Because beautiful things still happen to those who wait.
A couple, Peju and Ayo dated for 14 years before tying the knot.
The newly-wed first caught Twitter users’ attention when she tweeted about her #PJAY18 wedding with a photo and the caption “After 14 years of dating, he came to pay my bride price 4 days ago.”
Such was the weight of the unusual news that in no time, it was everywhere - on the Internet and other social media platforms.
With their extraordinary wedding news leaving the Internet stunned, Pulse has reached out to the bride and her story will have you full of admiration just as we are.
Wedding
Of the memorable big day, Peju tells Pulse Weddings:
“[Our] wedding date was 24th March 2018. The venue was at Le Chateau Event Centre at Bodija, Ibadan which was where the traditional wedding and reception took place.”
Prior to this, the couple had had their civil ceremony on 12th March 2018 at the Ikoyi Federal Registry, Lagos; a ceremony that had family and only few friends.
What culminates in that happy ending is a love story created, woven over years of companionship as calm and comforting as cool streams, trust as unwavering as a mother’s love, loyalty proven with difficult patience and a promise unbroken.
The bride shares hers and her boo’s remarkable story in her words below:
In the Beginning…
“We met in 2004, when he sent an email to me (as a total stranger), telling me he liked me,” Peju says of her very first contact with Ayo 14 years ago. She was only 20 at the time and he, 22.
“He said he heard some people talking about me and from their talks he gathered that I had/have a soft heart that can be easily taken advantage of and he needs me to be careful of people I open up to.
“[He said] if I gave him a chance he would take good care of me, my heart and keep it safe forever. I was a bit skeptical and almost didn't respond to the email but then curiosity got the better of me [so] I responded thanking him for his advice.” she adds.
With the next email he sent, Ayo asks for a phone number and even though Peju had none at the time, [ how many 20 year olds had mobile phones in 2004?] she gave him her mum’s and from that very night, they go on to speak for weeks; eventually agreeing to meet on a date and growing to like each other from there.
“I was so shy because I never had a boyfriend before [but after that first time we saw,] we've been together ever since then,‘’ she says; confirming her status as one of the very few women who never have to kiss many frogs before finding their Prince Charming.
The Proposal
Even though it was love at first sight and attraction sparked immediately, it was not until after eight years that Ayo proposed to Peju.
“He moved to South Africa in 2010 and we started a long distance relationship.
“I would go to visit him there about twice a year and during one of those visits in 2012, he popped the question when I woke up early one morning.
“Of course I said yes because he was the only man I had ever loved.”
[And also because, we guess, no one says no to a romantic proposal in bed with warm sunrise slanting into the room!]
ALSO READ: Best reactions to Linda Ikeji's engagement
Delayed bliss
With the excitement of the proposal came hope that the dating chapter of this love story was coming to an end but fate and South African Immigration had other plans.
“I was excited because I thought we would finally get married after 8 years of being together. Alas it wasn't to be.
“[In preparation of our married life,] I had to get a permit that would allow me to stay permanently in South Africa instead of the one month visiting visas I was getting every time I wanted to go and see him etc.
“[But] issues kept coming up about the logistics of how we would be together.”
And those issues created other issues for Peju in the bigger picture.
"Lord Of The Rings"
At 28 going on 30 in a society that outrageously attaches the value and importance of women to their marital status and places, directly or subtly, undue pressure on single people of ages close to and above 30, Peju soon began to feel out of place, even in her inner circle.
“My friends got married and started having babies and gradually we stopped being close because I was still unmarried and also because I couldn't stand their jokes about my status again.
“It kept dragging on and on for years and everyone kept laughing at me and tagging me “Lord Of The Rings” because of how long we had dated and been engaged, and how old I was.”
She was on the ‘wrong side’ of 30 at the time and society ruthlessly rubbed it in.
A happy ending
“So my only friend was my man and he kept reassuring me to hold on and let's work out things well in legal ways without rushing.
“I started telling anyone that asked, that I was married. And then, after 6 years of being engaged, everything fell into place." she concludes.
Met at 20 and 22 respectively. Engaged at 28 and 30, married at 34 and 36; Peju and Ayo’s wedding story is here to remind everyone of the importance kept promises; the ever-potent magic of love and most of all; that good things still happen to those who wait.
You can see more photos of the couple in the gallery above.
Congratulations to the couple from Pulse Weddings.