WOW!!!!!!!
Lovebirds, Sophy Ijeoma and her husband, Chidimma Amedu got married
traditionally six days after they chatted on Facebook and four days
after they met each other one on one.
The story began after Chidimma Amedu took to Facebook on the 30th of
December 2017, to post an unusual advert asking any woman interested in
being his wife to reply. He further said he is of age and was ready to
tie the nuptials knots on 6 January, 2018.
“Am of age and I am ready to say I do and am wasting no time. “Send
in your applications – the most qualified will be married on January 6,
2018. Application closes 12 midnight, 31/12/2017,”
He then followed up with subsequent posts.
“Am serious about this oh and don’t say you did not see it on time. Good luck.” he wrote
Chidimma received a couple of responses, but a specific one from Sophy Ijeoma which was short and direct caught his attention.
"Am interested, just DM me...lols," her post read.
At first, Sophy thought it was a joke and simply replied to keep the
thread flowing but a direct message from him followed by a Facebook
call, change everything.
Read the full report by BBC below...
Chidimma placed the advert initially as a joke but became optimistic when Sophy said she was interested.
Two days after their first conversation, he travelled some 500km (300
miles) from his home in the northern city of Abuja, to Enugu in the
east where she lived.
She had been waiting for him outside a retail store and in true fairy-tale style, "it was love at first sight", she recalled.
"He is the most handsome man I've ever met and I liked him instantly."
After two hours of "awkward" conversation, he asked her to go to meet his uncle, who incidentally is also resident in Enugu.
Asked what was going through her mind at the time, she said she
thought it was all a bit of a joke, but she was excited about it and
thought Chidimma was quite an interesting character.
Tradition meets modernity
"We got to the uncle's house and he said: 'Uncle, meet the woman I want to marry.'"
Like Chidimma, his family don't seem to hang about when it comes to getting things done, because the uncle gave his approval.
The couple had been friends on Facebook for over a year but had never spoken to each other before the advert
Getting family backing for your choice of spouse is an essential part of Igbo culture.
Whereas picking your future wife from dozens of respondents to a
Facebook marriage advert and marrying her in six days is decidedly not.
At this point in their day-old relationship, it was beginning to dawn
on Sophy that this fellow was not playing, but how do you commit to
marrying someone you only just met?
She would not comment on whether they had even shared as much as a
kiss at that point, but maintained she was captivated by how focused and
determined her new fiancé was.
"When I saw him for the first time, I definitely found him
attractive, but what I didn't know was how serious he was about marrying
me.
"It was after we met the uncle and his wife, that I realised that this could actually happen and I wanted it."
The engagement
It was now her turn to worry about how she was going to get the approval
of her family to marry a guy she had just met on Facebook.
But they had momentum going for them. Having met and fallen in love
at first sight, or first message, if you like, and getting Chidimma's
uncle's approval, the couple decided to complete the cycle by visiting
Sophy's family the same day.
Approval from the family is essential in Igbo tradition
Sophy recounted how she relayed the information to her mother. Her dad
had passed away, and her mum said she did not have the final word in
terms of giving approval for her to be married, so it was up to Sophy's
elder brother to give his blessings.
It would appear the odds were firmly in their favour as Sophy's brother gave his blessings too.
So after a few questions from her brother, it was official - Chidimma and Sophy were engaged to be married in six days.
On the rebound?
Last year Chidimma was engaged to another woman and the wedding was
scheduled for December, but the relationship fell apart in March leaving
him dejected.
As December approached, the disappointment of not being able to
fulfil his dream of getting married made him put up the post, he said.
The wedding was a blend of old and new
"I had the desire to get married, I had a date in mind, but no bride,
so I decided to place an advert as a joke, but I was open and up for
it."
Asked whether she knew about his earlier engagement and her thoughts
on how this seemingly rushed marriage might be seen as a rebound, Sophy
dismissed any suggestions that her relationship was not well thought
through.
"I don't care about that - when you see what you want, you go for it."
They had been friends on Facebook for more than a year, but had never met or spoken to each other until the advert.
"Am interested, just DM me...lols" was all it took for the union to be formed.
Sophy admitted her friends were sceptical about the whole thing,
while some are still in disbelief, but as she said: "When you see the
one, you will know he is the one".
Happily ever after?
They got married on 6 January in a traditional Igbo ceremony, and posted
photos of their wedding day on Facebook of course - to the amusement of
the social media community.
Chidimma put up a post saying people may have thought he had been joking but he clearly wasn't.
As can be expected, there were mixed reactions, but mainly a lot of support for the couple.
They hope to have a church wedding in April and perhaps a honeymoon somewhere nice, he said
