Ndidi “Endy” Onugha will tell you that meeting and falling in love with the perfect man for you does not require the alignment of the stars, a horoscope prediction or the perfect lining of the planets. Instead, she believes that everything happens perfectly in God’s time. Who are we argue when she has proof: the perfect man for her, Chidi Uka, standing eternally by her side.
Ndidi and Chidi had a fabulously beautiful engagement session with Jose and Greg of the phenomenal and award-winning Click Box Studio. You want to have this photography team in your corner…believe me!!!
Ndidi and Chidi had their first meeting at an event…well, sort of. Ndidi was the event organizer and the busy bee had too much going on to realize that lightning had just struck because the man of her dreams was right there. Thankfully, lightning does occasionally strike in the same place twice and the couple had a chance to get it right this time…well, sort of. Chidi was determined to make an impression and he sure did. Whether he made the right one, now that’s the question :)….
“Chidi [stopped] me and [said] simply, “You’re hot!”…followed by, “I can’t talk much since I have been drinking” LOL. I guess I was a little taken aback because that was like his serious introduction! So I politely said, “Thanks” and kept it moving…at the end of the evening, [those at the event] went to…grab a bite. Chidi came along as well. After we were all seated and placed our orders, discussions filled the room. However, Chidi, sitting several seats away from me, seemed not to be interested in anything anyone was saying, well except me! To say that he was acting crazy would be like giving him a compliment…lol. The Guy was seriously freaking me out! He kept staring at me…STARING AT ME! If someone was talking next to him, across from him or on the other side of the table, he just wasn’t interested in anything else…but Me! If I was talking or not, he was just fixed on me. Maybe I should have been flattered or something but I just uncomfortable. I was cool at first but then I started to get nervous. So I started to do the nervous look behind to check if someone else was behind me that he was looking at, but there was no one. All I kept thinking was, “What the heck is wrong with this guy…? And he is on a date too! (fyi..I knew the girl too lol) …what kinda jerk is this”? Anyway, that is pretty much how the night went. Afterwards, we all went to our cars, and to my surprise, he never asked me for my phone number. All he said was, “Good night, and nice to have met you.” So I said “Of course”…Player!…[We] didn’t talk or see each other again for over three months. [When I saw him at the next event], we talked, he asked me for my number and I gave it to him, but he never called me.”
Okay, you say: boy sees girl; boy is smitten with girl; boy asks for girl’s number; but boy doesn’t call ?! Well Chidi can explain, sort of….He had to “clean out his closet.” You know, in hind sight, it takes a great man to know that he has to get himself ready for the girl of his dreams-and that is what he did before he made that phone call that would change both of their lives, for the rest of their lives…
“It was over a month or two before we actually talked on the phone, but it was that single conversation, that one conversation that ultimately changed my opinion of this guy. It changed my life, my future. We talked about passion, drive, and persistence for over 2 hours. It was about 4 months later that he showed me what persistent was. I left for Nigeria in December 2008 for one full month. Chidi called me every single day, sometimes two to three times. He was determined, and he wanted me to know… Thats when I knew…” -Ndidi
“After cleaning out my closet 3 months later, I called her. We talked, and our first convo lasted an hour , I had to fake another call to get off…I was sooo excited!!! … So, on the next call, I asked her out, told her to pick her favorite restaurant (let’s wrap this thing up) … Anywho, after dinner on December 8th, I was sold. I told her that I would give her as much time as she needed [because] this was it for me. I felt like going to church the next day for Thanksgiving, but she had to leave for Nigeria that Friday afternoon. Yea, I just went ahead and loaded up on phone cards, it was gonna be a long Xmas!” -Chidi
The one conversation that changed everything soon led to multiple conversations that soon led to falling in love :) Because we’re suckers for love, we asked the couple what particularly made them realize this was love…
“Well, my husband says that he knew from the beginning. From the first time he met me, he knew I was his wife. For me, I think it was that trip to nigeria in 2008. We had just really [gotten] a chance to talk a few weeks before I left but he really impressed me when I traveled. That trip, my husband (then just someone I met) called me every single day, sometimes 2 times a day. We talked about everything under the sun. We talked like this for one month. I couldn’t see him and he couldn’t see me but as we talked more and more, I began getting anxious each day waiting for him to call. I felt that this man was special. Finally, after that long month, I was even more anxious to get back to LA and see him. I wanted to know if I should be feeling this way, feeling like I was in love? I wanted to know if he was the truth! By the time I got to my place, he was waiting in the car, just waiting for me. He gave me this huge hug and just stared at me. Then he said, “you look beautiful,” even though I had lost like 12 pounds. I felt myself smiling ear to ear. I did a silent prayer thanking God for bringing me someone special, someone that i loved-and someone that loved me back!”
Sweet doesn’t even begin to describe that! Almost exactly a year later, on December 14, 2009, Chidi was set to wrap things up with a pretty little bow-a bow that would tie the couple together for the rest of their lives. Once again, Ndidi’s scheduled trip to Nigeria proved to be the perfect opportunity to get things rolling…
“I wanted to stop by and see my uncle before leaving [for Nigeria] and Chidi wanted to spend the last day with me so he drove me around everywhere. We were having a great time. Around 5pm, Chidi dropped me off at my uncle’s and told me he would return within an hour…but [he] kept me stranded for 6hours!! … I was calling and texting but he kept saying he was coming … Finally when he arrived, too late to meet my family, I was HEATED!! He apologized over and over but I was so mad … He felt so bad [that] after I finished packing, he took me to his favorite spot, this little secluded part of the beach. Ok, it was November so you know it was crazy cold! After sitting in the car for 30minutes he said, “Let’s go outside” I was like, “It’s [November], man…it’s cold,” but we got out anyway. He held me to keep me cold and we stood gazing out in the ocean. It was beautiful!! There were so many falling stars, and the ones in the sky were twinkling so bright. With my body in his arms and my hands in his coat pocket, I felt so secure. We just kept standing and he was whispering in my ear about knowing when something is right and also that though things may not be perfect, but when you are sure, you are sure … That’s when he dropped to one knee and said “There are a few things I am sure of: myself, my family and you.” He said, “I want to spend the rest of my life loving you and taking care of you…will you marry me?” I was standing with my mouth open. Tears filled my eyes. I said, “Of course baby!””
If you’re swooning at that story, you must be rendered completely speechless by the true artistic quality of their engagement session by Jose and Greg. How did they find these talented guys? “[They were] a referral from my wedding planner. We actually met them in December of 2010, right before we left for our traditional marriage in Nigeria. Jose and Greg of Clickbox Studios are phenomenal!! We loved their photo journalism style and [seeing pictures of] all the celebs and artists they worked with was also helpful in making the choice.”
Their photographers had the (unsurprisingly) genius idea to have the first look shot in Union Station because of its “Old World feel”, “rich culture and art and so much history,” and a more modern twist for their second look shots. The location inspired their theme for the session…
“Since it’s a train station, I wanted to reflect the style of the 50s with lace gloves, pencil dress, hats, and a 3-piece suit for my husband. We loved incorporating the train and the hallways into our pics. I think we pulled it off well. For the second look, our photographers suggested we completely switch it and have a modern, contemporary feel by using the Walt Disney Concert Hall because of its sleek art deco design. So for the second look, we wanted a cool casual look. I wanted a dress that I could play with and had lots of color and also would reflect off the mirrored glass nicely. My husband is an all black wearing guy, so his…was easy….”
Having fabulous e-sessions is not the only engagement perk. Though now blissfully married, Ndidi most enjoyed this about being engaged…
“The most exciting thing about being engaged [is] looking toward the future. My marriage, my wedding. Now I feel the question of who my husband will be, or how my wedding will be has been answered.”
The couple had a very original and refreshing theme for their wedding…”spring flowers into summer bloom. For our cocktail hour room, we used lots of silver manzanita trees as the centerpieces. We also had one large manzanita tree that served as our “Tree of Wishes”. We wanted our guests to write their wedding wishes and hang them on the tree like an ornament. Our colors for the wedding were purple, fuschia and silver. To keep the coolness of the cocktail hour, we didn’t use any pink, just the purple and silver. So when cocktail hour ended, the adjacent sliding doors opened and guest were ushered into a blast of summer color bloom. We used several uplights and large centerpieces with lots of fuchia and magenta roses. It was Beautiful!!!”
It sounds absolutely breathtaking! Of course, planning such a unique wedding was no piece of cake. Ndidi shared that it was challenging to stay within budget and include ideas from family members while maintaining keeping the wedding theirs.
What she enjoyed most? Easy! “Getting the opportunity to do all the things that i read and watched on TV. Going to cake tastings, meeting with vendors, picking out flowers, and getting a chance to do these with my mother.”
For her, none of the activity and beauty trumped what she looked forward to most, simply “Saying, “I do!” to the man that waltzed into her life one, two and three times and stole her heart for ever-and this time, there’s no question about that :)
Click on any thumbail to view the entire gallery.
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Beautiful. Just beautiful. <3 <3 <3
Beautiful!