What better way to ring in the New Year than with an engagement ring!
Derek spent months planning the perfect proposal for Simbrey during a New Year’s Eve family and friends trip to New Orleans. Simbrey did not suspect a thing! Derek chose to propose at Jackson Square near the large lit-up Christmas tree. He called Simbrey over to stand next to him, got down on one knee halfway through the New Year’s countdown, and asked Simbrey to marry him as fireworks went off at midnight.
This gorgeous couple, who is getting married in New Orleans this May, celebrated their engagement with a classy and stylish studio photo session in Baton Rouge, LA!
See their chic engagement session and read more about their love story below.
- Couple: Simbrey Majors, Derek Price
- Occupations: Derek is a truck owner and operator, Simbrey is a graduate assistant at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, LA
- Wedding date: May 22, 2021
- Wedding location: New Orleans, LA at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel
- Location of Engagement shoot: Achroma Studio, Baton Rouge, LA
How We Met
Simbrey and Derek first met in the Summer of 2013. Simbrey had just completed her 2nd year of college and spent the summer at home with family. Derek had just graduated high school and spent the summer at his grandparents’ house. While visiting with a few friends we were introduced and the chemistry was apparently there. We ended up spending every evening together with our friends laughing, talking, and just enjoying each other’s company. Summer break came to an end and so did our summer fling. We tried to keep communicating, but life happened so we ultimately decided to stay cordial.
4 years later, in 2017, Simbrey saw that Derek was living in Las Vegas and reached out to inquire about things to do because she wanted to visit for her 25th birthday. Little did we know, our feelings would arise, and we would begin talking every single day after that and even make frequent visits to see each other. Derek assumed that they were in a relationship, but Simbrey wanted Derek to do the relationship the correct way and ask. So that night on July 5, 2018, Derek asked Simbrey to be his girlfriend. We had a long-distance relationship for about 10 months, only seeing each other once a month when one would travel to see the other. Derek then decided to move to Baton Rouge, LA to be with Simbrey (even though he claimed he was moving to be closer to home).
The Proposal
Derek had made his mind up to propose to Simbrey months before he even asked. He started by telling his mom and family that he wanted to pop the question. He soon asked Simbrey’s mom for her hand on Thanksgiving Day. Once he got her approval, Derek started planning with Simbrey’s sisters. They planned to do the engagement on New Year’s Eve in New Orleans, LA since Simbrey’s family had already planned to bring in the New Year there. Derek also had Simbrey’s closest friends come as well as a few of his closest friends. They planned the engagement like it was a regular trip and everyone came to New Orleans just to hang out and spend time together. Simbrey did not suspect a thing! She was really there for the party while everyone else was there to see her get proposed to. Derek chose to do the proposal at Jackson Square near the large lit-up Christmas tree. He called Simbrey over to stand next to him before the countdown began. Derek got down on one knee halfway through the new year countdown and asked Simbrey to marry him as the fireworks were going off at 12 midnight.
The engagement session
Describe your engagement session: Our engagement session was really nice and easy. Our photographer, Shagari Gerad, knew exactly what he wanted us to do which was awesome because literally we had no idea how we were posing, where we were looking, or anything! We just dressed ourselves, showed up to the studio and let our photographer work his magic and it turned out beautifully.
Did you have a theme?
The theme for our engagement photos was elegant love that oozed with sexiness and class. We knew that we wanted to do an all-black wardrobe as our main look. We thought it would be sexy, elegant, and show up clean in the photos. We also decided to incorporate our wedding colors so we went with the emerald green dress and tan suit. Our colors are emerald green, gold, and cream.
What did you do on your first date?
Our first date was untraditional. Derek lived in Las Vegas when we began courting. So Simbrey flew out to see him for a weekend. Derek knew that Simbrey was into nature and wanted to surprise her. The start of their day date began with a hiking trip to Red Rock Canyon which is about 25 miles from Las Vegas. Funny story, Simbrey didn’t pack any clothing to hike in so she hiked in jeans, a fur vest, and booties. Luckily, Derek selected a location that was not as hilly so she could walk and sightsee. However, the next time she visited Derek in Las Vegas she was better prepared for the hike and spent the majority of their day hiking through the canyon.
What’s your favorite thing to do as a couple?
Travel. We love to stay on the go! If we could visit somewhere every weekend we would. We want to see and experience as many places as we can.
How has wedding planning been so far? So far wedding planning has been easy to say the least, not a hassle or stressful at all. Hopefully it remains that way. Derek’s mom gifted Simbrey with a wedding planning book that she has been following faithfully especially since Simbrey is very particular about so many things. The book helps her plan ahead and make sure everything is in order. We have all of our vendors booked and the venue reserved. We actually booked most of the vendors before or right in the beginning of covid. Now we are just making sure we have all the little things together and going over the checklist constantly. We’re just praying that COVID is under control by the time the wedding comes so everything will fall into place and everyone will be able to enjoy themselves. Simbrey is wanting to be completely done with planning and prepping by April 2021.
Tell us what you’re looking forward to most on the wedding day
We are looking forward to seeing how everything comes together. Since we are planning our wedding during covid everything seems to be planned on a whim. We have a huge wedding party consisting of 11 bridesmaids and groomsmen, 3 flower girls, and a ring bearer, we also have a hefty guest list of 150 give or take some so we are hoping that everything goes as smoothly as planned and turns out just as beautiful as we imagine. Simbrey is also ready to turn up at the reception and second line down the streets of New Orleans! We choose New Orleans as our wedding destination because that is the location where we got engaged and the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel is where we stayed the night of the engagement.
Vendors
- Photographer: Shagari Gerad, @shagarigeradphotography
- Makeup: Summer Jefferson, @summeraliseeartistry
- Hair: LaJoy Wilson, @iam_littlejoy
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