Artsy Outdoor E-Session in Charlotte, North Carolina -Munaluchi Bride

Who knew that a simple friend request on Facebook could lead you to the love of your life? Carrie came across a photo of Marcus on a friend’s Facebook page. She thought he was cute, so she went ahead and sent him a friend request. Marcus accepted, and their relationship evolved from talking on Facebook, to texting, to phone conversations, and after a month and a half they finally met in person. They immediately knew they had a special spark and their love has been burning ever since. Marcus proposed on Christmas Day. He handed Carrie a mysterious box, then showed her a slide show that contained celebrity couples, like Cliff and Claire Huxtable. At the end of the slide show were the words, “Will you marry me?” So romantic! Marcus and Carrie are having a modern Art Museum wedding in June, so to celebrate their love for each other and their love of art, they decided to have their engagement session in an artsy part of Charlotte, NC nick named “No Da.” Nicholson Design Group beautifully captured it all.

Bride to be: Carrie Thomas
Groom to be: Marcus Woodard
Wedding Date: 06/14/2014

How They Met

As much as everyone loves an old-fashioned love story, our story is quite modern. We met on Facebook! I came across a photo of Marcus on a Facebook friend’s page, and thought, “How have I never seen this cute guy before?!” We are both from the same (relatively small) town, where everyone seems to know everyone. I added him as a friend. Marcus accepted my request, inboxed me, and told me “You are absolutely beautiful.” Over the next few weeks, I kept noticing that Marcus would post music that I like, or movies that I love, so I knew that we already had much in common.

Talking via Facebook turned into texting, then phone conversations, and about a month-and-a-half later, we met. It was pretty unromantic. I was working at a preschool at the time and had contracted strep throat. I was sickly and not looking her best, but Marcus didn’t care. We hung out just the two of us at his place. When my antibiotics kicked in, we went out with our combined friends who all gave the necessary thumbs-up approval. All was well, and we knew that something special was happening. We started to officially date in April 2010. And as they say, the rest is history! I had been living in Philadelphia, PA for six years, and moved back to my hometown to be closer to him.

Less than two years later, we moved from our hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania to Charlotte, NC. We both currently live in work in the Charlotte, North Carolina area.

The Proposal

Christmas Day 2012:

Marcus had been telling me all month that he made my Christmas gift this year. I was fine with this. I was actually expecting a nice drawing that he spent a lot of time creating, because apparently Marcus is a good artist. This, I have yet to see, however!

So Christmas morning he brings out a medium-sized box, wrapped with wrapping paper. He explains, “Well actually, your gift is kind of a two-part gift.” He plugs in the iPad to the TV and begins a video for us. I didn’t think much of it. Marcus had created a snapfish scrapbook for me for Valentine’s Day two years ago, so he’s done the “creative thing” before.

As I’m enjoying the slideshow video (set to Anthony Hamilton’s “Point Of It All”) and the photos start changing into The Obamas, MLK and Coretta Scott King, celebrity couples, and some of our favorite TV couples like Cliff and Claire Huxtable, I’m thinking, “Oh my gosh. Is this it? It can’t be… No way… Wait. Is this it?”

During the very last slide, Marcus gets out the ring box and asks, “Will you marry me?” He was nervous, and forgot to get down on one knee!

Oh, and there was nothing in that medium-sized box except his coffee mug from work (so it would have some weight to it if I tried shaking it and guessing what was inside.)

Nailed it.

Engagement Session Inspiration

We wanted to have our engagement shoot in NoDa Charlotte, which is the artsy district. On the weekends, we love going out to brunch and taking walks afterward in this trendy part of town. Since our wedding reception will be in an art museum, we thought that NoDa would be the perfect place for an e-session!

Looking Forward to the Wedding

I am most looking forward to seeing Marcus’s expression when I walk down the aisle. He’s been involved in every step of the planning process, but he has no idea what my wedding gown looks like. I’m excited to see his handsome face at the other end of the church when I walk in with my Dad.

Wedding Planning Advice

Wedding planning has been fun! To my surprise, Marcus has been very involved, and I love that! It makes my job as a bride much easier.