Josette and Kevin met on a dating website in March of 2011 before they were as mainstream as they are now. When they spoke on the phone, the conversation was great and felt easy like they knew each for years, so they decided to meet in person for a dinner. It’s funny because Josette was tired of the lameness that she kept coming across on dating sites and was about to delete her profile, so the fact that he reached out when he did was serendipitous.
They went to a Hibachi restaurant in Brooklyn and had the best time talking about basketball and their favorite teams and bantering back and forth. Kevin is a die-hard Knicks fan, and at that moment, Josette should’ve known he was a loyal guy. Dinner turned into after dinner drinks and more great conversation. They both discovered their love for adventure, travel and adrenaline rushes. It wasn’t love at first sight the way that it happens in movies, but it was something. And as stubborn as they both are, it took them a few more months before they admitted it.
They went on their first trip out of the country that October to Mexico and that’s when they realized their love. Seven years later, here they are. Take a peek at their New York engagement session, captured by Loreto Caceres Photography.
Bride’s full name, age and occupation: Josette Robinson, 39, Managing Director, Financial Services PR Firm
Groom’s full name, age and occupation: Kevin Thompson, 40, Supervisor, City of New York Agency
Place of residence: Glendale, New York
Engagement Shoot Location: DUMBO, Brooklyn Bridge Park
Wedding date: September 20, 2019
Engagement story:
We got engaged this past June in Paris. Kevin is a low-key guy and while I’m a little more “out there,” I never wanted a very public proposal with a crew of people, even if they were family and friends. In my head, it was going to happen on a Saturday morning when we were lazing around and catching up on our shows, and Kevin would make breakfast as usual and bring it to me in bed with a ring. So, this surprised me but the way it happened was perfect.
It’s a long story, but the set up helps to tell the story about who we are and our relationship. We traveled to Paris from London as we had to make a stop for our family. Despite having a hotel room right in the airport, we ended up missing our flight and there were no others on our airline to Paris that day.
Usually, I’m the fixer and the one to go “zero to a hundred real quick.” Kevin is the calm and levelheaded one. Roles were reversed in this instance and he insisted we had to get to Paris that day. We ended up taking the Eurostar and got to a very rainy Paris late that evening, so aside from dinner and drinks, we did not do too much else.
The next morning we hit the town sightseeing and went to see Notre Dame and walked around the Latin Quarters. We had a full day of knocking about the streets of Paris. Jet lag caught up to us and a mini nap had us wake up at 9 p.m. that Tuesday night! Not wanting to waste the night, we got up and decided to go to the Eiffel Tower for the night view. We got there too late to go to the top but still got to see the light show. Kevin was not pleased. We said we’d go back the next day and then went back to our neighborhood on the hunt for food despite it being near midnight (our bodies were still on NY time). We ended up going to a cafe right down the street from our hotel called Le Buci since they served food late. It was bustling with many people seated on the sidewalk eating, drinking, smoking their cigarettes and having a great time. It felt very French!
The moments before it happened I was scrolling through our photos from the day on my phone and saying how much I loved Paris and that I’d love to move there and become a waitress with a simple, fabulous French life. As I’m talking, he asks what about him, and we again bantered back and forth before I turned to face him and saw the ring! The rest is fuzzy because I could barely see through my happy tears and it felt like an out of body experience. There we were engaged and sitting in the corner on the sidewalk at a cafe in Paris! It was just so us. Super romantic, low-key (no one really noticed except for our waitress), no professional photographer, but it was still fabulous.
It turns out Kevin intended to do it at the top of the Eiffel Tower that night! Before we left, he had asked my mom’s permission (my Dad passed a long time ago) and both of our families knew it was going down. I couldn’t have been happier!
So, as I said before, our proposal story exemplifies who we are and our love overall. We may not do things in the way other people do, and it might take us longer to get to our final destination, but you best believe the trip will be filled with laughs, tons of love and adventure!
For the Groom: Walk us through the behind the scenes of creating this special day.
I honestly didn’t have a set plan outside of knowing I would propose to Josette while we were in Paris. I was planning to propose for a while but didn’t know exactly when or how, but when we booked our trip to Paris, I knew that had to be it. I thought I’d just be spontaneous with it and would just do it when the mood felt right. That just felt more like us. Before we left, I called her mom to get her blessing. She always told me that was really important to her and was the only thing she had to have in a proposal. I also texted a picture of the ring to her big sister because she is really close with her and speaks with her often.
We had gone to her friend’s wedding the night before we left and we were hanging out with some other couples who are friends of ours. I shared that I was going to propose on our trip to the husbands when the ladies weren’t around. One of them told me to keep the ring on me at all times and that’s all I had in my head. When we finally got to Paris, I did just that. Every time we left the room, I went back and took it out the safe. It was funny to see her catch an attitude that I was taking too long to leave. That night at the Eiffel Tower would’ve been perfect, but we didn’t make it to the top and it was freezing even though it was June. We were both cold, agitated and hungry.
When we got near our hotel and went to eat, I had no plans to do it. I thought we’d just go back to the Eiffel Tower the next day, but the moment just felt right. It was perfect because she wasn’t paying attention, so the look on her face when she turned around was priceless. The rest of the trip after that was awesome. We went to the Louvre, Versailles and roamed around Paris for the rest of the week and it made me really happy to see her so ecstatic.
What makes your love special?
At the core of our relatio
nship is a real and genuine friendship. We are each other’s biggest cheerleaders and there is nothing we can’t conquer together.
What was the theme of your shoot?
Brooklyn Chic. We are low-key, and I like to think fabulous. So, I wanted the shoot to reflect that. These shots captured the real beauty and grit of Brooklyn. Our photographer, Loreto Caceres, has an amazing eye. Kevin was born and bred in Brooklyn and a lot of our relationship took place there. We lived there together for several years. One of our favorite dates was the day after Hurricane Irene when it was like 80 degrees and an overall gorgeous day. We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge for brunch and back. Brooklyn Bridge Park is another favorite spot of ours.
Were there any memorable moments during the shoot?
We were both so taken aback, but happy at the love we got from random strangers on the street. I mean, this is New York. People honked their horns, rolled down their windows to say congrats and shook out hands giving us blessings on our union. It was beautiful. I guess the saying is true, “Spread love, it’s the Brooklyn way!”
What are you most looking forward to about your wedding?
Spending time with our loved ones and simply enjoying the day. We’ve been committed to each other for a while, but making it official will be amazing.
Have you started planning your wedding?
Yes, and it’s super hard and time-consuming. I thought I could do it solo, but realize I lack the patience and time to do it alone.
Congratulations to the happy couple! We wish you a fruitful marriage and many years of wedded bliss.
