The fact that Carolyn Howell and Donte Young hail from different cities made for the perfect engagement shoot theme. Take a peek below at their DC vs. Baltimore portraits that Tunji Sarumi snapped of them in both cities.
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When Carolyn came across Donte’s profile on blackpeoplemeet.com, she was intrigued. “I thought he was really handsome in his photos online,” she says. “Also, I loved that he seemed so family oriented. That came across in his profile.” In return, Donte thought Carolyn was a “cutie pie” with a lovely smile, so they pair set a first date for a restaurant in Columbia. Both were nervous, but that didn’t prevent them from spending the night flirting and wishing the date would never end.
For their three-year anniversary, Donte had told Carolyn that they’d go out for dinner and a massage. When Carolyn walked in the door from work, however, she found a dozen white roses at the bottom of the stairs, with rose petals leading her upstairs. In the living room, she noticed the TV remote on the floor surrounded by a heart-shaped pile of rose petals and a sign that instructed her to turn on the television. When she pressed the power button, a slideshow of their relationship started playing to R. Kelly’s “Forever.” The slideshow ended on a photo of an engagement ring, at which point Donte appeared in a suit and got down on one knee.
Because Donte is a Baltimore native and Carolyn is from DC, the two decided to have a “Battle of the Beltway” themed engagement shoot with Tunji Sarumi. They started at Graffiti Alley in Baltimore in opposing “I Heart Baltimore” and “I Heart DC” t-shirts before heading to snap some stylish portraits at Union Station. The couple ended the shoot down at the monuments after dark, finishing their portrait session with a classic tribute to DC. Donte and Carolyn wed in September 2015 at Georgetown’s Sequoia.
Caroline Cunningham joined Washingtonian in 2014 after moving to the DC area from Cincinnati, where she interned and freelanced for Cincinnati Magazine and worked in content marketing. She currently resides in College Park.
