other things. Porsha was initially reluctant to even entertain him, but Isreal was persistent. They finally exchanged phone numbers, and they went out on their first date about 2 weeks later, and the rest is history!
Isreal proposed to Porsha in Charleston, SC along the Battery near downtown. He had a powerlifting meet in James Island, and he was acting suspicious all day. She definitely thought he was behaving strangely when his parents wanted to have dinner with them and he told them no, even though he previously told her that they would get some food after his competition. Also, everyone knows how much food Isreal can put away and how much he enjoys laughing at his father’s jokes. The couple ended up going out to eat anyway, and then he said he wanted to take Porsha to the Battery so they could see the water. Porsha thought, “We’ve been stuck in a gym all day, and I want to go home,” but she didn’t want to hurt his feelings so she agreed. So they got to the area and they went by the water, and they got to the middle of this park and he says, “There’s a legend that says you have to find the oldest tree near the Battery, place your left hand on it and make a wish.” At this point Porsha was tired and ready to go, but she felt if this would speed them up she’ll do it! So she closed her eyes, placed her left hand on this massive tree and made a wish, and when she opened her eyes he said, “Porsha, I don’t want you to be my girlfriend anymore…” It seemed like the longest pause in history; at this point she was livid and asking why he brought her all the way to break up with her. She may have even said a few unpleasant words, but as soon as she stormed away, he dropped on one knee and says, “I don’t want you to be my girlfriend anymore because I want you to become my wife. I can’t live in this world without you!” Isreal then pulled out a GORGEOUS ring, and Porsha was just so overcome with emotions and yelling at him for making her think it was the end of their relationship, but she definitely said YES!

Describe your engagement session. The theme of our engagement shoot, and ultimately our wedding day, is “A Divine Romance.” We truly feel that God placed us together as soulmates to help each other be the best versions of ourselves, and the Swan House in Atlanta, GA was the place we felt would allow us to genuinely display our love and romance for each other. Additionally, the Swan House is where a scene from one of our favorite movies, “The Hunger Games,” was shot. We went with formal attire for the majority of our day’s shoot, and then we traveled to the Jackson Street Bridge to capture the more laid-back, yet confident side of our relationship. The color red was used in the formal pictures because that is Isreal’s favorite color, and the color purple was used because it is my favorite color.

What did you do on your first date? On our first date we went to the movies to see “The Book of Eli.” It was a good movie, but Isreal had me laughing the whole time as he acted like an “expert” on the movie. He later told me that he looked up the movie summary before we went out so he could seem “smart.” I thought it was cute how he tried to impress me, and he has kept me smiling ever since!

What’s your favorite thing to do as a couple? We love going to Clemson Tiger football games and tailgating, discussing our dreams and aspirations, playing all types of card/board games, and watching crime movies and documentaries on Netflix.

How has wedding planning been so far? It has been somewhat fun, just being able to form our dream day has been phenomenal; throughout this process we’ve already created many memories that will last a lifetime. Isreal is very detailed when it comes to finances and the logistics, and I have a certain way that I want our wedding day to look and feel so we have been able to mesh our ideas together very well. This has cut down on the majority of the stress I expected, but so far so good!

Tell us what you’re looking forward to most on the wedding day. We are looking forward to jumping the broom…literally! I have been browsing Pinterest for ideas on how to personalize a ‘wedding broom’. I want to create this keep sake that will last forever and constantly remind us of our special day and the commitment we made to each other. We are also looking forward to having our families and friends under one roof to celebrate our union!