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It all started with a wedding — but not our own. Ashley was the maid of honor, and Javontae was the best man at their best friend’s since childhood, Chloeé and Terry, wedding. On August 31, 2018, A simple DM sparked it all: “You’re gorgeous,” and shortly after“Your food looks delicious” we will let you guess who sent which one. That little exchange led to something neither of them expected — a bouquet brawl at the wedding, and love.

Though they lived in different cities and time zones, distance didn’t stand a chance against United’s direct flights from Texas to North Carolina. Javontae would drive four hours just to pick Ashley up from the airport, always with a bottle of her favorite liquor waiting and the grill fired up for a cookout for two. They spent countless nights on the phone, talking for hours like teenagers, often falling asleep mid-conversation. Through those talks and small, consistent acts of love, Ashley realized she had found what she always wanted in a partner.

Their bond grew stronger through shared passions — motorcycles, butter pecan ice cream, red velvet cake, and even the same birthday month for their moms. But the connection wasn’t just between them. Ashley and Javontae’s son, LJ, became best friends, sealing their bond as a family.

And who could forget the infamous bouquet toss? At that same wedding where it all began, Ashley literally dove for love (mostly competition, but perhaps the beginning of love) — tackling another guest in a full-on bouquet brawl and emerging victorious, flowers in hand raised high above her head. It was her 90th bouquet catch but the one she had to fight the hardest for. 

The proposal? Completely unexpected.  Javontae, known for gift giving days and weeks in advance because he gets too excited to keep it in, held this secret safe for months. In Punta Cana for his 30th birthday, they were dressed for a beach glow party. He ran back into the room under the guise of forgetting something, really just to set the scene. After the party, the ring sat waiting on the bed. Ashley, unaware and squinting through her contacts, didn’t even see it. “You’re blind,” Javontae said — a phrase he often uses. When she finally spotted the ring, he dropped to one knee and proposed: “I want you to be my present today and for the rest of my life.”

Their love is full of fun, laughter, competition, and support. It’s youthful and healthy, grounded in friendship, and filled with the kind of happiness you can only find when you’ve truly found your person.