Nashville is becoming home to a lot of things, and I am adding love to that list. Jonathan Wynn and Cortney Wade are two genuinely kind-hearted people with a real modern-day love story with Nashville as the backdrop. It is a beautiful story that has all the makings of your favorite Black Love movie. From a chance meeting in a coffee shop, courting, dating, and exploring the city together, conversations that stretched for hours and brought them closer to introducing each other into their respective lives and passions. To their faith, tying the proverbial bow around it all. Jonathan and Cortney’s love story will leave you smiling, excited and rooting for all the amazing things they will accomplish together because it is more than the wedding. These two are building something that will last a lifetime.
A coffee shop chance encounter
Jonathan is a former NFL Player and Vanderbilt grad who decided to make Nashville home after his NFL career. He is also a talented writer and co-founder of Soul’d Creative Collective. Through his interest in wanting to write more, I had a chance to connect with Jonathan several years ago when he became one of our freelance writers. As Jonathan shares, “That summer (of 2022), I feel like I kind of blossomed a little bit. I was doing stuff with Soul’d, writing for Urbaanite, you know, and finding somebody that I liked and began hanging out with.” This is also around the time I met Cortney during one of our brand events. The couple had met a few weeks prior when Cortney walked into the coffee shop where Jonathan was working. The chance encounter was divine as Cortney had just moved to Nashville and was seeking out a Black-owned coffee shop to work remotely. Walking in that day, one of the first smiles she saw was Jonathan’s.
“He was just very personable. He said you don’t look like you’re from here, and I shared that I was from Delaware. He took my order…and when he brought everything out to me, he started asking what I was working on,” shares Cortney. This conversation would lead to many, many more intentional talks where they would learn about each other, their likes, dreams, faith and shared love as creatives. Cortney is a TV/Film Producer and Filmmaker, which naturally paired with Jonathan’s multi-creative personality. Jonathan would invite Cortney out to his first open mic event. Then, after the third coffee shop meeting, Jonathan decided to shoot his shot and ask Cortney on their first date.
Falling in love with each other and Nashville
During their dating season, they really took advantage of exploring Nashville. This first date would turn into many more. Spending time with each other and immersing themselves in the culture of Black Nashville. Their conversations also continued to grow and deepen as they learned about each other. They would start letting each other into their respective worlds, from meetups, dates, to outings. Jonathan would invite Cortney out to one of his first Urbaanite events as our newest writer, which still makes me smile. “I remember telling Cortney to come through (our Nashville Sounds event) and she came. I remember seeing her mingling and talking, and I am doing the same, and it was just a beautiful day. Then, towards the end, she didn’t leave, she stayed, and by that point I was smitten,” Jonathan reflects with all smiles. As Cortney recalls, “This was after like our second date and I remember him inviting me and telling me about what he was doing and how he was going to be writing. I was really proud of him that night.” This night was also another deepening conversation that would bring them closer together. “It really became a pattern for us and it just felt very comfortable each time we saw each other”, Cortney continues.
Jonathan would incorporate the Nashville community when he planned the proposal. I also played a tiny part as he needed a guise (what better way than a staged Urbaanite Giveaway) to get Cortney out to a special Juneteenth Supper Club at Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery. Once there, Jonathan would get on one knee, sharing his heart and love for Cortney. Bringing smiles and a few tears to everyone in the room, including Cortney, as she said the one word everyone was waiting to hear, YES!
When two creatives become one
Comfort and creativity seem to be the natural anchor for their relationship. These two are true creatives who are very community-forward in the work they do. A natural connection point that continues to wrap around their love for each other. Cortney’s love of creating and documenting, and Jonathan’s heart for community and the youth, have allowed them to plan, dream, and begin charting their path past the wedding. A thing you do not always hear couples thinking about or planning, which is why Jonathan and Cortney are so special. Not because they are probably some of my favorite people I have had a chance to work and connect with during this Urbaanite journey. It is their genuine spirit, willingness to say yes, and good energy that always precedes them. The couple will start their new life together by helping others find community through a program called Apartment Life, which I thought was so cool. They will be curating and hosting events in their new apartment community later this year while working on their separate creative projects, including Jonathan’s new endeavor as a future coffee shop owner.
A confirmed prayer
Speaking with Jonathan and Cortney, you can immediately see their faith on display. They both were in prayer for the person God wanted for them, and when you look back at their first meeting, you can see the divine timing. “It was a continued prayer. I wanted God to choose my husband for me because I just believed God had the best for me. And He did. I wanted somebody who loved God, understood my faith walk, who understands, and my prayer time with God,” shares Cortney. Jonathan also chimed in, sharing his own prayer journey, “I remember my best friend told me to write down what I see in a future wife to God. And I remember doing that, and it was in the midst of all that, I was connecting with Cortney. I thought meeting my person was going to take some time, but getting to know her was literally everything I wrote down.” As members of the Nashville Life Church, keeping God at the center is what the couple continues to do, heading towards their summer wedding later this year.
You can check out their wedding website here and read more about the love story still being written.
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