KJ Smith and Skyh Black share engagement photos with Essence, talk plans for the big day

Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on August 30, 2023

The city of Malibu is special to Sistas stars KJ Smith and Skyh Black for multiple reasons: it’s where they met for their first date in 2020 and will be the location of their wedding, set for later this year.

The great California beach staple is also where the couple took elaborate, fashion-forward engagement photos they later shared with Essence. In the cover spread, they answered questions about their relationship, talked about their plans for wedding day and shared how much Malibu means to them.

“Standing on that ground with your partner and feeling the wind blowing and the sunset, it really turned into this spiritual thing where you felt like you could conquer the world together,” Black said of the engagement shoot. “So it was so dope, the feeling of it even. I hope that transferred through the pictures.”

Smith and Black captured two different looks: a brown ensemble by Black designers Matopeda and Eaden Myles and a regal, Hollywood-inspired combination featuring capes made by the same designers.

“I would say it represents Skyh and I,” Smith said of the outfit choices. “We are so different in the way that we think, in the way that we move. And so we wanted those differences to be represented.”

The two say they plan to have a “very private,” “very sentimental” ceremony followed by a “gala” rather than a reception. It’ll be a “bachelorette party on steroids,” Black said, referencing the extravagant surprise joint bachelor/bachelorette celebration he threw earlier this year.

As for their plans together in the future, “things are locked in,” Black said. “Ain’t no switching up ever.”

“I’m really looking forward to us … growing our relationship with God together,” Smith added.