Fate sealed Eni & Ladapo's Ever After Love Story 11 years after they first met

Eni and Ladapo first met in 2005 and reconnected on Facebook in 2013; 11 years after they first met, they found love and went out on a first date that lasted the whole day. And the rest is history. Read their love story and view pictures from their Nigerian wedding planned by 2706 Events.

Their wedding featured a lot of wedding trends we love; from bridal party gifts, bridesmaids in black to after-party food, special effects and more.

Enjoy #EGEverAfter!

How we met (Eni’s story)

We met as school mates in 2005 during A-levels at Oxbridge College in Lagos, Nigeria. We were in different classes but being in such a small program, we spoke sometimes. After A-levels, we moved separately for college to the United States but didn’t keep in touch. We connected once on Facebook in 2013 after both moving to New York for work but we both kept busy with our separate lives.
11 years after we first met, we reconnected again in New York in 2016 at an MBA picnic. It’s funny, neither of us had the MBA or actively pursued getting a MBA at the time so I’m not too sure what we both were doing there. I guess it must be fate.
On getting there, I spent a few minutes chatting with some people and sat to eat my food. I didn’t know a lot of people at the event and planned to leave after eating but then I looked across the room and saw a familiar face (Ladapo’s). It was quite a surprise but I didn’t think too much of it and I also wasn’t planning on getting up to say anything to him so I continued to eat my food.
Suddenly, he came over and stood next to where I was eating. He started to introduce himself but first asked if I went to Oxbridge College and if my name was Eniola. I said yes and said I remembered him from Oxbridge. He then got a seat and started chatting with me and other people on the table. He was so funny and kept making everyone at the table laugh. We talked for a long time until it was time to leave the event. During our chat, I mentioned that I will be moving out of New York in the next 2 weeks to start a Master’s Program in Pittsburgh. He sounded a bit disappointed but before leaving, he asked for my number and I promised that we could grab coffee sometime during the week before my move and the rest as they say is history.

How we met (Ladapo’s Story)

I was initially reluctant to go for the event since I was a little bit down but decided on going anyway since I knew some of the organizers of the event. I’m so glad I did. I had the intention of spending only 45 minutes at the event until I met this beautiful lady (Eni) who was sitting at a table on the other side of the room. I walked over to chat with her remembering we went to school together and we reconnected all over again. I didn’t realize how much time we spent talking and even ran late for my saxophone lessons that followed shortly after the event.
Our conversation made me realize how much we had in common and this time around I was going to ensure that we didn’t lose touch and so I scheduled our first date!
First Date- We had planned on getting coffee during the week but I couldn’t make it due to work commitments so we rescheduled till the Sunday. At first, I didn’t realize this was a date but we kept texting during the week and then it hit me. WOW! This is a date! Very Interesting!

On our first date, we literally spent the whole day together. We first met at this lovely restaurant near the Lincoln Center. I had such a great time chatting with a long time friend and reconnecting over school memories. It was also quite interesting that we had a lot in common especially our common interest in food and restaurants.
After lunch, I thought it was time to end the date but he told me he had a surprise for me. We walked a few blocks to another building, I step in and saw the amazing surprise. He had gotten tickets to a Broadway (Cirque) show. How thoughtful, I thought. It was such a great show and I enjoyed just sitting there next to him enjoying the show in silence. This picture was taken with the stars of the show.
At the end of the show, we still didn’t feel the need to stop talking so we walked into a coffee shop and continued. I actually can’t remember what we talked about but I remember laughing a lot. We talked so much till we were both hungry again so we decided to grab dinner together, this time I took him to my favorite restaurant in the city, Burger & Lobster. After dinner, we realized it was getting really late and sadly said good bye to each other. We have talked every day since then

The Proposal Story (by the groom)

It was always just a matter of time before the official proposal. We had been shopping for rings so I already had the scoop on what she wanted. All I just needed to do was plan the big surprise.
I started planning in July, I reached out to my fellow co-planners – her sisters; Tutu and Sola, who helped me with parts of the planning.
I decided to get a rooftop to host the event and plan a classic Hollywood movie tale for the proposal. I told her I was traveling out of town to meet my brother who actually flew into New York, to give my story more backing. After, she dropped me at the airport to wish me safe travels, I waited till she left and took an uber back to my apartment. I put my phone on airplane mode for the duration of the flight and so she would think I was in the air. The next morning, I sent a picture of my brother and I with the caption “Hello from Seattle!” and throughout the day, I sent pictures of my brother and I hanging out in Brooklyn pretending we were in Seattle, so she didn’t suspect a thing.

The Proposal Story (as told by the bride’s friend)

Tutu, Ladapo and I had a solid plan in place and we agreed I would be the one in charge of Enny while they handled the prep at the hotel venue. (Also, Enny didn’t know Tutu was in NYC; it was another surprise Ladapo arranged).
I had to think of a creative way to get her to the rooftop without her suspecting anything, which is really hard if you know Enny, because she kept asking questions.
Phase 1 was convincing her about why we were going to a random hotel in the Financial District.
Phase 2 was getting her there (on time).
We had spent the early part of the day in Manhattan shopping; then I told her about a concert going on in Brooklyn that day, and that my friend got me tickets which we will have to pick up on our way to Brooklyn, from the hotel (where Ladapo was waiting). She got really excited about it because she thought she was going to see Tiwa Savage. Phase 1 was complete.
Now, Phase 2 was the challenge. She remembered she had to go an event that evening before the “concert”, so I told her to drop me off at home and we’d meet up later. When everything was set up and Ladapo was on his knees waiting. Enny was nowhere to be found. The group chat was buzzing. Everyone was waiting, but Enny wasn’t picking her phone. About 20 minutes later, she picked up and she rushed home, where we got ready in record time and left to the hotel. We got on the elevator and through the doors to the rooftop where Mr Akintayo was waiting.

White Wedding