A Glamorous Wedding at The Corinthian in Houston, Texas

Shon and John Cruise were introduced by a mutual friend back in 1998. Their relationship started out on a professional level, as they were both in the real estate industry and met on the premise of potentially doing business together. Shon was a real estate appraiser and construction contractor, and John handled finance. “Over the years, Shon and I spent many hours strategizing and developing business ideas for projects that eventually led to a profitable business relationship,” John says.

“In the process of doing business, Shon and I developed a deep personal friendship that turned into the deep love we have for each other now.”

In the beginning, Shon made it clear that she wanted to keep their connection strictly platonic. “When I first met her, I was immediately smitten with her great looks and entrepreneurial determination, but she didn’t feel the same way about me,” John recalls. “She let me know in a very subtle way that I should stay focused on our business relationship, and that she was not in the market for a new love interest. So, I focused on our business together and allowed things to work themselves out from there.”

It wasn’t until 18 years of friendship later that Shon and John’s relationship shifted. One night, the two were at Shon’s home drinking wine, and having a deep discussion about business, sex, religion, God, and marriage. “It’s not the most romantic story, but our decision to get married and become a family was sort of discussed like we do most of the business deals we consider,” John describes. 

“We talked about the things that we wanted personally, and the role that we wanted a spouse to play in our lives. We spent the entire evening together, and essentially began dating that very night. Within a couple months, we discussed getting married and how we wanted the arrangements to be handled. It all happened very quickly. Some people thought too quickly, but our position was that we know everything about one another, because we have been friends for so long.”

Despite some minor disagreements during the wedding planning process, the couple both agreed on hiring “the best wedding planner in Houston,” which was Crystal Sowah. “She not only made the process painless, but she did a fabulous job incorporating both Shon and my ideas for the wedding day,” John adds.

On the day of their wedding, guests were surrounded by a palatial ambiance with fantastic food and music. “Shon looked like a queen,” says the groom. “Her hair and makeup were flawless, and her dress hugged her perfectly in all the right areas. I was so proud to have her as I watched her walk slowly down the aisle toward me. Shon later told me that she was so nervous backstage, that she told the wedding planner she didn’t feel as though she could walk out there with all those people watching her. Thank God Crystal was there to convince her that walking down that aisle was the right thing to do!”