vimeo.com/283362704/81edcb015d
I planned a Birthday Dinner for John-Aaron with many family and friends in attendance. He pretty much high jacked the party that I planned for him and made it all about me!!!
We had dinner in the Library of the "Public House" in Chicago. The food was amazing and the drinks were flowing. My mother swept me away to make a trip to the bathroom while John caught the rest of the guests up about his plans. Although most of the guests already knew the plan, John told everyone that he was going to propose, and had even been working with the event planner at Pubic House that I was in contact with behind my back!!!!
John had the waitress tell me that my card had declined and to come with her to clear it up. I was LIVID because he had her come up to me in front of our guests, with a clip board and had her say my card was declined all LOUD!!! I checked my card multiple times throughout the day and night to ensure we were covered, so I knew it was an error but was still very embarrassed.
When I came back from fixing the “error”, our guest were standing in a circle, many with their cell phones out. I knew something was up, but was pushed back up to our table area.
John-Aaron told me everything that I dreamed of hearing from him since I fell HARD for him a mere 2 months in to dating. He got down on one knee, proposed, and OF COURSE I said YES!!
The ring…I can’t believe how detailed he was with it. The ring includes diamonds from my both of our mother’s jewelry plus additional ones from him. There are three diamonds on each side that represent Me, John-Aaron, and my son Amari. Also, there is an “M” in the ring, for me….the future Mrs. MOORE!!
If the excitement of the proposal had barely set in before John-Aaron rushed everyone over to Halligan’s Bar. Halligan’s is significant to us, because it was the location of our first meet ‘n greet. I thought it was a cute touch to end the evening there. Little did I know another surprise awaited us. I walked in, showed ID for entry, and waited for the others to get checked. I happened to look up and saw a mylar balloon of an engagement ring towards the back of the bar. I thought that it was so cute, looked down, and then recognized the people at the table as friends and co-workers of John’s! I was in shock and excited!!! I walked in their direction and noticed more people to the side…. Holy Smokes! It was my friends from High School, Elementary School, former coworkers, and adulthood friends!!!! Many of these friends I had not seen in ages and had actually expressed missing to John on a number of occasions. The tears flowed….and flowed….and flowed…. I was amazed and humbled for a man who HATES to plan things to have pulled off such a thoughtful surprise...including many of my friends he’s NEVER met….on a TUESDAY NIGHT….on HIS BIRTHDAY!!!
All of our friends and family mingled, danced, drank, took pictures, checked out my new ring, and had a great time celebrating the most exciting night of my life! John-Aaron “YOU. DID. THAT. !!”
Forever in this story started with Tinder. That’s right a simple swipe to the right started a chain reaction that has gotten me to this moment. The moment of the rest of our LIVES! Let’s start with the early going and why I love this woman that I will call my wife! The first thought when I saw her profile was, “wow, she is tall, attractive and likes sports”! As an athlete, yes I get all the feels thinking this could be a Love and Basketball type relationship. She was well dressed, tall, and sporty with a great smile! I wish I can say it was that easy; however, anyone who knows me knows that nothing in my life has been “that easy”. It only took deleting and downloading the app three, maybe four, times before we actually matched.
When we did finally match, I immediately sent a message and waited for a response (impatiently I might add). It took a while but I finally received a response. We spent weeks texting back and forth discussing everything from work to life and of course sports. I was intrigued with her knowledge of sports and love for the bulls (still not sure if she is a real fan, lol but that’s another story). Finally she suggested we meet up and due to prior discussions, she insisted we meet in the city and that she drove.
Our first date was actually scheduled as a meet and greet. This was an opportunity to meet with limited to no pressure on either of us. I decided we would go to a place with limited pressure and that would have sports on multiple TVs! When we got to Halligan’s, she ordered a white wine, and my first thought was “Oh God” what type of woman is she?
Needless to say, she was the perfect type of woman! That was the start of the rest of my life and the becoming of the man I am today. Since then, we have had our ups and downs, but we have had more amazing times filled with love, joy, laughter and growth. Jamila has taught me so much about life since that day. She has taught me about love, loyalty, compassion, forgiveness and personal growth. She has taught me to embrace my shortcomings, learn from them and grow. She has embraced my family and given me a second family to call my own. We have had so many great times and many more to come.
I am honored, overjoyed and proud that she said yes and I can now call this beautiful woman my Fiancé! Though I don’t deserve the love and joy Jamila provides, I appreciate and value her love beyond what words could express. However, I am humbled with joy, bliss, and happiness to be able to express this love on our wedding day in front of friends and family ultimately being able to call my best friend and love of my life, MY WIFE!
https://vimeo.com/283364869/60fac733a0 (The Moment)
Our Love story would make the perfect Romantic Comedy movie. It’s “Eat, Pray, Love,” with a dash of “Love and Basketball,” and a hint of “Deliver us from Eva”!
I’m not the bride that dreamt of her wedding from a young age, knew what her dress was going to look like, and her wedding colors. In fact, I did not think I would ever get married. My childhood dream was instead to work alongside my father, one day take over his business, and purchase my childhood home. (2 out of 3 isn’t bad so far) My friends never took me seriously when I’d say “I don’t intend to or have to get married…if it happens it happens”. I can recall Karisa and Shannan telling me that I’d eventually change my mind when I met the right person. I don’t often say this but… THEY WERE RIGHT!!!
In spring of 2016, I decided I was ready to start dating again after over a year of “me time.” I did not date anyone for that time, but instead focused on self-development. After years of being a serial monogamist, I felt I was ready to get back out there with new found perspective of what I wanted in a partner. Since my social life consisted of going to work, the grocery store, the gym, and then home, I decided to try something different to meet someone. I recalled pushing one of my best friends (circa 2007?) Karisa to try online dating (where she met her husband) , but had REFUSED to do it for myself. Finally, I decided to try out a dating App. I chose Tinder, the only one I heard of at the time. Disclaimer: I DID NOT know Tinder’s reputation prior to signing up, but I liked that it was tied to Facebook, so I could get more information on the prospects.
On Tinder, this handsome and muscular guy John-Aaron kept popping up but I kept swiping left and passing up on him after assuming 1. I would not be his type, 2. He looks like “a heart breaker”, 3. He can’t be serious about dating since he did not write anything in his profile, and 4. He had on a Red Shirt with Elmo wearing a gold chain. (A shirt he still wears by the way.) He disappeared for a while, but several months later, there he was again. THIS time, there were more pictures, and he wrote 1 measly sentence this time. “If you want to know something…..ask.” I decided to swipe right and we matched.
We messaged each other for two days, before John-Aaron asked for my number. I had a special phone number through an app that was specifically for screening people. He tells everyone I gave him a fake number. LIES! LOL. It was a real number that he could call and text me on, so it was NOT FAKE!!! We had in depth conversations about our upbringing, music, sports, our dating history, and our goals. The conversations easily flowed and we made each other laugh…A LOT!!!
He lived in Chicago, while I was far out in the suburbs, so we decided to do a meet and greet (not a date) in the city. I insisted that I pick HIM up because he had a reputation for ending dates/ meet & greets early! He was a “flight risk” and I was NOT about to be stranded in the city! I went to pick him up...as he walked to the car I thought “Wow, he REALLY looks exactly like those pictures!!!” I immediately became nervous and shy! We went to Halligan’s, a college bar, and had drinks. He looked at me like I was nuts when I asked for a white wine. He implied that that was an odd pick for a college bar. We had such great conversation. I definitely had butterflies. I felt like I could be authentically myself with him.
We’ve since enjoyed partying and ATVs in Cancun, Swimming and climbing waterfalls in Jamaica, tubing in Angola (Indiana), camping out and flipping canoes in the “U.P.”, basketball tournaments in Ludington Michigan, attending concerts in Miami, Snowboarding in Colorado, exploring the Arch in St. Louis, and visiting with our families in Atlanta.
As most of you know, being in a relationship with me is a package deal. My son Amari is an amazing guy, and it has been so much fun to watch the “bromance” between him and John-Aaron grow. John-Aaron is a child whisperer. Children flock to him and he is like a big kid when they’re around. When they’re not beating each other up, you can find them watching superhero movies, playing basketball, playing board games and card games, and having these deep conversations that showcase Amari’s growth since John-Aaron has entered our lives.
John-Aaron is a ball of energy, spontaneous, funny, romantic, and an admitted smart aleck. I’ve never had so much fun with someone from day 1. I knew he was my husband about two months in. I actually have the moment I knew captured on snap chat. vimeo.com/283364869/60fac733a0 We were just hanging out at his apartment, sharing music with each other, and laughing like crazy. It was so simple, but it felt right. I began telling my friends, “If this isn’t him….I QUIT!!” I usually hid my boyfriends for years from family and friends, so the fact that I was up front about him, and brought him around them, they were also “sold!” It took John-Aaron far longer to decipher his own feelings and I learned much patience through this process. It was well worth the wait and uncertainty.
I cannot wait to walk down the aisle, party, and spend the rest of my life with the only person on Earth more stubborn than myself! LOL.
.... I've had to break our wedding hashtag down a couple times. My basketball nickname growing up was "JAMS".... John-Aaron's initials are "J.A.M."... and if there was a theme besides the obvious crazy energy and colors, it'd probably be music (There will be a variety of it throughout the night (hint hint))...aka... Jams.... Get it?!