The day after their first date in February 2021, Damian Courtney Dizárd surprised Conswella Gilmore with a silver ring from David Yurman.
“As the younger generation says, I wanted to shoot my shot,” said the 51-year-old Mr. Dizárd. He then invited her to Miami for his birthday trip next month and Ms Gilmore, 50, agreed to go.
For four months now they have been talking on the phone at all hours of the day. “We built a friendship and then I felt comfortable enough” to make a move, said Mr. Dizárd, who goes by Chip.
They first met on Instagram in November 2020 when Mr. Dizárd went on Instagram Live and talked about the importance of dreaming big. Mrs. Gilmore followed Mr. Dizard, wedding and event photographer, and his words resonated with her. She messaged him and they talked on the app for weeks. They then transferred their conversation to the phone. “We talked about everything,” said Ms. Gilmore, who goes by Connie.
They had their first date at the Woodmont Grill in Bethesda, Md., where she asked questions about her impression of him, such as “How did you feel when you first saw me?” She playfully reached for her phone and recorded her answers. (These days, they look at those photos and videos and reminisce about the good times from that night.)
The next day, they met at the David Yurman store in Washington and decided to browse. Mrs Gilmore had her eye on a silver ring, but then her mother called and she left the shop to pick up the phone. When he came back in, Mr. Dizard said, “I bought you the ring.”
Surprised, Mrs. Gilmore explained to him that she had misunderstood and that she intended to buy the ring for herself. But it was already packed – and then he mentioned the trip to Miami.
When she agreed to go, he bought her plane ticket. On his birthday, March 23, 2021, she treated him to dinner at Red South Beach, a steakhouse.
That June, Mrs Gilmore was preparing to make her annual visit to the grave of her late husband, who died in 2014 and to whom she had been married for 15 years. Mr. Dizard offered to go with her. He drove her there and stayed by his car while she went to the burial site.
“He was just there for me, for support,” Ms Gilmore said. “It meant a lot.” Since then, every year she remembered that date in June and took her there.
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In February 2023, on Super Bowl Sunday, Mr. Dizárd proposed at a friend’s house. Mrs. Gilmore expected a typical football night, but when she walked into the house, she heard her favorite song, “Forever” by Robert Glasper playing and her whole family cheering. He took her hand and said, “Baby, it’s happening. It’s your suggestion.”
Ms. Gilmore graduated from Bowie State University in Bowie, Md., with a degree in business administration. She is a human resources program manager for the federal government. Mr. Dizárd graduated from Coppin State University in Baltimore with a BA in English. His previous marriage ended in divorce.
On January 14, the couple married at the University of Maryland Hotel in front of 100 guests. Reverend Phillip Jones officiated and his wife, Minister Daphne Jones, also led the ceremony.
Instead of a first look, the couple had a “first touch.” While Ms. Gilmore was in her hotel suite getting ready to wear her dress by Esé Azénabor, Mr. Dizárd was standing outside in the hallway — they couldn’t see each other. They reached out and took each other’s arms and he said, “Are you ready?” Mrs. Gilmore, swollen with emotion, cried some of her make-up and had to touch it up.
Ms Gilmore had eight bridesmaids, all of whom she met through an organization she founded in November 2015 called Premature Widow, which helps widows process their grief.
“They have been so inspired by us because it shows hope and that there is love after loss,” Ms Gilmore said. “I feel honored that they are following the journey.”
Instead of a flower girl, a ballerina tossed florals as she twirled down the aisle during the ceremony. At the reception that followed, a saxophonist played ’90s R&B and guests sang along to songs like Tevin Campbell’s “Can We Talk” and Musiq Soulchild’s “Love.”
The two are natives of the Washington, Maryland and Virginia area — known as the DMV — and now live in Laurel, Md. As fans of Go-Go music, they decided to perform at their reception at ‘Da Butt’. a classic 80’s Go-Go song by the band EU Singer and bassist, Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliott, performed the song live on the dance floor.
“I wanted to make sure Connie had the wedding of her dreams,” Mr Dizárd said. “She deserved it.”