Harlem Globetrotter and artist Maxwell Pearce and local TV news anchor Jasmine Styles celebrated their love in style with a romantic Spanish Mediterranean-inspired engagement session amidst the picturesque architecture of Rollins College in Orlando, Florida.
The power couple’s story began over Instagram where they shared some mutual friends; however, it was a post of Maxwell speaking from a sports reporter Jasmine had met at a National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention that caught her attention.
“Max spoke about an incident that happened to him at a news station in Alabama,” Jasmine shares. “He wanted an apology after on-air staff threw fruit at him on live television, including a banana — which has a fraught history among Black athletes.”
After watching the video, she sympathized with Maxwell’s experience and decided to repost it to her story and started following him.
Soon after Maxwell sent her a direct message thanking her for her support. He also asked about media outlets he could contact to tell his story. After sharing a few options, by the next week, the story went viral!
Nearly a year went by of swiping up on each other’s stories before anything more happened between them… then one fateful July night, Jasmine caught Maxwell’s attention: “I posted a video of me on the way out to a lounge. It was only seen by my close friends which I’d purposefully placed Maxwell in. Finally, Maxwell made a concrete move.”
Following hours-long daily FaceTimes, it was time to finally meet in real life. Jasmine and Maxwell’s first date wasn’t your typical dinner and a movie though. Instead, the long-distance couple planned a trip to Disney World!
By Labor Day, Maxwell traveled from New York to Florida for our first date at Disney World. And by the end of October, he sealed the deal with a series of clues that ended with him asking me to be his girlfriend. He also gave me a rose gold promise ring.
– Jasmine Styles
From a promise ring to a diamond ring, Jasmine Styles and Maxwell Pearce’s love story is certainly one for the books. We can’t wait to see them say “I Do” on May 24th, 2025!
Keep scrolling for more details on their art museum proposal, wedding plans, and more.
- Couple: Jasmine Styles and Maxwell Pearce
- Occupations: Jasmine – local TV news anchor | Maxwell – Harlem Globetrotter and artist
- Wedding date: May 24, 2025
- Wedding location: Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando, FL
- Location of Engagement shoot: Rollins College in Orlando, FL
When did you know you found “the one”?
Before Maxwell was even in the picture, I wrote a note on my phone with 31 things I wanted in my next partner. I used to write it in a journal, but I was willfully running through red flags. Having the list readily available when needed allowed me to make quicker decisions about spending time with certain men.
Some of the things on the list related to a man’s looks, some were about character, and others were about morals. Shortly after we’d exchanged numbers and FaceTimed for hours on a daily basis — I was strategically asking questions related to the list and he was checking every box. I told my best friend and now Maid of Honor that Max had no red flags — which sounds impossible, but it was true.
Max is just a really good person. You can’t help but to like him. So once all my boxes were checked, I decided I was turning him every way but loose.
Tell us your proposal story:
Although the proposal happened in 2024, Maxwell started planning this the year before. During Art Basel 2023 in Miami, FL Maxwell met a woman who had ties to the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, KY. She was interested in his art and told him to contact her if he needed anything. He took the opportunity to see if the museum would assist in the proposal. Maxwell was met with an enthusiastic yes from the event manager since they’d never helped with a proposal before.
March 2024 rolled around and I suspected it was about to go down because Maxwell kept asking about my hair and nail appointments, then started asking for my availability to go on a date night.
Maxwell told me we were going to the Speed Museum on March 10 because the woman he met at Art Basel wanted to have lunch with us. Little did I know, Maxwell had already driven to Louisville to drop off a custom art piece that would aid in the proposal and hired Kendra Farris and her husband, Trent, to photograph and record their entire visit.
Before heading on our personal tour, Maxwell went to the restroom to meet the videographer and get a Lavalier mic put under his shirt so he could get all the dialogue during the tour.
Max and I tagged along with a museum docent who took us through several exhibits. Once we got to the modern art exhibit, I noticed it had gotten really quiet and no one was walking with me. I surveyed the room and a portrait on an easel caught my eye.
I noticed it was made of shoelaces — Maxwell’s primary medium for his art pieces. That’s when I noticed the women in the portrait were me. By the time I turned to Maxwell, he was on one knee, the photographer was snapping away, and the videographer was getting every angle. After the initial shock, I pulled it together to FaceTime our families.
Describe your engagement session. Did you have a theme?
When Max and I discussed the vision for our engagement photos, we both agreed we wanted a timeless look. We’ve never been big fans of casual photoshoots and we essentially captured that vibe the day of the proposal. We wanted to be dressed to the nines and in a place with beautiful architecture.
Our photographer suggested Rollins College. The latter part of the shoot near the chapel on campus was absolutely magical. From the steps of the church to the hallway of arches, to the rose garden. Everything felt so right. So romantic. So effortlessly chic.
What’s your favorite thing to do as a couple?
We enjoy museums. Any type — history, art, science, doesn’t matter — we’ll go.
How has wedding planning been so far?
Our priority was hiring a wedding planner because the wedding is my hometown of Orlando, FL and we currently live in Cincinnati, OH. We knew traveling back and forth would get old fast so we wanted to have a trustworthy person at home base, able to make decisions on our behalf.
Shadow Anderson, the owner of Thee Chaos Coordinator, has been a blessing. We were really intentional about hiring vendors who are Black, people of color, and/or owned by women. Shadow just totally understood us and as a POC, she just gets it. We can say a lot without saying much.
Shadow also stood out to us because her portfolio had cool weddings. We didn’t want to do a blush and white wedding — it’s beautiful, just not original. And even if the cool weddings Shadow pulled together weren’t our cup of tea — it showed us she’s versatile and has the capacity to think outside the box.
Tell us what you’re looking forward to most on the wedding day:
We’re looking forward to sharing the day with our family and closest friends. We’re also excited to see how everything comes together. Every month we’re making these little decisions that will give us the bigger picture. We want the wedding to be unlike other weddings and an event our guests haven’t experienced before.
Looking for more romantic engagement sessions like Jasmine Styles & Maxwell Pearce for inspiration?
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Vendors:
- Photography: Derrious Robinson of RTW Photography
- Hair: Annice Austin of Ace Lux Hair Studio
- Makeup: Nami Kai of Studio NK
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