Everyone deserves a happy ever after, and everyone sure will definitely get one, even if it comes later than expected, there surely is enough love to go around. Our bride-to-be, Lulu Evong and her handsome Fiance Eddie Madaki who had though been in the same circle for years but hardly interacted, will be walking down the aisle soon as they found a beautiful home in each other. Groom to be, Eddie, beautiful with us when he said that:
Interestingly Lulu and I have always shared mutual friends and moved in the same social circles but never really interacted. I did admire her from a respectable distance, all I knew about her at the time is that she was a promoter and event planner based in Ghana at the time, I’ve always been in awe of independent social entrepreneurs, seeing that’s what I do and I appreciate the challenges of the sector first hand.
In 2015 we had a couple of chance meetings, first my brothers/ business partners and I were managing and consulting for Cubana XO Club and lounge , Lulu came by with a friend to one of our club activations with a premium cognac brand, but in the chaos of planning we didn’t really connect.
Fast forward to another one of our events, iBlend Heatwave pool party, Lulu dropped by, but this time I sure paid attention, she looked drop dead gorgeous with that easy smile of hers, but as usual, we exchanged pleasantries but that was it. You know how they say “good things come to those who wait?”, this literally was the case for us. I was going through a phase of self-development, focusing solely on my career and had written off getting into any relationship at the tim.
Around this time Lulu had finally moved back to Nigeria and was looking to set up her event consultancy here, she reached out to me and we started “talking”, it was mostly about work up until Valentine’s day came around February 2016. Prior to this day, we had scheduled multiple business meetings which she never showed up for, whether by accident or design I didn’t know, plus she was always traveling. Seeing we were both single, alone and doing nothing at the time, I shot my shot and suggested we get together for a chilled evening, you know, misery loves company. To my surprise, she said yes, and things got real quite quickly from that point on.
I ran out to the mall close to my home, got some wine, chocolates, and a rose, it was all last minute but I had hoped to get some points for effort. This for me was when the magic happened, even though we agreed to keep things platonic and focus on our budding business relationship, that plan went to voicemail. Thankfully that didn’t go as planned, Lulu was all the saving I needed, restored my faith in everything that is good, beautiful and kind, we went on to collaborate on ground-breaking events and activations ranging from the Annual Cross River State Governors ball, Remy Martin Sunglasses and Advil penthouse day parties, Car Wash Diva’s and most recently the first ever Nigerian Festival of Lights.
On Sunday, the 2nd of December 2019, I invited Lulu to the Papillon Restaurant at the Sheraton where we had our very first date with the help of Maya Mshelia and the amazing staff at the Sheraton, we put together a little surprise, with butterflies in my belly I “bent the knee” and asked for her hand in marriage, to hear her say yes and choose me would forever be the most memorable experience for me of all time.
@oocharles | @thecannonphotography