Lawrence knows how his fiancé, DeNeitra, feels about holidays and birthdays so it was no surprise that she suggested a trip to Cambria, California to celebrate his birthday and July 4th weekend. He figured if they were going to go all out he better, “capitalize on this great opportunity to channel my inner president and deliver shock and awe.” Unsure of when he would propose that weekend he decided to let it be spontaneous because he would know when the right time came. DeNeitra did not think much of it when he decided to bring his guitar to their walk on the beach since it was something he usually did. As they set atop a boulder marveling at how majestic the beach was she felt the overwhelming need to pray. After she finished Lawrence began to play her a song he wrote about, as she wiped away her tears, still unaware of what was coming next he handed her a cupcake with the letters “DDB”, her initials but with the last letter changed. Confused, she looked up at him to see him holding another box, and then everything came together; with tears in her eyes, she agreed to be his wife. They planned a romantic outdoorsy photo shoot at Eaton Canyon with their photographer, Nicole Lennox, who captured how the couples deep connection. We hope they had an amazing time at their destination wedding in Mexico!
How They Met
Their photographer said, “The internet is an amazing place — DeNeitra and Lawrence met in high school, but their love story didn’t begin until years later when they reconnected on Facebook.”
The Proposal
Her Story
Lawrence and I traveled up the central coast to a cute beach town called Cambria. On our second day in Cambria, July 4th, the weather was gorgeous, the sun was shining and birds were chirping. Lawrence and I made plans to go to dinner before seeing the fireworks show, but decided to walk across the street to the beach first and hang out. I noticed Lawrence brought his guitar with him on the trip, which was not really out of norm because he typically brought his guitar to the beach. When we got there, we saw a huge rock that was perfect to sit on so we climbed on the rock and watched the waves. I told Lawrence I wanted to pray – I mean, here we are in this beautiful town on a gorgeous day with the ocean waves as our soundtrack sitting on top of a rock, how could you not think about God in that moment? Anyhow, after I prayed Lawrence told me he wrote a song for me so he pulls out his guitar and sings me the most amazing song. I, of course cried like a baby, but had no clue what was coming.
After the song he pulled a cupcake box out of the cooler and handed it to me (mind you, still clueless – I just thought oh wow, a cupcake, lol). I opened the cupcake box and it read “DDB?” I’m completely dumbfounded and confused, what is DDB (mind you DD represent my first and middle initial and the B represents the initial of Lawrence’s last name). As I’m staring at the cupcake I see him pull a small red box out of the guitar case- FINALLY it hit me. I was like, “this is not happening, is this happening, this is NOT happening!” He got on one knee and asked if I would marry him. Through tears, many tears (the ugly cry, y’all) I somehow managed a yes. :)
His Story
Anyone that knows DeNeitra knows she is all about celebrating birthdays and often does in magnificently over the top fashion, so it’s no surprise that she would look to celebrate my birthday in a grandiose manner despite my pleas for a low key celebration. She planned a trip to a small beach town, Cambria to celebrate my birthday and the 4th of July, so of course I wisely capitalized on this great opportunity to channel my inner president and deliver shock and awe. I knew that as excited as she was about what she planned to celebrate my birthday there was no way she would see it coming. Prior to the trip, I knew I would propose, but decided to wait for the moment and just go with the flow rather than trying to execute a detailed plan for an event planner on a trip planned by her. So here we are…on this large rock elevated above the sand overlooking the Pacific Ocean. DeNeitra decided to pray (it was a beautiful prayer) and unknown to her perfectly timed. It was then I knew the time had come. What better way to propose a new beginning than first acknowledging the creator while taking in the awesomeness of the beach – one of his most beautiful creations and one of our favorite past times.
Out came the guitar. I proceeded with the song – she proceeded with the tears. Meanwhile I’m looking back and forth between her and the ocean trying not to let my situational allergies flare up (a.k.a. cry). Queue the “DDB?” cupcake and the confused look on her face. Her current initials are “DDV”; the “B” on the cupcake represents the first initial of my last name. To be honest I was not intending for her to understand what the cupcake said in that moment so it worked perfectly as the distraction it was intended to be. While she was looking at the cupcake, I pulled out the first ring box and then the second ring box (one ring…two boxes), revealed the ring, knelt before her and asked, “Will you marry me?” As you know, she said, “Yes.” And as my Grandma Mary would say…”that’s the story!”
The Engagement Session
Initially we wanted something more hip and urban for our engagement pictures and considered having the session in Downtown L.A.. I changed my mind when I saw a gorgeous outdoor engagement session and could imagine how awesome it would be to have natural light, beautiful trees, and my amazing fiancé next to me. Lawrence was game so we headed to Eaton Canyon just before sunset. The lighting was so perfect and we had a great time.
Looking Forward to the Wedding
Having our closest family and friends relax and enjoy our destination wedding in Mexico and most of all I’m looking forward to marrying my absolute best friend!
Vendors
Beautiful story! Beautiful photos – Nicole Lennox really seems to capture the essence of each couple she photographs. Just gorgeous…