Brookside Gardens

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Cocktail Hour

Reception

Book Signing- Mary Did Have a Little Lamb By Elder Pecolia Pearley

Flower Bar

Our Wedding

Determined to end my battle with unemployment, I walked into the Martin Luther King Jr. library in downtown Washington, DC, on a January afternoon in 2014. With a personal charge to find a job and prevent foreclosure, I walked up to the information desk, unaware that I was greeting my future love. The handsome librarian greeted me with a debonair. "What's up? "I replied and asked the requirements for getting a DC library card. While he responded, I visually scanned his hand for a wedding ring. I didn't see one, to my delight, but I resolved that I had more pressing matters to focus on.After getting my library card, I went to the computer lab. After all, that is what I was there for: to look for a job, not a man. I signed up for a Mac computer because it could be used longer than PCs. Midway into my extended job search, the mouse on the desktop stopped working. I tried troubleshooting the problem independently to avoid getting caught using the wrong computer. By this time, the library professionals had switched posts, and the guy from the information desk was now monitoring the computer lab. I raised my hand to request help to repair the nonfunctioning computer mouse, and guess who made his way over to help me? Upon his arrival, I was encapsulated by his cologne, where those his pheromones or mine, I thought. He worked on repairing the computer, hovering over me like Godzilla. After he and his colleague fixed the computer, I did something I ordinarily would never do. I looked up at him and said, wow, you smell nice. Over time, we became friends and more. Who knew love would bloom in that moment?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Life has caused us to practice vows well before their time. Over the years, we have learned each other, grown and matured individually and collectively, laughed, supported each other, and helped each other stay employed. Every couple has its unique love recipe. Ours is my favorite sauce. Sometimes, it's sweet, sometimes spicy, but it's always comforting and delicious. Less than 250 days until we are crowned Mr. and Mrs. Johnson!&nbsp;

Her Story

His Story

Our first chance meeting was in the Library computer room. Cotilya had made it a practice to come to the computer room to look for ways to do art on our computers; however, she wasn't the most computer savvy when it came to operating the Apple software, so one day, while she was sitting there attempting to do it she made mention to me about my cologne And how she thought that I smelled so good being at work I was a little bit apprehensive about talking to a patron that I was potentially interested in. Still, Cotilya was persistent, and she would later attend a significant number of my programs once we talked often. For a long time, we then began to go out in the evening to restaurants and then to play pool at a pool hall in Dupont Circle. It wasn't long after that, and after a night of drinking (I won't say that she had any drinks), we became much closer than we had been before. We would later go on to having more formal dates, vacations, etc., where we had started our long journey of seeing the world from coast to coast, country to country. Our most significant and most adventurous moment came a few years later when we decided to drive across the United States of America to visit Yellowstone National Park. At this time, we both knew that if anyone could drive in a car alone with someone else for that many hours without wanting to dump them afterward, then there was a high likelihood that they were a match and would have a long future together. We knew each other well before then, but that trip across the country solidified our bond unlike anything else we had experienced before, and the rest is history.

Her Story + His Story= Our Story

Cotilya Brown 

J Johnson

Wedding Party

Questions & Answers 

Brookside Gardens 

Wedding Venue (Ceremony, Cocktail hour & Reception) Location

1800 Glenallan Avenue, Wheaton, MD 20902

Click below to see an enchanting video of Brookside Gardens, our wedding venue. 

Brookside Gardens YouTube Link 

Wedding Venue Details 

Regal Majestic

AMC Wheaton Mall 9

Marshalls

Ross Dress for Less

T.J. Maxx

Brigadier General Charles E. McGee Library (Silver Spring Library)

Whole Foods Market

Silver Spring Civic Center

All Set Restaurant & Bar

Copper Canyon Grill

Matchbox

Miss Toya’s Creole House

Mi Rancho

Negril - Silver Spring

Guapo's Restaurant

The Fillmore Silver Spring

AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center

Rostas Collections

The Breakfast Club

Giant Food

Safeway

Ulta Beauty

Starbucks

CAVA

Westfield Montgomery

Westfield Wheaton

Walgreens Pharmacy 

MOM's Organic Market

Chido's Tex-Mex Grill Silver Spring

Roaming Rooster-  COMING SOON

Chick-fil-A

Local things to do-Downtown Silver Spring, MD

Registry

8777 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA(301) 589-0800 Check-In:&nbsp;Friday, October 17, 2025&nbsp;|&nbsp;Check-Out:&nbsp;Sunday, October 19, 2025 For your convenience, a block of rooms has been reserved at the Double Tree by Hilton Silver Spring Hotel in Silver Spring, MD. The room block is listed under Brown Wedding Block. Please list your Hilton Honors rewards number for cost-saving options when booking your hotel room. Please use this link to create a free Hilton Honors rewards account before you book your hotel room. <a href="https://www.hilton.com/en/hilton-honors/join" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.hilton.com/en/hilton-honors/join</a>/

Book Your Hotel Room:<a href="https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/dcagsdt-bwb-935985e1-d829-4422-9ea0-8aa814a4e32e/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/dcagsdt-bwb-935985e1-d829-4422-9ea0-8aa814a4e32e/</a>

Hotel Details

Engagement Story

On an unseasonably warm afternoon on March 3, 2024, J asked me to continue life with him as his wife at Great Falls National Park in Virginia. A beautiful setting and a life-changing question completed this surprise proposal.&nbsp;

Video Clip of Great Falls Park

https://youtube.com/shorts/yQ2VXWb4ozM?si=k_9ggxMdhIlpNc_h

Wedding Photo Sharing Made Simple.Kululu is a simple and fun way to collect photos &amp; videos from wedding guests into a beautiful digital album and stream it on a live photo wall.

<a href="app.kululu.com/cotilyaandj" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">app.kululu.com/cotilyaandj</a>

Wedding Photo Sharing- Kululu

Godfather- Bishop Gregory R. Bowden Sr.Pastor- Dr. Wallace C. Baxter IIIMother of the Bride- Pecolia Pearley Special Thanks to our wedding vendors! Photographer - Tigran MarkaryanBrookside Gardens- Jennifer BlandFlorist- Lola Fato @ Johnson's Florist and Garden Center (Kensington)Dance Floor- Allied Event SolutionsCaterer- Be My Guest- ShawnMakeup Artist- Dominique TynerWeekend Warriors- Setup Assistants - CharlesDJ- Uriel Collins (Dapper DJs)DMV Smylez- Chris and SanaDay of Wedding Coordinator- Danielle Anthony (Sheer Main Wedding Services) Thank you to all of YOU for your love, your sacrifice, and your dedication to be here today to celebrate with us!

Thank you!

cotilyaandj.com

Cotilya & J

Cotilya & J

Thank you!