“Love is like wildflowers; It’s often found in the most unlikely places.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
For engaged couple Tamara and Clement, love found them in the most unlikeliest of places but together with the right chemistry and love, forever became their reality really soon.
Tamara and Clement knew each other 2 years prior to ‘officially dating’. She was a business owner who bought all her phones and telecommunications products from Clement’s store. Most of the time she would walk in and demand to see the manager, but Clement had assigned her a dedicated salesman to take care of her. However, on January 11, 2011 Tamara walked into the store and her dedicated salesman was out for the day . As soon as Clement heard her distinct southern accent, he immediately had one of those ” oh crap here she comes” moments that usually meant trouble. She’d been a loyal customer for years, so Clement always had his team roll out the red carpet to quickly address her needs, and quite frankly, get her out of the store as soon as possible. But as Clement braced himself for the worst from this “southern belle”, he was surprised at how well he transitioned from assisting her to having a conversation, which revealed their similar values and Atlanta ties. He deliberately slowed down the resolution process to buy more time to get to know her a little more. As he wrapped up the process after four hours, Tamara, who is normally shy got up enough nerve to blurt out ” is it against policy to hang out with customers?” To Clements delight, who had been trying to figure out how to see her again, he said, ‘no’ and arranged for a dinner date and then a movie date and the rest was history.
Fast Forward two years later and Clement decided that it was time to propose. He took Tamara to their family jeweler to discuss design options for her future engagement ring and look at a private collection of diamonds. The jeweler, who was also in on the surprise, pretended that the ring would be ready 3 months later. Little did Tamara know, Clement had been planning this for months! Three days later, Clement and Tamara’s family went to a Hibachi Restaurant where Clement dropped to both knees and asked Tamara to be his forever. Elated Tamara tearfully accepted the request to become Mrs. Ezeanii.
Their e-session, photographed by Jide Alakija, mirrored their two-day wedding that will have both Nigerian traditional and American red carpet themes. The session started in Harlem where Clement who is Nigerian, and Tamara dressed in traditional Igbo attire. They took lovely shots at popular spots in Harlem, including 125th Street and the Shaumburg. They changed into casual clothing and took fabulous shots at Central Park where their photographer artistically captured angles, lighting , shadows and form. For a night cap, they ended the session with red carpet formal attire at grand central station and then back uptown to the Apollo.
Wedding Location
Morrow Conference Center, Morrow, GA
What was your first date
Clement’s and Tamara’s first date was at Chocolat Restaurant and Lounge in Harlem, New York where they stayed for hours enjoying good laughs, good food, good conversation in the heart of Upper Manhattan, which is where they will live after marriage.
What’s your favorite thing to do as a couple?
Clement and Tamara love to travel. They plan to visit all U.S. States and territories together and attend the finals for every sport. When they don’t travel, they love to watch TV together. They love the history channel; sports channel; investigative ID; and reality TV (shhhh! Don’t tell anyone about the last one.)
How has the wedding planning been so far?
Wedding planning has been so exciting. In fact, Tamara and Clement agreed that they should get married every year (just kidding! They’re not Doug and Jackie Christie!) The couple has worked with a wonderful wedding planner, Event Design by BE, who made the entire process simple. From the venue to the flowers to the wedding attire and caterer, Clement and Tamara decided to use only small businesses and support the local community. The most exciting part of the planning has been planning a ‘Red Carpet Theme’ for both the Igbo traditional wedding and the American wedding. The plan is to transform the space so that it has a similar village feel as if the wedding was in Nigeria. For the American guests, the couple wants the guests to feel that they are going to a red carpet affair where everyone is important.
What are you looking forward to the most on your wedding day?
We look forward to all of the many surprises that we have in store for the guests; seeing our guests, some of whom will travel as far as Nigeria; and most of all, starting our lives together as Mr. and Mrs. Ezeanii!!!!
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