Harlem Renaissance Inspired Engagement Session in Ft. Lauderdale, FL: Kendra + Jonathan

Kendra and Jonathan connected through a match-making mutual friend, who just so happened to be Kendra’s BFF.  “Jonathan and my best friend are really close friends. One day, after class, Jonathan, my best friend and a few of their friends went out to celebrate a huge final they all passed. While celebrating, Jonathan’s ex-girlfriend, who he had recently gotten out of a relationship with, was on a date with another guy. Of course Jonathan was bothered, he didn’t want to admit it, but he was” shares Kendra.

Though at the time Kendra had never met Jonathan, her best friend was secretly plotting to hook the two up. Plus, after she spied his ex in the restaurant on a date, it was further confirmed that the two had called it quits. So instead of using an arrow, her bestie used a cellphone to play cupid and next gave Kendra a call.  “When my best friend called, she said; ‘Hey friend, I need you to do me a favor. My friend is out to eat with me and a few others and his ex-girlfriend is on a date with another guy!’ I replied, ‘Ok – what do you want me to do?’ She says, ‘I need you to come here and make her jealous’ laughs Kendra.

Considering Kendra and her BFF we’re always down for a “college shenanigan” – she obliged. After she finished watching the Lakers game, Kendra headed to the restaurant, but by the time she arrived, his ex-girlfriend had left. While mission “Make Your Ex Jealous” had failed, Jonathan and Kendra still ended up exchanging numbers.

“We hung out for a bit, but things didn’t quite kick off. After a year, we found ourselves crossing paths again and decided to take things a bit more serious than we did before. After one day of hanging out, we never missed a day without talking to each other” shares Kendra.

Scroll on for more from this gorgeous couple who payed homage to both the Harlem Renaissance and their FAMU alma mater within their engagement shoot captured by Aisha Daley of Love Daley Photography.

Bride-to-Be: Kendra Stallworth
Groom-to-Be: Jonathan Ferguson
Occupations: Kendra: Project Manager | Johnathan: Doctoral Student
Wedding date: May 28, 2017
Wedding location: Atlanta, GA
Location of Engagement shoot: Ft. Lauderdale, FL

The Proposal:
Kendra: Jonathan is a Doctoral Student at the University of Missouri. When he has long weekends or breaks, he comes down to Atlanta to visit me. During his spring break, Jonathan came down and wanted to plan an adventurous outing for us. Neither one of us had been ziplining, so he planned for us to go on a ziplining tour at Lake Lanier.

While planning this adventure, of course Jonathan checked the weather to make sure it was suitable. Leading up to the day, the weather was showing 70+ degrees and sunny. Well of course, the way mother nature operates, it ends up pouring rain on the day of our tour. The tour was non-refundable and in the word’s of true zippers, “we ZIP in the rain”. Needless to say, we ended up on the zip lining tour and got rained on the entire hour. Despite the rain, we still had fun!

So, after the tour, Jonathan had the “bright” idea to take a walk down a trail leading to the water. I told him I didn’t want to go because it was still drizzling and we were both wet from our zip tour. He argued and said he really wanted to go because he misses the water (like a true Florida boy!) and just wanted to take a walk. I argued back and told him I didn’t want to go! So, Jonathan says, ‘Well we’re going anyways’ because this was his spring break, I didn’t fuss any further and decided to go.

As we’re walking down the trail, I look to my right and I see a man hiding behind a bush. I immediately tell Jonathan I see someone and I’m going back to the car! Of course he says, ‘What are you talking about, you’re tripping’. So we continue to walk and I see another man hiding behind a tree – at this point, I was leaving, whether Jonathan came with me or not (she laughs)! Soon after I decided to head back, our dog Kobe runs out and has a sign around his neck that says, “Will you marry us” I chuckled and Jonathan got on his knee and proposed. Of course I said YES!

He gathered our parents, my brother and a photographer to share and capture our special moment. I later found out the photographer and my brother were the people behind the bush and the tree!

Later that night, my best friends planned a huge engagement party for us where they invited all of our friends and family! It was definitely an amazing day!

Describe your engagement session.
Yes, our theme is Harlem Renaissance! Everything was captured beautifully! We took shots in front of a number of vintage buildings in South Florida. With the help of our style team and wonderful photographer, we truly captured our theme.

What did you do on your first date?
We went to a lake in Tallahassee, FL named Lake Ella. We packed food (burgers), drinks and hung out!

What’s your favorite thing to do as a couple?
We love to EAT and travel!

How has wedding planning been so far?
Wedding planning has been fun! Nothing too stressful. Now that we’ve set our theme, we’re centering everything around that!

Tell us what you’re looking forward to most on the wedding day
We’re looking forward to celebrating our union with all of our close family and friends. All of our guests have played a major role in our personal lives as well as the life of our relationship. Without them, this day wouldn’t be possible!

Vendors
Photographer: Aisha Daley, Love Daley Photography
Hair Stylist: Sharon Broxton
Stylist: Devon Grace
Make up Artist: Francesca Nicolas