Love at first sight... kind of.

It all started with some Christmas pre-gaming when Janessa was home from college with her best friend, Kaitlyn. A different love story began there which brought Janessa down to West Palm Beach for spring break. Knowing Janessa was coming to stay at his home, Dave slid into her iPhone 4 dm's. A.K.A. he texted her. We started talking, getting to know each other and quickly developed a friendship.

When it was time for the road trip for spring break, the girls headed South from Columbia to good ole Lox Life (South Florida / West Palm Beach)! An 8 hour drive one way was all it took and the rest was history!

Janessa: I wanted to look cute, so I wore my favorite daisy dukes and cowgirl boots for the arrival. I had no idea what kind of affect that would have on Dave but I also wasn't thinking this was about to be anything - I wasn't looking for love and Dave definitely was not my type. When we arrived, the guys had a huge paper banner hung in the garage that said "Welcome KP + Nessa" in spray paint. Super classy, but we loved it. They also had our favorite treats: gummy bears. They really knew the way to our hearts.

Dave likes to say all it took was a foot rub because one of the nights we were there, we were hanging out and Dave rubbed my feet. His theory is it was a wrap from there!

-----

Dave: I was fresh out of a relationship and not really sure what I was looking for, plus everyone told me I wasn't Janessa's "type." Some calls and texts and the next thing I know she stepped out of that car in those cowgirl boots and short shorts. I knew I had some work to do. A few foot rubs and lots of laughs later, she was slowly catching feelings and I knew I had a chance when she didn't want to leave. But she did. 3 more years of college kept her at USC and we worked through a long distance relationship with many trips back and forth to see each other.

When I drove up to move her out after graduation, I gave her my Mom's old wedding ring and promised her I would marry her one day. She wore that ring until I proposed in December of 2020 and here we are now, finally tying the knot.

-----

More from both of us:

Ironically, we both grew up in Beaufort (Janessa spent her whole childhood in the sweet Lowcountry town and Dave moved to Beaufort from Ohio when he was around 10). Being 5 years apart in age and attending schools on the opposite sides of town, we never met in Beaufort. We had a lot of the same acquaintances and friends but never knew or had even heard of each other. Even crazier, Janessa was very close with Dave's cousin during elementary school: spending the night at her house right across the street from his and attending birthday parties, having met his grandmother a time or two, etc. Crazy how such a small town could manage to keep us apart for so long only to be brought together forever later in life.

Although we've been together for over a decade and didn't necessarily follow a traditional path by getting married sooner like normal people, we've always been committed to each other for the long haul. We have now lived together since 2013, bought 4 homes, countless cars and toys, built businesses and made so many trips all over the place together. We call our lives "The Adventures of Lamar and Lafawndah" because every day is truly such an adventure. We appreciate each other, we depend on each other and we have been through so many ups and downs together. Although our continuous "banter" may make this hard to believe, we have an unwavering respect for one another and a trust that goes deep. We always come out on top because we have a partnership like no other and at the core of our relationship is the fact that we are genuine best friends. We are so excited to have this special time to create memories with all of you and to finally celebrate our love. Let the next adventure begin!

"Lafawndah's my soulmate!"