Intimate Park Engagement Session in Connecticut

Intimate park engagement session in Connecticut celebrates love, passion, and joy with stunning greenery and magical backdrops.

Jessica & Jaquan’s romance began after bumping into one another at a local café near their college campus. After exchanging a brief witty remark, they went their separate ways. The next day, Jaquan found Jessica on Facebook and the rest is history!

Keep reading below for more details on their love story and photos from their intimate park engagement session.

Couple: Jessica & Jaquan Prude
Occupations: Jessica is an Executive Assistant and Jaquan is a Barber.

Quick Facts:

Wedding date: July 11, 2021
Wedding location: Aria, Prospect Connecticut
Location of Engagement shoot: Harkness State Park, Waterford Connecticut

How they met…

Jessica and Jaquan first met in 2011 while attending American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Jessica recalls, “We were in the café and we bumped into each other and I said “watch out real quick” and he looked at me and said “its excuse me” and I just looked at him. The following day he found me on Facebook.”

Their first date…

Since Jessica is from Massachusetts and Jaquan is from Connecticut (and they both love cheesecake!) they went to a cheesecake factory in Connecticut. Afterwards, Jaquan showed her his favorite places around Connecticut.

Their proposal story…

The year Jaquan proposed to Jessica, the couple decided not to have a Valentine’s day. Instead, they opted for an intimate seafood dinner the following day and a night out on the town afterwards.

To start their ‘ex-valentine’s day’ celebration, Jessica admits, “To say I was having a horrible day in the beginning is an understatement! My outfits never came in the mail and I was telling my friends and sister that I didn’t even want to go out anymore.”

Nevertheless, she put a cute look together and they headed out to their favorite seafood spot. Initially she thought everything was normal. It would just be a typical night out.

“At the time it didn’t dawn on but his hands were so sweaty and he kept having to run to the bathroom. I just kept thinking to myself ‘why does he keep leaving me all alone at the table?’ Welp, after him going to the bathroom for the fourth time he sat down and took my hand – sweaty and all! He looked at me and said: “you know how much I love you right?” I know you’ve been waiting for this for a while and I’m not going to keep you waiting any longer…”. [Then] he got down on one knee!”

As he kneeled down, one of Jaquan’s close friends (who happened to be a photographer) appeared and started snapping pictures of the moment he was proposing.

“When I say I was not expecting this I just stared at Quan in shock, like wow! And of course I said YES!”

When they knew they found “the one”…

For Jessica, she knew Jaquan was “the one” when they first met.

In their initial conversations, Jaquan was drawn to Jessica’s Haitian background and impressed that she could speak another language. When she then asked him if he was from another background, he responded: “As a matter of fact, yes.”

“He told me that he was Jamaican and his mom and aunts had a little business selling plates of Jamaican food. He [said] he was going to bring me a plate when I returned from visiting my family in Boston for the weekend. When I came back he came over to see me with a plate of Curry Goat and white rice and I was like WOW this is so good! I told him next time he goes home to Connecticut he needs to bring me another plate.”

And he did. He brought her delicious Jamaican food many times! While hanging out everyday for a few weeks, she also asked him questions about his Jamaican side. Then one day he looked at her and said, “Jess, I have to tell you something.”

He said, “I’m not really Jamaican, I was just trying to impress you. My mom doesn’t cook plates. I went to the Jamaican restaurant and got you some food and changed the plates in my dorm before I came over. But I think I’m Jamaican because I know all of their dances.”

She looked at him for a moment and then they both burst into laughter.

“I couldn’t believe he went through all the trouble to try and impress me!”