Groom: A.Dee Williams, 40, Professor at Cal State in Los Angeles
Married Since: September 3, 2011
Wedding Location: In the backyard of their Los Angeles home.
Wedding Theme: Southern Comfort
Touchdown!
Back during Super Bowl weekend 2004, University of Maryland graduate student A.Dee, and his roommate, who attended Howard University, decided to throw a party at their place on game night. Amber and a friend came as guests of his roommate, and they arrived almost two hours before the kickoff. Since A.Dee still had some cooking to do, he told the ladies to come on in and make themselves at home. Amber wasted no time doing so. “She proceeded right to my bookshelf and picked out a book that was essential to my dissertation, called Critical Race Theory: An Introduction by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic,” says A.Dee. “Over the next few hours, as we waited for everyone else to arrive Amber read about 150 pages of the 160-page book. Needless to say, I was impressed.” Thoroughly intrigued with the scholarly beauty who stood before him, A.Dee walked over and asked Amber if she liked the book and would like to borrow it, hoping he’d then have an excuse to meet up with her another day. His plan worked, and just like that, they were headed for a first date.
All the Single Ladies
Each winter break between semesters, A.Dee and Amber traveled back to her hometown of Minneapolis together. During their visits, it was a family tradition to meet up for happy hour drinks and bar hopping. On one particular trip, an storm hit with eight inches of snow, but Amber and A.Dee decided to brave the frigid weather anyway and keep the good times going with the group. If they hadn’t, A.Dee’s secret proposal plans would have fallen apart.
A few hours later, they ended up at a bar that was so empty, they practically had the place to themselves. Amber’s mother, sister, cousins, and friends were all there. Suddenly the music stopped, and Amber was the center of attention. “He had the deejay play Beyoncé’s ‘Single Ladies’ because he knew every time it came on I danced around like a lunatic and taunted him for not putting a ring on it,” says Amber. “This time was no different.” When the deejay cut the track, she turned to find A. Dee on bended knee with a ring and a promise to be by her side forever. “Having everyone around for such a beautiful moment in our lives was amazing,” Amber tells us. Nine months later, they were married in the backyard of their new Los Angeles home in a southern-inspired ceremony.
Wedding Ingredients:
Photography: EPlove Photography
Floral, Event Design, Planning and Coordination: Therese Dozier of My Sorted Affair
Catering: Dulan’s Catering
Bride’s Dress: J. Crew
Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Rentals: Pico Party Rents
Custom Runner Rental: My Sorted Affair
Stationery: etsy.com/shop/ellothere