Jessica & Douglas

Welcome to Our Forever

JessicaFrentress

&

DouglasQuave

September22023

Ponchatoula, LA

(Stinky Mud Photography)

Strawberry Manor

1690 Veterans Ave, Ponchatoula, LA 70454

Our Story

How We Met

We met at work in 2016, but it wasn't until 2018 that our friendship really began when Jessica needed a woodworking project completed (thanks a million to Pedro the puppy for chewing that coffee table!) During the course of that project, our bond grew stronger as we bounced creative design ideas off of each other. Soon, we became support systems for one another as we navigated through work/life challenges. We cheered each other on in all of our personal and professional endeavors.

Then, in 2020, our lives (along with the rest of the world's) were forever changed when the pandemic hit. Suddenly, the support systems we had been cultivating over the years became more important than ever as we grew to rely on daily video calls to keep our spirits high and lessen the feelings of seclusion while working from home.

During those long calls, we got to learn more about the other person's heart, mind and sense of humor in ways that we would have otherwise never had time for during our chaotic daily lives.

We like to say that the world had to stop for us because we would not stop for ourselves. The pandemic slowed our lives down and gave us the chance to finally see what had been right in front of us all along, a love founded on great friendship, respect, and too many dad jokes.

While we recognize that 2020 was a difficult year for all, we will always be grateful for the time it gave us to start our love story.

The Proposal

Earlier in the year, Doug surprised me with a weekend trip to my favorite place on earth, the beach. I had been looking forward to it for months. He booked a historical cottage in downtown Pensacola via AirBnB and planned all of the cool road trip activities for us to do on the drive there and back.

The ring had been hidden in the closet for months while he searched for the perfect time and place to pop the question, but nothing felt like "us.” A week before we left for the trip, he decided to bring the ring just in case the right moment presented itself.

We stopped at all of the cool roadside attractions he planned on our drive to the cottage, but Doug left the plans for Saturday entirely up to me. My only goal that day was to plant myself on the beach from sun-up to sun-down, which is exactly how the day began. Unfortunately, the August heat was too much for the entire day, so I suggested that we pack up, shower, have a nice dinner at Flounder’s then return to walk the beach at night when it was cooler. “YES, this is it” he thought in his mind. I had unknowingly just planned the perfect moment.

We finished our dinner and drove out to the private beach we visited earlier that day. It was secluded from all of the noise and commercial attractions on the main beach. Hand in hand we walked the shoreline under the full moonlight, not another person in sight. I stopped walking a moment to take it all in and listen to the waves crash while the moon’s reflection danced on the water. My head was on his chest, and I thought to myself, “It doesn’t get better than this.” WRONG! At that moment, he dropped his embrace, got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. With tears of joy in my eyes, I said YES!

Our engagement story is much like how we fell in love, just the two of us together, wrapped up in the moment, while the rest of the world around us had gone completely quiet.