The first time Marcus Canady spent time with Angelisse Hutchinson, it was while helping her pick out a dress for her then-boyfriend’s birthday party. He’d connected with Angel through a mutual friend after moving to Syracuse, New York, where Angel lived. Having promised to show Marcus around, Angel invited him on her shopping excursion to Lord & Taylor.
As Angel picked out a few dresses for the party, Marcus convinced her to try on a cream satin number that caught his eye. Angel obliged, but decided it was too dressy and moved on to her other options. “He then asked me to try on the cream dress again, and to my surprise when I came out, Marcus had about ten other random shoppers waiting outside of the dressing room, clapping and nodding in agreement that this was ‘the one,’” says Angel, a corporate talent management manager. “It was so hilarious to me that I had to get it. The funny thing is, I never wore it afterward, and so it just stayed in my closet.” The shopping trip inspired a strong friendship that eventually turned into romance when both Angel and Marcus found themselves single again.
When it came to the proposal two years later, Marcus, a military officer for United States Coast Guard, planned a scheme worthy of a spy novel. In July of 2013 he and Angel were getting ready for a surprise party that Marcus said one of his friends was throwing for his girlfriend at the Westin Washington National Harbor. “Since the attire was semiformal, Marcus asked me to wear ‘the dress,’” says Angel. “ I thought it was so sweet he even remembered I had it and asked me to wear it.”
When the couple got to the hotel, a friend rushed them into a very dim ballroom. Angel began to make small talk with the people at the party, when she felt the energy in the ballroom shift. “All of a sudden the room got very quiet and for some strange reason I felt like all eyes were on me,” recalls Angel. She turned around to face the other side of the room and found Marcus standing in the middle of the dance floor with both of their parents and friends and family from all over the country standing behind him. “I have never seen all of these people in one place before. I was so stunned that I literally stopped breathing for a second,” says Angel. “Marcus asked me to come to the middle of the floor, and right then and there he spoke the most beautiful words imaginable and asked me to be his wife.” Naturally she said yes, and the celebration turned into their engagement party.
The engagement session, captured by JPix Photography, took place at Fort Washington Park, downtown Alexandria, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and the Martin Luther King Jr. monument. The couple opted for three looks representing their personalities. “The first shoot represented Syracuse University and included our pup, Johnny Bacon,” says Angel. “The next shoot included bright colors to represent our lively personalities, and the final shoot is where we wanted to show our sophisticated side.” Marcus and Angel will tie the knot on August 8, 2014, at the Newton White Mansion.
