N.O.W.
real wedding
Melanie Parent & Duke Williams APRIL 25, 2020
“DUKE AND DUCHESS” WRITTEN BY: Jessica Burke | PHOTOGRAPHER: Calvin Gavion, Jr.
“We met at NOPSI for the first time,” shares Melanie, “and on the way up to the rooftop bar this guy made the comment that we made a good looking couple.” Although Duke was quick to note they weren’t together, the two struck up a conversation and as Melanie puts it, “We really clicked.” Duke had a dramatic proposal planned with him jumping off a float during the NOMTOC Mardi Gras parade, but the engagement ring didn’t make it in time due to traffic. Instead of the original public proposal, afterwards, Duke took Melanie to a gazebo in her parents’ backyard and popped the question. “As I turned,” Melanie shares, “he was on one knee with the ring! He asked me if I would spend the rest of my life with him, if I would marry him. I just remember hugging him, and he was like, ‘so, is that a yes?’ I said, ‘Yes!’” 40 | N.O.W | NOWWeddingMagazine.com 72 | N.O.W | theNOWBride.com
