Counting down to #SoyinLove2020.

Sam totally gave Mayowa the proposal of her dreams and we are just here taking in all the beauty of the day. He went from getting her the perfect dress, having her friends sing as she walked in, to giving a full speech and then a hangout with their friends. Mayowa was completely speechless in their garden of love but she did say yes!

The groom-to-be recalls how they met and also shared their proposal story with us. Read all about it below:

During my second week at the University of Wolverhampton, I was looking for a church to attend and I met someone who told me to attend their church when he saw me playing the keyboard in my room. So, I went to the church and attended the rehearsal. While I was playing the keyboard I wasn’t really feeling the singers but while I was looking down I heard a beautiful voice singing ‘How great is our God’. Her beautiful voice was just as beautiful as her face and body. I won’t lie I got my act together and started playing fancy chords to let her know this guy knows his stuff. After the rehearsal, we met and introduced ourselves to each other and we just clicked from there.- Sam recalls.

I have good friends around me but Mayowa would always look after me, she knew my timetable and always reminded me of things I needed to do and we were genuinely goods friends with no feelings. Every Sunday, I would force my flatmate to go to her accommodation to do our laundry even if we didn’t have any laundry to do we’d just go because I found her very fun to be around. As time went on Mayowa would come to my flat and I would get out my keyboard and we would sing and play the keyboard for over 3 hours…if only we knew what God was preparing us for.

After university, we stopped talking in 2014 for no reason…life just happened and fast forward to December 2016 she gave me a call and we spoke like we hadn’t lost touch. From then on, every few weeks she would call me for us to pray together and for me to pray for her new job and that was it. On the 7th of July, 2017 we spoke again after a wedding I attended and we met the day after and it was at that moment I knew I wanted to be with her. After a couple of conversations I began to see in her, everything I valued in a woman. A little over a year later in December 2018, we started dating and we have learnt soo much and have grown to become better individuals. Regardless of what we go through we always work things out and never give up. I knew I wanted Mayowa to be my wife after I was in a difficult season of my life, and I have never seen anyone who would hold me and stand by me pray for me and make sure I maintained my purity and always reminded me why I should always put God first. Oh, by the way, her body is just too much and with her beauty like hers!! What else do I need? I decided that I needed to secure this amazing woman ASAP!

Here’s how the proposal happened according to the groom-to-be, Sam:

Planning the proposal took about three months, consisting of back and forth trips to London and working with her cousins. I wanted to give her the perfect ring because she’s worth it. I redesigned the ring myself with some symbols that signify our relationship journey. Before the month of the proposal, I told her we were attending a friend of mines’ wedding to eliminate any suspicion. On the day of the proposal, her dress hadn’t arrived and I started panicking but had to calm down. So, I went into my car like got one of my friends to pray with me. Her dress was scheduled to arrive on Monday which meant she won’t be able to wear the perfect dress I wanted her to wear but luckily the dress came on that day at 1.00 pm. I was over the moon and hyped again for the proposal. As we set off to go to the venue (The Hill Garden & Pergola) my heart was beating too fast I was confident but yet scared.

My fiancé-to-be did not have any idea that 3 of her amazing friends with great vocals were there alongside her cousin and close friend. As we were walking towards the garden she started getting worried like ‘where are the Africans at this wedding’, ‘I haven’t seen any African wear’ she even went on to say if there is no ayamashe at this wedding she will fight me, lol. I told her don’t worry there’s better food. As we were walking closer to the spot she began to hear voices and was wondering what was going on and as we got closer with anticipation, she saw one of the singers and screamed. This was one of the best moment of my life as she was so overwhelmed with joy and happiness that she started to cry. The moment was very emotional for us and I immediately got on my knees and let her know how much I love her and why I wanted to be with her. Ladies and gentlemen my long-time friend said YES!! to me and that was the best feeling ever for me. Who could ever know that my long-time best friend who sang and prays with me back then would one day become my lifetime partner?

Here’s Sam’s proposal speech to Mayowa:

Whatsoever is true, whatsoever is honest, whatsoever is pure whatsoever is lovely and of good report, if there be any virtue and praise think of those things. Mayowa, you are all these things to me. I love you with all my heart and my love runs deep. I brought you here today to a beautiful garden, a love Garden where everything about life and love originated from. Mayowa, you are that place that I find peace, you are that place that I find rest. So today, I want to give you a special gift this not just a ring but healing, love, prosperity and favour. I do not know what marriage will bring but all I know is I want to spend the rest of my life with you.

Credits

Bride-to-be: @mayaasweetz
Groom-to-be: @s.soyinka
Planner: @wuramanola of @manolaluxe
Venue: The Hill Garden and Pergola
Photography: @joshuabrathwaite
Hashtag: #SoyinLove2020