From Church Fellowship to Forever! Ugochi & Somto’s Story is one of Fate’s Diving Timing

Sometimes, somewhere within the warmth of church fellowship, love emerges… quietly at first, then beautifully leading to a forever story. Ugochi and Somto were just two students of the University of Benin when fate started writing their love story.

They exchanged numbers while they were both serving in the same church fellowship. However, it was not until many years later, after they had both graduated, that fate decided it was time to switch things up. After one WhatsApp message, a prophetic utterance from a friend and many more defining moments and milestones, the lovebirds journeyed through this beautiful path and finally arrived at a point where they said yes to forever! Their pre-wedding photos are an enchanting gallery of sweet love in full display. From their Igbo traditional look to their elegant contemporary attire, each one is just as radiant as the last. Their love story is filled with so much intentionality and divine timing, and it truly warms our hearts to see it move on to the next grand stage. 😍

Enjoy their pre-wedding photos and love story below:

How we met
By the Groom, Somto:

Ours is a love story written by God’s hands. Sometimes love doesn’t arrive with fireworks or dramatic introductions. Sometimes it comes quietly, like two people brushing past each other in a hallway called Basement at the University of Benin, and then it waits patiently for years, maturing in silence until the world is ready. That was Ugochi and me. Back in UNIBEN, we were nothing more than familiar faces in the same Christian fellowship, CASOR. I was studying Zoology. She was studying Dentistry. We both served in City of David, the music arm of the fellowship, yet somehow fate allowed us to share spaces without sharing conversations. Our hellos were polite, almost forgettable. The kind you give someone who sits three seats away. We exchanged numbers once, casually, after bumping into each other near Basement. Nothing special. Nothing suggestive. On my phone, she lived for almost seven years as “COD Precious 200L.” On hers, I rested simply as “Somtochukwu.” And then life carried us apart. I graduated in 2018. She battled through the long journey of medical school until 2023. No texts. No check-ins. Just two names sleeping quietly in each other’s phones. Until fate whispered.

One random afternoon in November 2023, she tapped a single laughter emoji on my WhatsApp status, a tiny gesture that would shift our destinies. She forgot about it. Hours passed, and at 1 am, while she was on call at FMC Asaba, I replied. For a moment, she panicked, thinking it was an emergency. Instead, it was me saying softly, “Hello Precious, it’s been a while.” That message reopened a door that had once closed without either of us noticing. She mentioned she was in Asaba for her housemanship. I lit up. Asaba was my childhood home. I guided her like a gentle compass, telling her where to buy things, what areas to avoid, the shortcuts, the best stores, and when she asked about church, I didn’t hesitate: “Try Ingathering Global.” A recommendation that would anchor her spiritually and emotionally. Our friendship deepened into early 2024. In January, she fell ill. Without waiting, I sent her a food tray, thoughtful, abundant, tender. She was staying in the FMC doctors’ quarters with her best friend, Emanuella, everyone called her Ella. Ella was the one who picked up the food tray, saw my name, and burst into laughter. “Nana… this guy is going to be your husband.” Ugochi stared at her, half amused, half confused. “Are you selling your best friend because of a food tray?” They both laughed and dismissed it, not knowing Ella had just spoken a prophecy. And on our wedding day, Ella gladly stood as her maid of honour.

By April 2024, we saw each other again for the first time in years. I asked her to be my girlfriend. She wasn’t ready. She chose healing and friendship, and I respected her without hesitation. We continued talking, steady and sincere. Then destiny caught up. She finished her housemanship in October 2024 and moved to Lagos for a new job. Suddenly, we were in the same city, breathing the same air, walking through the same season. What once felt distant became possible. Our hearts aligned quietly, beautifully. By late November 2024, we slipped into a relationship rooted in friendship, prayer, and genuine affection. And in 2025, with full clarity, I said, “I want to see your people. I want to do this the right way.” Our families met on June 12th, a joyful gathering. On July 3rd, a day before her birthday, I pulled off a magical surprise proposal. She thought I had travelled, but instead, I knelt before her with a ring and a future. She said yes, overwhelmed and sure. Our court wedding followed on August 23rd, intimate and meaningful. And finally, on November 1st, surrounded by family, friends, and God’s undeniable fingerprint, we sealed our love in a breathtaking white wedding.

Today, I speak of Ugochi as the woman who steadies my mind, sharpens my dreams, and multiplies my peace. Brilliant, gifted, compassionate, a phenomenal doctor, a natural nurturer, a woman whose advice lands with divine precision. She is the love of my life, my safe place, my answered prayer. And she sees in me a man who is patient, intentional, godly, responsible, a man who arrived exactly when God ordained. A friend who became a partner. A partner who became her home. Our love didn’t begin the day we first met, or the day we exchanged numbers, or even the night she sent that emoji. It began long before, in the mind of a God who writes romances better than any poet. A Basement hello became a lifetime. A laughter emoji awakened destiny. A food tray became a prophecy. And now, the two of us who once walked past each other walk hand in hand into forever.

Credit

Bride @ugo_nwanyioma
Groom @somto_anekwe
Photography @esanharrisphotography
Makeup @bytemiolukanni
Hair @kurlsnfros
Bride’s Outfit @houseoftsatelier
Groom’s Outfit @kcstitches  | @tetanura
Film@esanharrisfilms

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