Jen's Version :
Deola and I met at a hotel.......................when he came to pick up my grandma to take her to the airport (LOL). Long story short, my cousin and his really good friend were getting married so I came to Abuja for the wedding. I was the Maid of Honour/Chief Bridesmaid and he was the Best Man (crazy- I know). But we actually met on the day he picked my grandma up - which was two days before the wedding.
Deola's Version:
Before I met Jen, I was already acquainted with her music (not sure she liked that very much, lol). So, my friend was getting married and I was the best man, I asked and was told about the Maid of Honour. November 17, 2016 my friend called me because he needed some urgent help. So I came through to the hotel he was at and the job was to drop off a certain grandma at the airport. While I was waiting, I saw this pretty and fascinating lady with tired eyes - it was Jen and the certain grandma was her grandma. Little did I know, I had just met my life time partner!
Jen:
My first impression of Deola was 'Oo he's quiet. Why is he so quiet?' - I'm naturally drawn to quiet and reserved people...
Deola:
First impressions! It was not exactly fairy tale to be honest. I thought she was interesting. She spoke a lot! lol.. but with good reason, I can be quiet and she did well to keep our conversations going.
Jen's Version:
After meeting in November 2016, we didn't actually have our first date until July 2017 in Geneva. It was really nice and chilled. We spent the day together... we went for a tour of the city, lunch and to a carnival!
Deola's Version:
I was nervous!! Babe flew all the way to Geneva to meet up with me. Chai! At this point, I was smitten already, just extremely worried if she did not see me as I saw her. But we met, Jen is always a great sport. We waka jube in Geneva lol! Met some of my colleagues (I was there for work). But i did not kiss her! :(
Deola:
Jen and I are very similar, we have had amazing moments together so its difficult to say the specific time, however, I suddenly realized that I stopped thinking 'I'and was always thinking 'we'. She had become the only person I was interested in speaking to the whole day lol! I broke my own rules in my office and took my phone to the lab. It was LDR but it did not matter! She, for me was the template format of the Proverbs 31 woman! and all of a sudden 'forever' sounded like a great idea!
Jen:
He became the first person I wanted to talk to in the morning and the last person at night.This was mainly because he kept showing up every single day for 8 months. We were both out of our comfort zones but he was consistent. Calling, texting, emailing- doing everything he could to show me that he saw everything about me, even the things I tried to hide but still wanted to walk through each day with me. He reminded and still reminds me so much of Christ. So gentle yet so intentional with me. The Game changer though was when he completed what he likes to call 'the entrance exam' and sent me an email explaining why he was 'my person' and how he would lead us through the highs and lows of an LDR. Little did he know, I was already in love and wanted to go wherever he was going.
Jen: The proposal still blows me away to this day. I literally think about it and get shivers down my spine. It was hands down the BEST day of my life. Deola had told me he was travelling to India for work, so I thought that's where he was, not knowing he was in London preparing to propose to me. At one point he was literally a 6 minute drive away from me!!!! IT'S INSANE!! I had arrived at the location thinking we were having a family dinner so when I saw him- I couldn't breathe. It was magical and insane all at the same time.
Deola:
I lied!! For weeks. Because Jen hates surprises. I had decided to propose long before then but I was not sure how! I have to thank Mummy O, Gabz, Mary and Ken for all their help. I came in secretly to the UK and lied I was in India for a training. I was staying at a hotel close to Jen's home... LOL. I think I did quite well keeping up with the lies and luckily I had an alibi for every confusing situation. But for me, it was the greatest day of my life, I got a YES! Plus I was able to pull a surprise that Jen loved. I completely forgot my lines, which I had prepared for over a month (Typical...hehehehe) but it was a good thing, because I spoke from my heart. I was extremely nervous, I wonder why that happens though - I was optimistic she would say YES but still I was so scared of the 1% probability she would not accept. I am glad she did, and I am grateful to God we are here now.
Our hashtag AJA.LA22 was inspired by:
1. The fact that we are getting married!!
Adeola Jennifer Are (our new surname - well Jen's new surname) Lagos Athens '22 - Year of wedding
2. 'Ajala the Traveller' as we both love travel and being an LDR couple we get the luxury of globe trotting to meet up like AJALA himself.
So here we are, 3 years from when we met as Maid of Honour and Best Man. Who would have known we'd get to do an 'entrance dance' together again, this time as Man & Wife. God is so amazing and we know He literally orchestrated 'us' from the beginning, because no matter how much we messed up or wanted to call it quits (because Long Distance is no joke), God kept our hearts connected.
Few people find love in this life and few find the one they can call 'Home', so we thank God for this priceless gift.
#AJA.LA20 LOADING...
