Kelley L. Carter and her soon-to-be hubby, Moreno Q. McCalpin, celebrate their engagement in an elegant Old Hollywood-themed engagement session at a Private Bel-Air estate in Los Angeles, California.
You may have seen her on your TV reporting for ESPN or ABC News, but this time around, Kelley L. Carter is making her own headline: she’s engaged!
Kelley and her fiancé, Moreno McCalpin, first met online on Twitter. A mutual friend also vouched for Moreno saying he was the nicest guy she’d ever met. When they finally met in person, Kelley admits, “Boy was she right!” An instant connection sparked between them and they’ve been laughing, loving, and making new memories together ever since!
On a trip in September to Tulum, Mexico, Moreno took their relationship to the next level and surprised Kelley by chartering a private yacht and asking her to spend forever with him – of course, she said yes! Afterward, he took her out to dinner where their closest friends and family had been hiding to celebrate with them!
“I’m honestly still in shock when I think about how lovely this experience was,” Kelley shares. “And honestly… [it was] just dreamy. Like it was right out of a movie.”
Their elegant engagement photos are a nod to their upcoming wedding theme of Black Hollywood, where they will transport guests to the 1940-1960s era of Black excellence. These photos only mark the beginning of their life together and we can’t wait to see all the beautiful photos from their July wedding in Huntington Beach, California!
More sweet details on their love story below.
- Couple: Kelley L. Carter & Moreno Q. McCalpin
- Occupations: Kelly is a senior entertainment reporter for ESPN and an ABC News contributor; Moreno is a research chemist and lab manager
- Wedding date: July 14, 2023
- Wedding location: Huntington Beach, CA
- Location of engagement shoot: Private Bel-Air estate
How they met…
We technically met on Twitter! Someone once told me that all of social media is a dating app when you’re single and for us … it turned out to be true! We also had a mutual friend in common who vouched for him and told me that Moreno was honestly the nicest guy she’d ever met. Boy was she correct!
The proposal…
He took me to Tulum, Mexico (one of my favorite places!) for my birthday in September and chartered a private yacht to propose to me. He then took me out to dinner and surprised me with some of my closest friends who had been hiding out for days to celebrate with us!
I’m honestly still in shock when I think about how lovely this experience was. And honestly … just dreamy. Like it was right out of a movie. He also had his friends and family in town – but I knew they were there, even though they also surprised me at the celebration! I for sure thought we’d be meeting up with them later to share the news of our engagement.
But everyone was in on the whole thing… for months!
When they knew they found “the one”…
Kelley: I knew Moreno was the one when I learned the depths of his thoughtfulness. He’s the kind of guy who just takes care of everyone around him and I knew I just wanted to be in that orbit. I was able to learn this about him because we just talked so much and really just over-communicated. Once I realized I wanted to know everything about him, I knew I wanted him in my life for a long time.
Moreno: I knew Kelley was the woman I wanted to marry when we were on a trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico for my birthday. She organized a birthday re-do since I had a milestone birthday at the top of the pandemic with my friends, my family and her friends and I looked around at everyone there and just thought … I want to marry her. And I’m going to propose on her birthday.
Their engagement session & theme…
This shoot was inspired by our upcoming wedding, which will be a toast to throwback black Hollywood and transport our guests to the 1940-1960 era of black excellence. One of the coolest things I get to do professionally is cover the Oscars and I really want to take our wedding guests into my world for one night only.
Our wedding planner, Slomique Hawrylo, quickly picked up our ideas and just punched them to the max, really reiterating that our engagement shoot was going to be a way to help establish the tone of our wedding. So we knew that we wanted our pictures to set that tone.
Their first date…
Our first date was at the botanical gardens in Atlanta, Ga. I traveled to Atlanta after months of us talking on the phone every day and Moreno took me to a gorgeous location to look at florals, and then he planned a couple’s massage and a lovely dinner on a rooftop in the Buckhead area of Atlanta! The whole date was truly something out of a beautiful romantic film.
Favorite thing to do as a couple…
Have experiences – whether that be travel or culinary or just something off the beaten path. For one of our dating anniversaries, one of the activities Moreno took me on was to a medieval times place; I can’t believe he knew I’d love doing something so fun and so different like that. When I was in high school I was the lone black kid who was workshopping characters for the local Renaissance Festival during the summer.
Wedding planning so far…
Stressful! But only because in our heart of hearts we want everyone we have ever come in contact with to be there, but we also know that’s just not humanly possible! Other than that, it’s been fun because Slomique just takes whatever little nugget of an idea we have and punches it to the max with elegance and fun and we really think we are going to give our guests quite the experience!
What they’re looking forward to most…
Saying “I do” in front of our friends and family! We feel like everyone on both sides has been waiting for a long time for us to find our person and now that we have, we’re so excited to celebrate with those closest to us!
Looking for more inspiration like Kelley L. Carter’s Black Hollywood-themed engagement?
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Vendors:
- Photographer: April Belle Photos
- Stylist: Kenni Wallace
- Hair: Styles by Davonte
- MUA: Toni Nicole
- Gown: Custom La Femme Fashion
- Suit: Armani
- His shoes: Gucci
- Heels: Jimmy Choo
- Nails: Very VIP
- Vintage Porsche: Legends Car & Van Rentals
- Wedding planner: Carpe Diem Events
What a beautiful love story! It’s a blessing to find that Diamond in the rough in todays world. Much love and many blessings of love, health, wealth and happiness to you two. Keep communication lines open and your love will last forever. When you can talk about anything… to can overcome it. 💐
Thanks so much for reading and leaving such a lovely comment!