Wedding Date on Jun 23, 2017

Joseph and Chiamaka joined hands in marriage in a two day celebration which began with a traditional ceremony on June 23th, 2017 at the Grand Royale Events Center in Decatur, GA. They shared their vows with each other the next day at the Immaculate Heart of Mary and continued their celebration at The Temple in Midtown Atlanta. We first met Joseph and Chiamaka in the spring and immediately fell in love with their story, which they share in their own words: Chiamaka’s Perspective: “Joseph and I met at an African Student Association meeting. I was a freshman at Georgia Tech and he was a senior. He introduced himself as the Treasurer of the organization and informed me that he was responsible for collecting the dues. I didn’t think much of that encounter. I don’t think he did either. To my surprise, I ended up finding out that we both had Tuesday and Thursday classes that were located near each other. When he would walk out of his Anthropology class at around 11 am, I’d be walking out of my calculus class at around the same time. At the top of the hill, in front of the Georgia Tech library was where we inevitably crossed paths every Tuesday and Thursday. At first our small talk was a little awkward (mainly due to how quiet I was and how NOT quiet he was haha). But after several short conversations, Joseph asked me to eat lunch with him! …And so began our budding romance. However, we did not immediately fall head over heels for each other. Initially, we both decided it was best for us to keep things friendly. We each had our own reasons. I was a freshman in college so my main focus was making sure my GPA was off to a good start. Joseph thought I was too young (even though I usually feel like I’m the more mature one). As much as we insisted on remaining friends, it was undeniable that we were developing feelings for one another. We had our initial plans, but it seemed God had a different plan for us. And you can guess whose plan prevailed. After our year of friendship, did I immediately think he was “the one”? No. I’m too practical for that haha. However, I knew I loved him dearly and was open to see where our relationship would go. In September of 2015, Joseph moved to California to start his new job. I was extremely proud of him, but I wasn’t looking forward to him moving to the opposite end of the country. At all. And so began the countless hours on Facetime. The 3 hour time difference didn’t help either. Although I can’t wait until we are no longer separated by distance, I am grateful for this season of our relationship that we are in. I am certain this was part of God’s plan. He physically separated us, and in doing so He shined a light on our underlying problems, chiseled our bad habits, steered our hearts in constant pursuit of His glory and revealed to me that Joseph is the man that He created to be my leader, protector, comedian and life-long partner. Have we been faced with trials? Certainly. Did we learn and grow from them? Definitely. Am I excited to start this next chapter of our life together? Absolutely–more than I could describe in words.” Joseph’s Perspective: “Chiamaka and I first encountered each other at the Georgia Tech student center for the African Student Association’s first meeting of the school year. That year I was treasurer. It was my responsibility to collect dues from everyone that was interested in becoming a member so I had the opportunity to personally meet everyone that attended that meeting which included her. That was where we met, but that is not where our relationship started. Soon after the meeting we found out that our schedules just so happened to align in such a way that every Tuesday and Thursday we would cross paths right in front of the Georgia Tech library at approximately 11 am. Those encounters lasted a split second, but out of all the seconds in a day I looked forward to that one the most. She is tall and beautiful and at the time that is really all I knew about her, but I was intrigued. There was something about her that was inviting. Or maybe for some reason I felt that she was subtly inviting me to talk to her. Each day as we passed each other, I would ask myself, “Who is this girl?” I had to find out, but I was nervous. At some point I decided to man up and expand on my simple “Hello” and ask her something real. What could I lose, right? Not knowing where this would lead, not knowing that in the next few months I would spend more time with her than any of my friends. Not knowing that after a year she would transfer to University of Georgia leaving me in Atlanta, while she was in Athens. Not knowing that when I moved to Spain for 3 months we would grow closer across oceans than we ever did in the same country. Not expecting that two years later our relationship would be challenged by distance once again when I moved to California while she remained in Atlanta. Unaware of the fact that this would be the most stressful, scary, fun, loving, amazing, and Godly Journey I have ever been on. I asked the question, “Would you like to have lunch with me?” And she said – yes. So on November 21, 2016 I brought her back to the same location where we used to cross paths and the place I asked her to lunch for the first time; the place where our relationship truly started. In front of friends and family, I recited my love poem and I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. The rest is history.” The proposal: “Joseph asked me to marry him on November 21st, 2016. What a day that was! He took me on scavenger hunt to different locations around Atlanta that were significant throughout the course of our courtship. At the very last location, all our family and friends came running out the bushes. I was so surprised! Then Joseph began reciting our love story (that he spent weeks writing/memorizing)! Finally, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. And of course I said YES! It was a perfect ending to a perfect day with my perfect man.”