From middle school meet cute to lifetime love, Noni and DeChaun celebrated their upcoming nuptials with an engagement session in Forsyth Park.
Two decades after their first meeting at their lockers in middle school, the couple were reunited when Noni returned home to Georgia.
Rekindling their friendship, a sweet romance bloomed between them and they started dating. Noni recalls, “I had been all over the world, finally came home, and discovered my love was here all along.”
While DeChaun had always admired Noni from afar, when they started dating, he got to know her on a deeper level. He discovered a woman that was not only beautiful but sophisticated and complex, playful and loving. A woman he could laugh with and also be serious with. He knew he’d found his wife and his best friend.
For me, it wasn’t about her being “the one.” It was about her being “Noni” – like what a dream!
– DeChaun
For Noni, the moment she knew DeChaun was her husband arrived in her mind during a visit to his apartment. At the time, they were spending lots of time together as friends. But in a single moment, she saw him as so much more…
I looked up at him – he had his back to me and there was something unspoken, attractive, peaceful, both intangible and mysterious, about him. It felt like, all of a sudden, a puzzle piece was falling into place and the thought slipped into my mind: “That’s my husband.”
– Noni
The pair quickly fell into a relationship and soon after, love! Following a surprise proposal at restaurant Palo Santo in Atlanta, the couple can’t wait to become husband and wife on September 12th, 2024.
Keep scrolling for more details on their love story and photos from their engagement session in Forsyth Park.
- Couple: Dr. Noni D. Carter & DeChaun Lee
- Occupations: Scholar, Author, and Financial Planner | Civil Engineer
- Wedding date & Location: Our wedding Ceremony is on September 12, 2024, in St. Lucia. Our post-wedding celebration is on October 12, 2024, in Atlanta
- Location of Engagement shoot: Forsyth Park, Savannah, GA
How did you meet?
Noni: We met in 7th grade at a middle school in Tyrone, GA. By the lockers to be specific.
DeChaun already knew who I was through word of mouth as I was involved in many activities at the school. I remember our mutual friends kept telling me that I had a twin. We would start dating almost two decades later. I had been all over the world, finally came home, and discovered my love was here all along.
Tell us your proposal story:
DeChaun: I picked out her ring with her sisters several months before the proposal, but it took time to decide what I wanted to do.
A park theme? Balloons? Something with her entire family present? I decided on an evening in April 2023.
We organized a night out with her sisters at a Black opera production in Atlanta called Sissieretta. I spent the entire time mentally rehearsing my proposal, then took Noni and her sisters to Palo Santo where the staff was preparing for my big moment.
Noni’s mother had made a wine glass; I attached the ring to the bottom of the stem and waited for the perfect moment. She had just been talking to me about a proposal in a bit of a heated conversation just moments before. We definitely surprised her. She cried; I was over the moon; the staff and her sisters were wonderful. The rest is to be told!
When did you know they were “the one”?
DeChaun: We didn’t start dating until Noni finally moved home (to Georgia).
I had invited her to a mutual friend’s July 4th party. She, her cousin, and her sister arrived, then tried to leave just as quickly. I had to chase after them in my swim trunks to give her a late birthday present I found at the MoMA in New York; it was the cookbook, “Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora,” which I knew she’d adore. She asked me, then, for help with landscaping at her new house and slowly but surely things took off from there.
For me, it wasn’t about her being “the one.” It was about her being “Noni” – like what a dream! I admired her a lot when we were in middle and high school, but we were not in the same classes and I wasn’t the type to approach her that way. When we started dating, I had an opportunity to discover all of these other complex aspects of her that let me see what we could be together. I’m so grateful for how things worked out.
Noni: At the beginning, DeChaun would visit my house in the capacity of a friend to hang pictures and help build furniture.
He has a naturally big heart with many in his inner circles, so I thought little of it. We’d listen to music and play around with cocktail recipes, which turned into a couple of dinners and then Netflix evenings discussing shows each of us enjoyed. It wasn’t until my mom pointed out the obvious that I started to realize – this could be the kind of relationship I’d envisioned having for a long time.
I recall a day I was visiting his apartment. We were both working quietly. I looked up at him – he had his back to me and there was something unspoken, attractive, peaceful, both intangible and mysterious, about him. It felt like, all of a sudden, a puzzle piece was falling into place and the thought slipped into my mind: “That’s my husband.”
Let me tell you, at the time that feeling made me very uneasy. In my mind, I hadn’t yet committed to this relationship. But we slid into a rhythm quickly from that point, and things started to blossom. I’m so blessed and grateful I get to create a long-term partnership with someone I can call one of my best friends.
Describe your engagement session. Did you have a theme?
Noni: We had a great engagement session.
There was no specific theme outside of wanting to capture the picturesque landscape reminiscent of DeChaun’s early college days (he was a Savannah State student and a GA Tech transfer). We had three outfits in mind that we wanted to play around with and 18 to 20 example photos that we wanted to use as aesthetic inspiration.
Miranda, our photographer, was fantastic in the way she was able to blend her own unique vision with the inspiration we shared with her prior to the shoot. She showed up organized with a meticulous plan that included different locations for the shoot and fit our outfit changes into the hour-long session.
What did you do on your first date?
Noni: That’s so difficult to pinpoint!
The first time we went out together with the unspoken assumption that this could be something beautiful, we attended a concert with my family and grabbed Mexican food with my sisters. The first real solo date I’d say was our kayaking trip where we had a chance, while rowing down the quiet lake, to dive into deep concepts and share beliefs about topics like religion and our take on having kids in this world.
What’s your favorite thing to do as a couple?
Create epic playlists and discover new music! (DeChaun’s musical tastes are so sexy!)
How has wedding planning been so far?
It started out stressful but has turned into an adventure that we’re enjoying.
What are you looking forward to most on your wedding day?
DeChaun: Spending time with family; the pictures; the joy.
We had a unity ceremony back in September of 2023; Noni put together a wonderful program in her backyard with a handful of family members from both sides honoring traditions of union around the world (a Yoruba spice tasting ceremony; a foot washing ceremony; a sand ceremony, etc.).
Our cousins and sisters had scripts; the two spiritual powerhouses on both sides of our friend-family groups blessed us with African drumming and officiating; we spoke aloud our promises to each other and our little group had a chance to toast with nuggets of advice; it was lovely.
We can’t wait to take that small ceremony to another level, and celebrate both abroad and then back home with our community!
Looking for more engagement sessions?
Click here.
Vendors:
- Photographer: CameraKoala Photography
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