In hindsight, Shanee Stephens and Crystal Higginbotham are glad that the food served at a party last year wasn’t too tasty.
“We were at a mutual friend’s birthday party and started small talk about the food that was being served; it wasn’t too good,” Stephens laughed.
The couple had an instant connection that night.
“There was just a natural chemistry,” Higginbotham said. “And then it’s just been like a high this whole past year; we haven’t had any bumps.”
Higginbotham, 31, works in the chemical-engineering field. Stephens, 27, is studying early childhood education at Community College of Philadelphia, and currently works with children with special needs.
Higginbotham said she was trying to plan a perfect proposal, but the moment arose organically when they were at home one night.
“I couldn’t figure out the right time. The day after she had worked a 10-hour shift and her son was there, she was cooking and running around, making sure I had something to eat,” she said. “It just made me see how selfless and giving she is, and seemed like the perfect time. So I ran upstairs and was like, ‘There’s something I need to tell you but you might get mad at me’ to try to throw her off. And then I proposed.”
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, what’s the bad news?’ Honestly, that was the last thing I expected to hear,” Stephens laughed. “I turned around and she had the ring, and I was like, ‘Oh, OK.’”
Stephens said she looks forward to marrying Higginbotham to set a positive example for her 7-year-old son.
“I love the idea of love, and I want to set an example for my son so he can see what a household should be,” she said.
“I think when you find somebody you can see yourself being with, time shouldn’t be a limiting factor,” Higginbotham added. “Marriage is a way to express your love to someone and to commit to them. I want her around for forever and we want to do the proper thing to make sure that happens. That’s what the proposal and the eventual wedding are about: There are a lot of other people out there but, in spite of our flaws, we’ve chosen each other.”