Irene & Chiji's extraordinary nuptials [Photos]

Their love story is below to guide you through their love journey as travelled by their love-struck hearts and shared with their lips. Their wedding pictures are in the gallery above to also steal your breath and blow you away.

Love story [Irene's]

I met Chiji through a friend-turned-sister, Edwina.Eddie (like we usually call her) randomly told me about her friend in church whom she'll like me to meet, I was a little uninterested because I didn't want to meet anyone (I was minding my business lol). She talked positively about him a couple of times and encouraged me to talk with him and that it doesn't hurt…

Now he had my phone number but still took him forever to call (lol ohh well, he finally called after a couple of weeks). Eddie and I were in her car one afternoon back to the office when Chiji called her to ask how she has been, she asked him if he had called me, little did he know we were together and the phone was on speaker, he replied back saying "our darling has refused to take her calls oo", that was apparently the first time I heard his voice (anyone who knows Chiji knows his voice is to die for) and that got me blushing.

Unknown to me that his number was among the calls I had been missing recently and always and failed to return, Eddie suggested that I take and store his numbers for subsequent calls.

He reaches out at last

Finally, he texted one Sunday introducing himself, and I was quite impressed with the tone of the message, the spellings (no abbreviations), etc, I could tell he wasn't just a joke.

I politely returned his call (OMG I said no long stories and I'm here writing plenty plenty).The first time we ever spoke that Sunday was like magic, we clicked on the spot, felt like I had known him for a long time and we planned to meet later that week.

ALSO READ:Colourful pre-wedding pictures of Chinwe & Kunle

Fast forward to the dinner date night, I thought we agreed to meet at 5pm after the close of business, but he had a reading to take in church at 6pm (Chiji & Eddie are lectors in church) so we rescheduled for 7pm. I didn't feel like going for the date anymore after we rescheduled, but I knew there was nothing I was going to tell Eddie that will make her see reasons with me on why I should cancel the date. Lol I remember her saying my shakara is something else together with Ogbanje.

I tried all possible means not to go, I went as far as using the white shirt sleeves I was putting on to clean the makeup on my face (ogbanje), but guess what? Eddie took me to her house and carefully washed my shirt and ironed it again (lol) while we were still awaiting 7pm.

It was 7pm and he called, he was 5 mins away...Boom Boom Boom and he was outside. I went out and met a perfect gentle man standing outside his car to receive me and open the car door for me (which hasn't changed till date).

We went out, wined and dined, laughed like never, had lively conversations, etc and since then, the rest is history as life has turned magical.

Winnie and the Magic [Chiji’s story]

2016 was an eventful year for me. January, I had only just returned from my Postgraduate studies in the UK buzzing, but I was empty.

There was a hollow space within and I needed to find love again. My people, I literally went spiritual (if you like laugh o). I took some wrong turns but I knew what level I needed to attain. So I decided to get back with the good works of sweet Jesus and on one of those days, late October 2016, I had a sit-down with Edwina Ugwu talking life, complimenting each other's sense of style, relationships and just being a nuisance generally.

She quipped in and said she'd like me to meet Irene (Winie). Now Chiji has always been one to initiate his own friendships or relationships, so I felt my ego dripping, when I replied saying I am not sure I would not want to rush to meet someone out of nowhere. How silly!

With Winnie, I wish I met her the next weekend though

Conversely, while at my workstation that same week I thought to look up her name and my eyes were dancing in its sockets, I was getting excited. She was bubbly, yummy with all transparent shades of wittiness. I decided then that I would want to meet her but I needed to swoon all over her and fall knee deep.

I wanted her to meet me halfway and I liked the feel of it. I would go through her social media handles reading her intelligent comments and interpreting her expressive pictures.

Winie is such a beautiful woman you know. Regrettably, it took me two whole months to do the needful and be a gentleman. I was selfish, saturating myself with her pictures while she was definitely thinking the boy was a douchebag.

January 2017, having deleted the negatives and preparing myself mentally for a life of expected bliss, I reached out.

My calls were not returned for the most parts of two weeks but being a nutcase, I sent an SMS laced with humour. I was having a dump in the loo when she called back same day and I'm like Charlieeeeeeeeeee! We hit the ground running like it was heaven on earth already and when she spoke intelligently - Winie sounding like the falsetto woman in an acapella group, very confident with humour - my space transformed to a hot Jacuzzi bath (come and fight me).

The next time we spoke on the phone, I was knee deep and long gone, I asked her if it was convenient to have lunch or a dinner date; she says ''of course that's fine", again Charlieeeeeeeeee!! We cancelled an initial lunch date and fixed for COB on the 19th of January 2017 at the Avenue Suites restaurant.

Thing is I got clumsy and forgot there was a church reading for 5PM same day and we had to move till 7PM. Anyhow, I was parked at the compound gate to pick her up, checking to be sure my hair was well set and shoes were spit clean and proper when she came out and I regretted not meeting her early last year. She was soooo beautiful, we were beautiful together, the evening air was beautiful… just magical.

We took the shotgun position at the restaurant laughing out loud the whole evening and I knew I had found my own space in this world. She had braids on, a perfect gap tooth and adorned in her accessories, she was very appealing.

Phew! I dropped her off later at night and sent a text to Edwina saying "Thank youuuuu! Magical". And now, welcome to our world of bliss beyond.

Congrats to the smashing pair from Pulse Weddings.