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From Online Dating to Happily Ever After- Brandon & Tobi share their Love Story

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Three years ago, I never would have imagined I would meet my future wife online. I have always believed in doing things the old-fashioned way and allowing things to happen organically. I am not much of a risk taker but I had some bad luck in previous relationships and nothing seemed to be working. One night, I was watching TV and I saw an eHarmony commercial. I took a leap of faith and created a profile that same night. Two weeks later, I matched with my now wife, Tobi. We took our time and allowed our relationship to progress naturally. We communicated through the website for a couple weeks, then we texted over the phone for a week, and finally, we had an actual conversation.

Our first real conversation lasted for almost two hours! Even though we hadn’t met face-to-face, I was completely captivated by her personality and energy. After that initial conversation, we decided that we wanted to meet in person. We set up a casual date at a local Starbucks after church the next Sunday. I remember our first date like it was yesterday. We talked for almost three hours. We talked about life, our hopes, dreams, and most importantly, our faith in God.

Little did I know that my life was about to change forever. My hopes and dreams were about to come through. My faith that God would bless me with an amazing woman was not in vain. At the end of the date, I walked Tobi to her car and we embraced before parting ways for the day. As I held her close, I felt an instant bond. At the time, I didn’t know what that bond meant or where it would lead us. What I did know was that God had put me in the presence of an amazing woman and I wanted to find out.

Tobi’s Story

I had recently moved back to the South for my MBA studies. About a year into my program, I decided to give online dating a shot and signed up for eHarmony. A few weeks later, I was matched with Brandon. When he reached out to me, I thought I was being pranked. I actually thought he liked my profile by mistake. When I finally reciprocated, I realized he was serious. He actually wanted to get to know me. After some messages through the app, and then via text, and afterwards, the phone calls, we decided to meet face to face.

When I walked into the restaurant, I spotted him immediately. He was beautiful. Strange word to use on a man, but he really was. We were both a bit nervous but we played it cool and made our official introductions. We bought our pastries and drinks and took a seat on the patio. After what felt like mere minutes, I realized that my drink was mysteriously finished and all the people around us had magically been replaced by some random new faces, and my phone had somehow fast-forwarded the time by about 3 hours. WHAT?? NO WAY!! I really enjoyed talking to him so much, I could not believe time had flown right on by and I felt like there was still so much I wanted to ask and tell him and I wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet.

He told me he had to get up early the next day for a business trip and he hadn’t packed his bags yet so he had to get going soon. I was pleasantly surprised when he offered to walk me to my car. As sweet and Southern gentlemanly as that was, I tried to stop him because my car was covered in pollen (I mean it was practically green as opposed to its original black) and I had my driving flip-flops chilling in plain sight. How uncool! He told me not to worry and led the way to my car. So I did. When we got there I decided to give him the orange egg we had received at church. It contained an invitation to worship together on Easter Sunday. He accepted it and instead of saying our goodbyes, we both started stalling.

We had talked about cars somewhere in our 3-hour-long conversation, so since he had now seen mine in all its green glory, I asked if I could see his. So we both walked all the way across the parking lot to his car and somehow, some more time flew by. I think he insisted on walking me back to my car again where we finally parted ways though we exchanged numbers and I made sure to give him the correct number. I could not wait to get to know this God-fearing, amazing, kind, cute and hilarious man.

The Proposal (as told by Brandon)

I knew early on in the relationship that Tobi was the woman that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I remember praying years ago that God would protect my future wife and keep her safe mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. As time went by, it was clear that Tobi was the woman that I had been praying for all these years.

It was a beautiful Saturday in March. I surprised Tobi and told her that I wanted to take her to Asheville for a fun and relaxing mini-vacation. Little did she know, this trip would turn into one of the most memorable moments of our lives. I remember being extremely nervous and quiet the entire drive to Asheville. That morning I had to internally tell myself to relax and act normal.

After we arrived in Asheville, we drove to the Arboretum to look at the nature exhibits and flowers. When we arrived at the Arboretum I purposely left my sunglasses in the car so I could walk back without Tobi and discreetly get the ring without raising any suspicions. After finding my sunglasses (ring), we went for a romantic walk in the Arboretum.

We found a quiet spot, perched high and overlooking the entire Arboretum. I knew that this was the perfect place to ask her to spend the rest of her life with me. I asked Tobi to get the camera out so we could record our adventure at the Arboretum for our YouTube channel. While we were recording, I took the camera and told her that I had something that I wanted to say. I remember telling her how thankful I was that God placed her in my life and how much I loved her. 

At that point, I got on one knee and asked her to marry me. She was so overcome with emotion that she started crying and walked away. I remember having an internal conversation with myself as to whether I should stay on one knee or go after her. I chose to go after her. At this point, she was sitting on the stairs crying. I asked her if I could put the ring on her finger and she said YES. At that moment we were engaged!

The Engagement Ceremony

They had a quaint Yoruba traditional engagement ceremony with family and close friends at Double Oaks in Greensboro North Carolina on October 20, 2017.

The Wedding Ceremony

The couple had their wedding ceremony at Grandover Resort in Greensboro North Carolina on October 21, 2017.

The End?

This is not where this love story ends. You can follow their journey on their YouTube channel, blog and more here:

Blog, YouTube

InstagramTwitter,  Facebook

Credits
Bride and Groom: @BrandonandTobi
Photography: @eivansphotovideo
Traditional Ceremony
Location: Double Oaks Bed & Breakfast
Groom’s Outfit: @zannaclothings
Bride’s Dress: @tojufoyeh
Drummer: @bishopbarny
White Wedding
Wedding Dress: @olegcassini
Bride’s hair: @stylesbykg
Bride’s headpiece: @omobola_bridals
Reception
Jewelry: @douriean
Suit: @maiatafo
Wedding cake: @deliciousgreensboro
Birthday cake: @maxiebsbakery
Saxophonist: @shola_iyiola

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