Kendra and Barrett's Fun and Formal Engagement in North Carolina -Munaluchi Bride

Kendra and Barrett initially connected in the summer of ’08 during an internship networking development seminar. Busy within their respective positions and the hustle and bustle of life, they lost communication once the new school semester began. It wouldn’t be until 2011 that they reconnected long-distance while Kendra, living in North Carolina was attending graduate school, and Barrett was living in Minnesota. Immediately a spark of romance was kindled between them, spending countless hours in conversation and discovering how much they had in common. In late 2013 their love had the opportunity to blossom completely when Barrett moved to North Carolina, and they’ve been inseparable ever since.

Read all about Kendra & Barrett’s love story, romantic surprise proposal, and wedding aspirations in their fun and formal engagement session in North Carolina – captured by MunaLuchi Coterie member Artije Photography.

Bride & Groom-to-be: Kendra & Barrett
Occupations: Project Coordinator & Operational Risk Consultant
Wedding date: June 3, 2018
Wedding location: Raleigh NC
Location of Engagement shoot: Eno River State Park and Downtown Durham, NC

Tell us how you met and all about the proposal. In the summer of 2008, we both participated in an organization called INROADS, which helped us obtain internships for the summer. Though we worked for different companies, we had a few opportunities to hangout during various professional development seminars. However, we lost communication once school started as we returned to our respective universities. It wasn’t until 2011 that we reconnected while I (Barrett) lived in Minnesota and Kendra was in graduate school at North Carolina A&T State University. A spark ignited almost immediately! We recognized that we had so much in common and spent countless hours talking and getting to know each other (thankful for the wonders of technology!). In late 2013, our love blossomed when I relocated to Charlotte while Kendra resided in Durham. These last few years have been wonderful and we look forward to our future together!
For our anniversary, I decided to surprise Kendra with a weekend trip to Asheville, NC. We stayed in one of our dream hotels, Omni Grove Park Inn. That day, we both were working from home in Charlotte. I convinced her to get her nails done during lunch. While she was gone, I packed our bags and hid them until we were done with work for the day. As she watched TV, I silently placed them next to the door and told her it was time to go! Of course, it took some convincing but she eventually got in the car. As we started our trip, I gave her some details of the weekend plans, but not everything! For Saturday night, I told her that I made reservations for dinner but wanted to take a picture by the waterfall. When we started walking towards it, I made up an excuse to go back upstairs to get the ring so she wouldn’t see it. At the waterfall, I told Kendra that I would get the front desk clerk from the spa near the waterfall to take our picture. When we returned, I walked Kendra in front of the waterfall and proposed! Afterwards, we celebrated with champagne and chocolate before heading out to dinner.

Describe your engagement session. We didn’t have a particular theme for our engagement shoot. We just knew that we wanted a nature and a formal shoot.

What did you do on your first date? Barrett invited me to spend my birthday in Minnesota. Thankfully, it wasn’t too cold! We explored Minnesota, had dinner and a movie. We ended the night at a rooftop bar where we enjoyed a few drinks. It was the perfect way to celebrate!

What’s your favorite thing to do as a couple? We love travelling, trying new restaurants, watching “our” shows together and working-out together. We also love spending time with our families.

How has wedding planning been so far? Wedding Planning has been going great! We’re excited to work with our vendors and have a fantastic wedding planner, which is making it stress-free.

Tell us what you’re looking forward to most on the wedding day. We both come from pretty big families and have strong groups of friends. So looking forward to spending time with all of them and celebrating!