And America's Top Couple™ is *drumroll please* --- Jemia & Adrian!!! And Karen & Rick and Jackie & Christofer! We are so ecstatic to be voted for, supported and given the title of "America's Top Couple™" I think we will wear it well! *smile*This journey began in January of 2011 when Adrian's high school classmate, Rashida contacted me on facebook and said that she thought Adrian and I would be perfect for this contest! I read up on the contest and found the ad for it in December's Essence magazine. After explaining it to Adrian and he seemed enthusiastic, I went for it!
We had to post a photo of us and write a 250-word essay explaining what makes our relationship special. This was the entry that I submitted:
"Laughter, loving wholeheartedly, and believing in each other's dreams, is the foundation to our relationship. Three years ago, a series of coincidences brought us together and we've been inseparable ever since. Our relationship continues to stay fresh, fiery, exhilarating and special because we have a common goal to keep each other happy. Keeping it traditional has been a major factor. Love story scenarios like picnics in the park, publicly holding hands and/or caressing, slow dancing, him bringing me flowers, long walks together, surprising him with his favorite meal, romantic weekend get-a-ways to relax and enjoy something new. The mushier the better! Being in love and best friends has been one of the most favored experiences we've ever had. The ability to be who we truly are, the good, great or bad, it's accepted and the love is unconditional. Through trust and communication our relationship has evolved into something so powerful, that even we're amazed at how connected we are to one another. The sight of him makes my heart race, his kiss makes me melt and his embrace is my "security blanket." Our biggest factor to keeping our relationship special is LAUGHTER. Learning to giggle, chuckle and sometimes burst out laughing at each other is not only healing, it enhances our intimacy, and allows us to get over life's hurdles together. It's been our experience that mutual laughter and playful moments together are an essential component that keeps our relationship strong and healthy! The big smiles on our faces say it all!"
After clicking "send" we anxiously waited... There were thousands of entries and I really didn't know how it would turn out. There were a lot of attractive couples and great entries, so we just hoped for the best! On March 9th, we got an email congratulating us and telling us that we had been chosen from thousands and made it to the TOP 10 FINALISTS!! We were shocked and ecstatic, and the voting was about to begin!
For 20 days, Adrian and I solicited votes, we emailed close family and friends, college buddies, sorority sisters, fraternity brothers, college alumni groups, etc. I posted a daily reminder to vote on my facebook status, and we even had the contest announced on our local radio stations, 95.7 JAMZ (Thanks Mary!) and 98.7 KISS (Thanks Chris!)... 95.7 JAMZ even posted an article about us on their website!
Things were going so well, that we decided to create a video expressing our thanks and appreciation to those who had voted for us! And the video included a slideshow, giving friends, family and voters a glimpse into our relationship! You can check out our video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6jeO1i_phk
Voting ended on March 30th and we were happy to have received so much love and support! We were told we would not get the results until "Mid-April," so for almost 2 weeks we had to anxiously wait to find out if we had won.
On April 11th, Adrian's 32nd birthday, he and I were relaxing after a weekend of celebrating his special day. We were about to get our day started, but I needed to handle some work related business via my iPhone. I was looking for a contract that I was expecting through my email... As I was scrolling down my list of emails I saw one that said, "CONGRATULATIONS - You have been selected as a GRAND PRIZE couple in the AMERICA'S TOP COUPLE™ Contest!" I couldn't believe it! Before I said anything to Adrian, I read the entire email first. Then I walked over to him and said, "I have a birthday surprise for you, something super exciting!" He looked at me really puzzled like "Huh?"... lol! I handed him my phone so he could read the email, after skimming the first couple of lines he looked at me and said, "ARE YOU SERIOUS!? We won!!!" He sat up from watching TV, grabbed me close to him and asked for a celebratory kiss! We couldn't stop smiling, and was so excited for the rest of his birthday! Talk about PERFECT timing!
We had to keep quiet about our win until all paper work was completed and the announcement was made! Well they finally posted the winners!!!
We are still shocked and amazed and excited about our up and coming romantic get away! People keep asking what we won, well this is what we get: A cash prize, we leave for NYC in a couple of weeks for a romantic get away (all expense paid -- flight, hotel, car to take us to and from), we'll have a professional photo shoot while we are there and our photo will be in a National magazine by August!
We are SO EXCITED to have this opportunity! All in the name of LOVE! Love it! My facebook and twitter friends know I'm ALL ABOUT #TeamLove!!!
Thank you so much for all of the votes, support, kind words and believing in Adrian and I! We will carry the title of "America's Top Couple™" with MUCH PRIDE and LOVE!
~JUST JEMIA :o)
Dedicating this blog to the two other couple's who are also "America's Top Couple™!" Karen & Rick and Jackie & Christofer!!! We look forward to meeting you all in NEW YORK!!!
yay!!! So happy!!!!!!!! - Shawnie B.
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