Couple celebrates their love in a romantic and timeless engagement session in Narragansett, Rhode Island before a dramatic rocky shoreline.
Set in front of a dramatic, natural backdrop of the Narragansett shoreline, Sharonda and Jerome celebrated their upcoming nuptials in a beautiful engagement session.
Captured by the talented Jasmine Tianna Photography, their love and undeniable chemistry is truly boundless! And their lovely photos are sure to inspire your own wedding announcement.
For more on their love story and details from their romantic and timeless engagement session, keep scrolling below!
- Couple: Sharonda Dailey and Jerome Thompson
- Occupations: They are both educators.
Quick Facts:
- Wedding date: April 2, 2022
- Wedding location: Rhodes on the Pawtuxet – Cranston, RI
- Location of Engagement shoot: Hazard Rock – Narragansett, RI
How they met…
Sharonda and Jerome met at work; however, they didn’t start a romantic connection until they matched on Tinder!
While Sharonda had swiped right first in September 2019, they didn’t match until November 2019, “when Jerome finally logged into Tinder after being encouraged to get back on the “girlfriend app” by his son, Ali.”
Their proposal story…
Jerome’s version:
After almost a year of dating, Jerome began thinking about proposing. He thought to himself: “I can’t let Sharonda go.” He knew she was the woman meant for him and that he needed to be with her.
Unfortunately, due to life circumstances, Jerome wasn’t able to get Sharonda’s parent’s blessing; however, he contacted her brother and he was happy for him to propose. So, on December 12, 2020, Jerome and his best friend (and future best man), Bobbie, went to pick out a ring.
“I was amazed at not only how much I was paying attention,” he recalls. “But [also] how much [Bobbie] was paying attention because he understood how important it was to me to get the right ring.”
Afterwards, the pair scouted out a proposal spot. Jerome realized: “Even though I could do this over dinner or in a variety of other places, I believed that Sharonda deserved this. She deserved to be completely surprised and to be surrounded by people who love her, old and new.”
Later, Jerome contacted Sharonda’s dance instructor and friend, Krissy, to help him orchestrate a plan. With everything set, the hard part began: keeping things a secret from Sharonda.
“In fact, Sharonda surprised me with a visit at one point while the ring was in the vicinity!” He recalls, laughing. “As the days approached, I realized that I could keep the secret, but replacing that nervousness of keeping the secret was the fact that I actually had to propose.”
To calm his nerves and make his plans officially official, he ended up telling his “family, close friends, and a few of [Sharonda’s] friends.”
Then finally it was proposal day. Jerome first headed to Bobbies house to get out his pre-proposal jitters (with a shot of whiskey, of course!) and then started off towards the Providence Pedestrian Bridge.
When they first checked out the proposal spot, it had been at night. But in his minds eye, he could picture everything: a perfectly sunny day, the distant skyline, and a fresh blanket of sparkling snow underfoot. It was the perfect place to propose.
Even though I could do this over dinner or in a variety of other places, I believed that Sharonda deserved this. She deserved to be completely surprised and to be surrounded by people who love her, old and new.”
– Jerome
Waiting on the bridge with their friends and family close by to witness the moment, Sharonda and her friends suddenly appeared. It was go time!
“Doing my best not to drop the ring into the water below, I told her from my heart how I felt. I did not practice–I just took a deep breath and stayed in the moment. When she said, “Yes!” I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It was a movie-ending kind of happiness. I felt like a million bucks. It was like I could just run to the altar right then and there and get married!”
Sharonda’s version:
For Sharonda, her Saturday began with an invitation from two friends from dance to get brunch and walk downtown.
“It was a little too cold to be eating brunch outdoors and going for a walk, but I decided to just go with the flow that day.”
On their walk, her friends led her to a bridge overlooking the city. To her surprise, Jerome was waiting there for her. She thought it was just a coincidence at first. But then she realized “the other people walking along the bridge were actually [their] family and friends.” She soon realized it was a proposal as the group gathered and started walking towards them.
All of a sudden she remembered what she was wearing and hilariously blurted out: “But I’m wearing snow pants!”
In the end, it didn’t matter what she was wearing.
“Jerome made a beautiful speech about realizing I was the one and then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I said “YES!” and the rest is history!”
When they knew they found “the one”…
2020 presented challenges for everyone. And for Jerome, it was Sharonda’s relentless support and love that made him realize she was his person.
“There were a bunch of personal trials that I had gone through during 2020, and even though our relationship was still burgeoning, it wasn’t lost on me how supportive Sharonda was. I said to myself, “If I ever find the means to get this woman a wedding ring, I will do it,” and I started to save.
Sharonda began realizing Jerome was the one when they first met at work in 2019.
She had red his biography in the new faculty announcement and remembers saying to herself, “I need to meet this man!”
After finally meeting in person, she felt an immediate attraction. “And when his profile popped up on Tinder in September 2019, it felt like fate.”
Unfortunately, since Jerome hadn’t actually been on Tinder for months, she assumed he’d swiped left. But in November 2019 (ironically on the day she was preparing to call it quits on the dating app) they finally matched!
“At that moment I knew that we had what it takes to last.”
The engagement session & theme…
The couple wanted a romantic and dramatic backdrop for their engagement session. And they wanted the shoot to feel classic and timeless. They found all of this along the Narragansett shoreline.
The shoreline “offer[ed] amazing views and we discovered the rocky portions by accident one day. We knew that this would be a great place to return for photos.”
Their first date…
Their first date was at a local coffee shop called The Coffee Exchange.
“The conversation lasted close to two hours and could have gone on longer, but Jerome had to pick up his son. We knew that we wanted to see each other again as soon as possible, so a couple of days later, we went to see a play together and then a few days after that, we went for dinner and drinks. So, we had three dates in one week.”
Favorite thing to do as a couple…
They love to travel and sample regional cuisines.
Wedding planning so far…
For this lovely pair, wedding planning has been exciting, but also stressful due to the pandemic.
They’ve also faced another reality of planning you dream day, admitting: “Who knew weddings cost so much!”
Jerome also acknowledges how well Sharonda has been navigating the whole process.
“[She] is really taking the lead [on this] and has done a great job of coordinating all of the details without a planner.”
What they’re looking forward to most on their wedding day…
Jerome is most looking forward to “celebrating the newest addition to the Thompson family!”
Sharonda is looking forward to “saying the words “I do” to the man of my dreams and to dancing the night away with family and friends that we haven’t seen in so long due to the pandemic.”
Looking for more romantic & timeless engagement session inspiration?
Click here.
Vendors:
- Photographer: Jasmine Torres of Jasmine Tianna Photography
- Make-Up Artist: Ty Robinson of Bisou Studios
- Womenswear Designer: Ted Baker
- Menswear: Designer 1 (shirt): Calvin Klein Designer 2 (pants): Gap
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