We are so excited to share our special #chiwedslucas weekend with you!

If you know African parents, then you know they enjoy matchmaking. During the summer of 2017, my mom told me that someone was interested in getting to know me. Similar to all other times my mom had tried to pair me up with a special someone, my immediate response to her latest quest was “No thank you, not interested”. Besides, I was beginning to enjoy reconnecting with the single life, as I had just gotten out of another relationship 6 months prior. Moreover, I didn’t need or want any new distractions, as I was in the best shape I’d been in in a long time and was gearing up for a cruise with my sister and mom. But, mom was persuasive. She shared that she had done most of the background checks and believed he was a good match (Thanks mom!). From her, I learned his name was Lucas (my nephew’s namesake); after a few photos were exchanged via our intermediaries (mom and family friend), I agreed to give him my number. He called and we chatted. Lucas thought he was a comedian, I thought he shouldn’t quit his day job. He was Catholic, lived in Atlanta and older. From our initial conversations I could tell he was a really sweet guy and was smitten even though we hadn’t met yet. We finally planned our first date a few weeks before my cruise. As luck would have it, we ended up having a fight a few days before our date. I’m not even sure what the fight was about but, I think it had something to do with him threatening to eat my dog and I may or may not have said a few choice words. I was not certain if our date was still a go because we didn’t speak for a few days after that fight. I sent him a text asking if we were still on for the weekend and he responded! The date was a go. We planned to meet up in Atlantic Station for dinner that evening. He was LATE and blamed it on soccer practice (recurring theme). Despite that, we had a wonderful evening together getting to know each other and the rest is history!

On May 26, 2017, I went out to answer a phone call and noticed a Fedex truck parked outside of my office building. As I walked by the truck, I saw that the driver was a family friend. While we caught up, he told me that he had someone in mind for me. I told him that I was not interested and I appreciate the effort. He kept insisting – for nearly 20 minutes—that I had to meet her. His persistence intrigued me, so much so that I gave in and told him that I will meet this wonderful woman. We planned our first date for June 17 at Yard House (Atlantic Station). This date did not almost happen because of a joke I made about her dog Wynston -- I told her that I would take her dog to Nigeria and get a good price for it. You see, in some parts of Nigeria, dog meat is a delicacy. She did not take this joke lightly and made some comments that I was unhappy with. After this incident, I made up my mind that I was no longer interested in seeing her. The day before our date, I got a text from her inquiring whether our date was still on. At first I wanted to tell her “HELL NO” but thank God I did not. LOL. I think that was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. I told her that the date was still a go. Later that day, I had a soccer game and was running late. I called her to reschedule from 8 to 8:30pm. She looked way more beautiful in person than in her picture. I guess it was love at first sight. Best dinner date I have ever had. I kept staring at her all evening. Her personal etiquette was on point and she was so soft spoken. She was humble, and laid back. Her body language made me feel warm and I must confess, I was impressed. I confessed to her that I thought she would be “stuck up” and I apologized for my remarks about her dog. We talked about life in general, just getting to know each other. I knew I wanted a second date with her. To make this sweet gist short, the rest is history. I am getting married Nov 17. Woooohoooooo!

The day started off like any other day, but with several odd events that were all clues. Lucas came down to see me on Thursday night. This was odd as he usually comes down Friday nights. Unbeknownst to me, Lucas had been in cahoots with my family, friends and co-workers since November last year, planning the perfect proposal. On Friday morning, I got ready for work as usual. At the end of the day, my boss asked my coworkers/friends to have drinks that evening at a Country Club. I told them I would only go if Lucas wanted to go too (it had been a long day and I just wanted to go home). Surprisingly, when I asked him, he was all up for it. I was on call that day until 5pm and had a patient in labor. As if the stars were aligned, the patient gave birth before 5pm and I was able to go home on time! A girlfriend who was also invited called me on my way home to inquire about what I was wearing to the country club. I told her I planned to wear jeans and flats; she convinced me to wear a cute dress “because we never get dressed up anymore and it’s a country club, so no jeans”. When Lucas and I arrived at the Country Club, my coworkers were already there. Andrea suggested we head down to the docks to take some pictures. Clueless, I accompanied her down to the docks, taking selfies along the way. Once we got there, Andrea suggested a selfie with the girls with the sun setting in the background. Lucas joined the group, standing behind us girls. As I took selfies, I noticed the ladies slowly depart from Lucas and I, and then it was just the two of us. All of a sudden, there was a jewelry box in front of my face and I still had no clue what was happening. In my head, I was like, “aww, he got me a necklace”. As I opened the box, and saw the BLING, I noticed Lucas down on one knee, it all hit me at once that he was proposing! He asked me to marry him and I said YES!!! There were tears, phone calls, hugs and kisses and it was such a beautiful surprise! My babe did a fantastic job!

The day I got the ring, April 9, was the most intense day ever. I couldn’t focus at work. I didn’t know how to go about the proposal. I was happy and scared Chi-Chi might say no. I asked her friend Andrea to help me stage the proposal on April 13. On April 11, Andrea advised that she had everything set up to take place at the Houston Lake Country Club. She had also gotten Chi-Chi’s boss involved and he had offered to make the event more festive by hosting us at the club house. I was scheduled to drive down Friday night to spend the weekend with her but I came in Thursday night just to make sure I didn’t get to see her or talk to her in detail. She was already in bed when I arrived and upset that I came down so late. She had no clue what I had been going through all week. Oh well, women! They are just beautiful! On Friday, as planned, we decided to have a late dinner with a relaxing cocktail. I had planned to propose during sunset. I heard it would be the perfect time. Meanwhile, she had no clue what was going on and furthermore, her sisters were on standby waiting for the full gist. Beautiful Adimora sisters, they like gist. LOL. Thank God for them! They got me the ring specifications “codedly” without Chi-Chi knowing. “Kwarect women.” To cut to the chase, I proposed under the magical sunset at Houston Lake Country Club. She said Yes! Chi-Chi had no clue I had planned this memorable event with her sisters and her co-workers who were there to witness the whole event. We had dinner with her lovely co-workers and friends who were in on the whole event of course, and had a blast the rest of the night. One of the most magical moments of my life!