Melissa first met Jade on the playground in 3rd grade, where they bonded over jump rope and cemented a friendship that would last a lifetime. MANY years & MANY relationships later, Jade called Melissa up to tell her about a new potential boo, but Melissa was skeptical about said potential boo, as she was with all the others. However, upon meeting Jamaal for the first time, she knew he was different.
In her free time, Melissa enjoys eating yummy food, traveling to exotic destinations, watching good TV, and reading thrilling novels—all interests she already shared with Jade, and could now bond over with Jamaal. Although Melissa didn't need another reason to attend their destination wedding, the Guatemalan backdrop was the cherry on top!
Jacqueline first met Jade while working together at a charter school in DC. Even though Jade was skeptical about the new girl, Jacqueline knew Jade was going to be her friend. They got closer the longer they worked together, and very quickly became roommates! Neither expected to find a new best friend in their late 20’s, but they did!
Jacqueline remembers the exact day she met Jamaal. She knew from the way her friend laughed, gushed, and didn’t hold back her feelings that he was the one! Jacqueline had a front row seat to watch their love bloom over the past year and couldn’t be more excited for them to embark on this new chapter.
Jada is Jade's Little Sister. She has nothing to say about her. She is just here so she doesn't get fined.
Anju met Jade just a few days after she was born. Jade was Anju's very first best friend and in many ways the big sister she never had. If Jade said her favorite color was pink, then Anju's favorite color was also pink. Most of Anju's childhood memories include playing school in Jade's basement (in every scenario Jade was the teacher and Anju was the obedient pupil) or trying to learn dances to Destiny's Child in her garage. When Jade called to share the story of how she met Jamaal, Anju knew it was meant to be (a sucker for fairytale happy endings). Anju is beyond happy for her God-sister and her future hubby!!
Anju has a special affinity for hiking, high tea, and equitable access to health care. She also enjoys teaching yoga, runs on the boardwalk, travelling, and holistic birth work. And last, Anju is a plant-mom-to-be and is looking forward to learning some expert tips from The McKenzies!!
Anna met Jade attending high school at McNair through mutual friends and it soon became apparent their bond would be lifelong. Throughout the years, their relationship consisted of unconditional support for each other, laughter, happy tears, sad tears, and countless adventures filled with memories. In the famous words of Mr. Leslie Chow, “But did you die?” summed up most of those experiences. Jade kept her early stages of dating Jamaal very discreet, not wanting to jinx the manifestation of her future husband in any way. The moment Jade revealed her mystery man’s characteristics of patience, understanding, and attentiveness… Anna knew he had potential, because you need a lot of those three for Jade. Ultimately, it was the star alignment from the day they met, which Jamaal gifted Jade, that earned Anna’s confidence in him being Jade’s other half.
In Anna’s spare time she’s usually encouraging her daughter’s peculiar ideas and creations. She also enjoys outdoor adventures as well as sitting back watching documentaries on Netflix. Anna can’t wait to help get the celebration started in Guatemala!!
It's rare that friends of friends become as close as they have. Marissa met Jade after hearing all about her from their mutual best friend. They quickly bonded over a love of all things Target and Starbucks and their friendship has continued to grow over the last two years.
In her free time Marissa enjoys taking zumba and yoga classes, caring for her plant babies, arranging flowers and binging Netflix.
Jennifer and Jade first met in 2014 as Teach for America (TFA) Corps members, where they bonded over their shared desire to bring educational equity to underserved communities. When Jennifer first met Jade she thought, "OMG, who is this beautiful woman signing up to teach our babies?". When Jade first met Jennifer, however, she said, "Who is this girl working so hard all the time? She MUST not have a man". LOL -_- Naturally, the two became roommates shortly after. Jennifer has had the privilege of struggling through the growing pains of adulthood with Jade, whom she affectionately calls "Chi-Chi" and she is so proud of the woman she has become!
Jennifer met Jamaal at a High School Fair that he picked Jade up from one day and upon seeing several bibles in his car, knew he was the perfect man for her. Jamaal is such a peaceful guy and exercises a quiet, yet POWERFUL strength; he truly is the calm to Jade's storm (just ask her students!).
In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys exercising, singing in the church choir, YouTubing self-care videos, and spending quality time with her loved ones (even though she needs a lot of alone time as well). She is excited to return to Guatemala for the wedding because the country really means a lot to her and Jade.
Cori first met Jade while working together at a middle school in Washington, DC and her initial impression was “who is this new lady and why is she telling us what to do?!” She believed there was no way they would be anything besides coworkers! Cori was happy to be proven wrong, though. She and Jade truly bonded for the first time at a food truck festival a few months into the school year and began a more authentic friendship from there. Both true Capricorns, Cori and Jade found lots of commonalities in their work ethic, organization, and love of Starbucks and Target. They have shared some amazing highs and very challenging lows together and each experience has only brought them closer together. Cori believes Jade deserves only the best and has found it in the true happiness, love, and peace she experiences with Jamaal.
Cori is a recovering workaholic learning to prioritize self-care. In her precious free time, she catches up on sleep, binge-watches Netflix, and finds new recipes to cook. She also enjoys spending time with loved ones, buying new plants, and online window shopping (ignore the Amazon packages that keep showing up). This will be her first venture to Guatemala, and she can’t wait to witness this beautiful moment in Jade and Jamaal’s love story!
Amber and Jade began their forever friendship in 6th grade. In high school their bond became even stronger as they spent more and more time together. They indulged in the commonalities they shared i.e. taking care of younger siblings, Caribbean culture, having entrepreneurs as parents, focusing on a relationship with God and everything in between. Jade shared with Amber that her husband was coming and God was telling her to prepare herself and sure enough, the knight in shining Guyanese gold armor himself, Jamaal showed up!
For leisure, Amber enjoys dancing, cooking, expanding her career in healthcare, and hearing about Jade’s testimony of love. She's also anxious for their bi-weekly conversations of great memories to come!
Angela first met Jade at Peabody Hall her freshman year at Temple University. Peabody wasn’t the prettiest of dorms. Angela’s first memory when meeting Jade was hearing her father say “Jade, you’re at Club Med!!” Lol!! From young eighteen-year-olds trying to find their place in this world, to adult women claiming their greatness, Angela has had the honor of bearing witness to Jade’s evolution. Thirteen years of friendship with a lifetime to go.
Angela is a hard worker who has dedicated her life to helping others. In her free time, she enjoys shopping, trying new recipes, and chatting with friends and family. If there is one thing Angela and Jade share, it is their love of food and finding an amazing restaurant.
Ruby initially connected with Jamaal through photography and quickly became one of his best friends! From a trip to Iceland, to shooting a celebrity wedding in New Orleans together, it was always a good time. Jamaal was never more than a phone call away and someone she could count on. Then, one day Jamaal told Ruby about this girl he met by the name of Jade. From the smile on his face, to the way he spoke about her, she knew it was serious and ultimately written in the stars.
Ruby enjoys going to the beach, great food, traveling and dance battles!
At the age of 9, Akina met Jamaal sitting with his mother in a church pew. At first they were rather shy with each other, but eventually bonded over their love of music and an endless list of similarities. For example, they were both January-born (January 8th & 9th) and the only child of single West Indian mothers. They share a Godfather and were both raised Seventh Day Adventist. Through the years, distance created division, but they remained a phone call away, never missing a birthday, a Christmas, or a tough time.
In Akina’s free time, she enjoys listening to podcasts and watching documentaries, old Disney movies, and rom-coms. She also loves jazz and gospel music. Not long ago, Akina realized that Jamaal had become a bit more scarce than usual, then he shared that he’d met an amazing woman and they’d been spending a lot of time together. Akina was skeptical at first , but the more he shared, the less skeptical she became. Shortly after, Akina planned a trip to Maryland to meet the lovely mystery woman, Jade. Instantly, they connected over a love of Disney and skin care. They also share the same birthday and now affectionately refer to each other as “Birthday Twin”. After spending the weekend having endless conversations about life, love, and spirituality, Akina was left without a doubt that Jade was “the one”.
