WEDDING WISDOM: DRE & WILL
Will & Dre
What are the chances of the “People You Might Know” section of Facebook being the place you meet your husband? Well, for Dre the chances were very high. As he pointed out: “I friend requested my husband… and, I guess I kind of stalked him, too.”
Will was a little slow to pick up on DeAndre’s advances so Facebook helped Dre out again by providing Will’s phone number. “It was back in the day (in 2009) when people still put their number on Facebook. Which was good for me, bad for Will,” Dre said laughing.
Despite being from different backgrounds, not knowing any of the same people and each dating other people, the two decided to meet at Little Caesar’s in their hometown of Detroit. The first date was “really good” Dre said sheepishly, going on to say he’d not disclose any details! But, we do know they enjoyed pizza, went back to Will’s place, met a number of his friends and swiftly starting to date regularly.
Six months in, upon Will dropping DeAndre off after a date, Dre suddenly said: “I love you.” Will responded with: “I like you, too,” which, despite the awkwardness and speed of Dre’s admission, left him crestfallen. But, later that evening, Will called Dre and confessed similar feelings. “I was like a kid in a candy store!”
Now in love, the two continued dating until fate intervened again. Dre, on summer break from school, was living at home with his mother. On hitting a rough spot, Dre’s mother told him that, to live under her roof meant following her rules. This was a deal he wasn’t willing to make, so he moved out and took shelter with Will. “It was supposed to be a temporary situation, but it just flowed and I kind of stayed.”
Lest you believe theirs was entirely idyllic, three years in, the two were butting heads. So much so that they considered breaking up. And, at a particularly trying time – on the occasion of the death of Will’s father – Dre upped the stakes and proposed to Will! Dre is a man who knows how to take his man by surprise. “The answer was ‘yes,’ which shocked me given all that was going on with him and us.”
“Obviously, we didn’t have rings. Will found one to give me and I actually gave him back one of his own rings to wear! Weird, right?!”
Now, getting engaged didn’t get them through their rough patch. Things remained “unstable” for about another year more until “we started really talking about things,” at which point they settled into their relationship and love for each other. “That’s when we actually went out and bought our actual engagement rings,” Dre said. “We began planning.”
Planning was stressful particularly because the two were intent on funding the wedding themselves, because Dre was still not on great terms with his mother and, given they married right before the legalization of marriage, the two were challenged by finding venues that were fully open to two men marrying. But, with the help of a friend from their church, the two planned a courthouse wedding in June 2015 and a black-tie reception in August!
The day of their reception was riddled with trials from a bus arriving 3-hours late to pick up the wedding party for photos, to Will’s favorite aunt writing to say she wouldn’t make the event. But, the two kept looking for the bright side which eventually revealed itself when they found themselves surrounded by their 100 guests and, surprisingly, Will’s aunt and DeAndre’s mother!
This couple proves that love will get you through!
Not to mention, loving toasts from your best friends; having your dearest family with you; experiencing the vision for your wedding coming to life; enjoying others having fun with the photo booth; dancing the night away to amazing tunes spun by an incredible DJ. These were all moments that Dre and Will mentioned as the favorite parts of the wedding.
When asked what advice the two would share about planning, Dre instantly said: “Don't plan the wedding by yourself. Have someone you can lean on.” He went on to say, which was especially apt for their wedding: “Have a back up plan!” But, most importantly, Dre gave the best advice of all: “Love each other.”
And, that is a feeling that Dre has been following since the fateful day he logged on to Facebook and friended his husband.
