Featured in Issue 31, Mercy and Tunji celebrated their upcoming nuptials with a stylish studio engagement session in Atlanta, Georgia, that paid homage to their shared Nigerian heritage.
The couple’s love story began in Pendleton, Indiana, at the start of Tunji’s IT consulting career. Ironically, Mercy was his first client!
Mercy shares, “As the project unfolded, Tunji made it his mission to cultivate a connection with me. Breakfast surprises and thoughtful messages became our ways of expressing unspoken emotions. Unfortunately, things never progressed. Fast forward two-plus years and destiny smiled upon us.”
Determined to share his feelings, Tunji flew to Dallas, Texas, where the couple shared a life-changing weekend. Finally acknowledging the depth of their connection and the possibility for life-long love, they decided to take a chance and embrace the challenges of a long-distance relationship.
“When Tunji asked me to be his girlfriend, my response was a heartfelt, ‘Of course!’,” Mercy recalls smiling.
From then on, the pair fueled their long-distance connection through Facetime dates and daily communication, sprinkled with in-person trips they couldn’t wait for. They built a beautiful foundation of love and friendship. Tunji’s surprise proposal in the middle of the ocean in 2022 ultimately set them on the path to “I do!”
Keep scrolling for more details on their proposal story and photos from their studio engagement session (captured by Muna Coterie member, Shagari Gerard Photography) in Atlanta, Georgia.
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- Couple: Mercy Benjamin & Adetunji Balogun
- Occupations: Technical Consultant/ Human Resources Partner
- Wedding date: April 19th and April 20th 2024
- Wedding location: Indianapolis, Indiana
- Location of Engagement shoot: Atlanta GA studio
The proposal:
In May 2022, Mercy organized a birthday trip to Mexico unaware of Tunji’s hidden plan. Knowing Mercy’s special skills for unraveling surprises, Tunji orchestrated the perfect proposal in the most unexpected location—amidst the vastness of the ocean, aboard a private boat. This was an extra layer of surprise as Tunji popped the question that would begin our future.
Now, as we eagerly anticipate the journey ahead, we are looking forward to a future filled with faith, community, realized ambitions, successful investments, and, one day, the joy of building a beautiful family of our own.
Describe your engagement session. Did you have a theme?
We wanted our engagement shoot to tell our love story and the beautiful union we created. The elegance of the color black represents how we are striving for excellence not just as individuals and in our careers but in our commitment to each other.
To pay homage to our Nigerian heritage, we decided to wear each other’s culturally significant garments as Mercy is embracing Tunji’s Yoruba heritage and Tunji is embracing Mercy’s Igbo heritage.
What did you do on your first date?
On our first official date, we visited Lucas Oil Stadium in Indiana, where we toured the arena. It was on our first date we felt sparks, our mutual love for family, and Tunji’s love for sports. We talked all night about everything. It was the perfect date!
What’s your favorite thing to do as a couple?
Sounds very basic but we get very excited when we plan a movie night – Tunji enjoys showing Mercy movie classics.
How has wedding planning been so far?
It has been a journey. We originally planned to get married sooner, however we welcomed the milestone opportunity to buy our first home together. Even though we were eager to get back to planning our big day and making it true to who we are as individuals. Although wedding planning has its ups and downs, we are elated that each guest celebrating with us can experience our gratitude for their presence as they witness our love for one another.
Tell us what you’re looking forward to most on the wedding day.
We are looking forward to bringing everyone together to celebrate our union and experience it through OUR culture.
Looking for more studio engagement session inspiration?
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Vendors:
- Planner: Russell Wendell
- Photography: Shagari Gerard Photography
- Makeup: Eboné Nicole
- Hair: Ashley Luxe Hair Co.
very nice post