Wedding Issue 2015
Celebrating Women of African Heritage
AFROELLE www.afroellemagazine.com
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Afroelle Magazine is a monthly digital publication celebrating and empowering women of African heritage in Africa and the Diaspora.
FOUNDER & EDITOR Patricia Miswa
PUBLISHER MISWA MEDIA
FOR SUBMISSIONS & GENERAL ENQUIRIES Afroelle@gmail.com
COVER CREDITS PHOTOGRAPHER: Steve Korn DRESS: Phuong Ngyuen MODEL: Anita Mwiruki HAIR: Sarah Thomas MAKEUP: Sable Desiree CAKE: Amanda Bedell of NuFlours FLORALS: Shelby Bond WEDDING PLANNER: Stephanie Swierkos
Afroelle Magazine is published by Miswa Media copyright Š 2015. All rights reserved.
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78 CONTENTS
21 The Wedding Week 24 Falling In Love styled shoot 41 Halima and Michael 50 Jenelle and Jamal 56 Jackson and Nicole 64 Phillipa and Kai 72 Sachel and Ethan 78 Whimsical Wonderland styled shoot 84 Kendria and Elex 92 Liz Muyu and Solomon Ocampo 102 Muller and Rosa 111 Niyia and Karl 116 Veiled styled shoot
INSIDE
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Founder and EIC
Sami Khan Photography
nce upon a time when Afroelle was a blog, we had a section for relationship and marriage stories. I’m a sucker for love stories and it so happened that most of our readers felt the same. Unfortunately, when we transitioned to our magazine that’s one of the sections that we couldn’t quite place in our new editorial vision. And so that was the end of that chapter. But for this September issue we decided to do something new and put together our first ever Wedding Issue. As some of you usher in Fall, we went with a fall wedding theme. For the cover we worked with Seattle based Tanzanian model, Anita Mwiruki and her team who brought out the concept perfectly, from the colors to the setting. We hope you enjoying this issue - we’ve featured beautiful real weddings, inspirational styled shoots, love stories and showcased work of talented wedding photographers. Till next time, I leave you with the words of Maya Angelou, “Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.”
Gift Ideas for Everyone and Every Budget www.afroellemgazine.com | 13
www.aflebijoux.etsy.com Aflé Bijoux Ethno Chic Tassels Earrings Luxe cotton tassels, akan gold weights, gold plated ear wires. Nickel free. 29 colors available.
Aflé Bijoux Lila Satin Bow Earrings Fine Lila satin bow, Akan gold weight, ear wires , silver gold-plated, available in 9 colours: pink, light bleu, marine, red, black, lila, brown,
Aflé Bijoux Arlequin Ring Fresh water pearls, amazonite, green serpentine, amethyst, cornelian, rhodochrosite, akan gold weight. Nickel free. Adjustable ring.
Aflé Bijoux Amazonite Earrings Faceted amazonite gemstones, akan gold weights, gold plated ear wires. Nickel free. Available in different types of semi-precious
Long Aflé Bijoux Suede Tassels Earrings Suede tassels, semi-precious stones, akan gold weights, gold plated ear wires. Nickel free. 30 colors, gemstones : crystal, sunstone, smokey quartz, amazonite. Lots of combinations.
meyno.com | Facebook: MeyNö | Instagram: @meyno_fashion
MAGATTE For a sleek, chic and efficient style
MONIA OMANI MeyNö’s iconic clutch gives your outfit that extra touch of elegance
Add a pop of color to a casual look
INNA Start loving, sharing and shopping
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1. Chipewa Headwrap Vibrant headwrap curated from the bustling fabric markets of Malawi. From winter to summer, this accessory is perfect for all seasons and can also be worn as a neck scarf.
2. Deluxe L/S Enum This fabulous and colourful square body handbag features an interior pouch compartment with zip. Fully lined with adjustable chain straps.
3. 13" MacBook Case Della Protect your MacBook from the elements with vibrant limited edition fabrics.
4. Trekume Bamboo Handbag Handmade with bamboo and African print cloth, this beautiful piece will catch anyone's attention!
Essy Couture www.nstagram.com/essycouture
Bowtie Cufflink As stylish as it is, these cufflinks suits every shirt and brings out the style you want.
This colourful Kente bowtie has been carefully handmade to elicit the beauty and artistic features in a bowtie .
Earrings & ring These double-linked studs with its complementary ring have been carefully designed to complement any woman's outfit. .
African City Bag - 3 handles (1 long, 2 short) black, sliver print This bag has 3 handles can be worn cross-body. It is mad out of a light but durable black cotton mix that can hold a lot of stuff like laptop, shoes, books, groceries etc. And it looks pretty stylish with its silver imprint.
www.africancitybags.com African City Bag large/black with silver print (Limited Edition!)
100 % cotton tote bag in black with white handles 22 African city names printed on both sides.
African City Bag - large/black
100 % cotton tote bag in black with white handles - 22 African city names printed on both sides.
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ELIZABETH
This adjustable,
"Night Song" necklace is made with African print on wood, glass beads, brass and chain (to adjust)
in Pearls
www.elizabethinpearls.com
The "Coast"
African print and leather on wood earrings come with or without a charm. Both shown.
These "Dapper" cuff links are new to our Cuff and Lawrence line for men. Made with fabric on metal.
www.etsy.com/shop/Nopoku Exoler Chunky Statement Necklace Glam up your look by accessorizing with Exoler chunky, statement necklace
Turqui Clutch Add an exotic touch this wedding season with this fashionable and unique clutch. Item details:Dutch wax print, Leather, Horizontal flap, Suede lining
Item details:African Trade Beads(Krobo), Millefiori Beads, Polymer Clay Beads, Matte Glass Beads , Barrel clasp
MoSamaBCN African Wax Prints. Fashion & Home DĂŠcor #MoSamaBCN
African print head wraps, necklaces and T-shirts for guys and girls.
Beautiful African print cushions that brighten up any space.
Z By Ozi www.zbyozi.com 1. African print flower girl dress This beautiful and uniquely designed ruffle dress will create that perfect photo op. Top choice for your afro centric wedding.
2. African print special occasion bubble dress. This stunning colorful Ankara print dress, will win your heart. Your little angel will shine in this gorgeous comfortable design. www.afroellemgazine.com | 19
Chimaechi Allan recalls doing her first
project on the representation of black women in the media in her teens. After reading English Literature at Cambridge University, she worked in editorial at Random House and at Amazon.co.uk. While wedding planning in 2014, a talking lizard took Chimaechi on a journey through wedding traditions around the world. She wrote down what he said. The Wedding Week was the result. Set in Lagos, The Wedding Week is a vibrant story about the week leading up to a traditional wedding. Young twins Femi and Kemi have never been to a wedding before, so every day they discover a new thing that happens at weddings, both in Nigeria and around the world. We get to travel to celebrations in various countries in a short number of pages, with a talking lizard, Geko to guide. Chimaechi also runs publishing and distribution company Kio Global, which gets high quality multilingual, multicultural education resources into schools, governments and families around the world. www.afroellemgazine.com | 21
Before starting Kio Global you were working at Random House. What prompted you to start Kio Global? It was when something funny happened in Lagos, Nigeria: I was on holiday there in 2008 and went into a children’s bookshop. NONE of the books there had African children on them, or African languages in them. It seemed as though they were invisible! Ironically, my job in London was publishing multicultural children’s books that represented diverse cultures and people. So I decided to join the dots: bringing the best quality resources to audiences that had yet to see themselves reflected consistently. Since then, I’m blessed to have been invited to speak and exhibit at various African education exhibitions, and to run literacy workshops in schools in Africa
What experience inspired you to write the Wedding Week book and why weddings? I spent time learning from teachers and students about what they would like to see in the classroom, what inspired and excited them. Secondly, I was wedding planning in 2013-4: they say your first book is autobiographical. Apart from all the heightened drama and expectation around them, weddings provide an iconic snapshot of a culture. They are a beautiful moment in which we get to experience the food, extended family, clothing, and music of our own and of other cultures. That’s why it’s a fun opportunity for children just learning to read to build confidence using these day-to-day words (like cake, clothes, and cousins), and also to expand their vocabulary with cultural
words. The wedding scenes and images of life in a contemporary African city are great inspirations for a picture book like this. The collaged artwork evokes conversation on every page. I wanted to make it available in multiple language editions too because it had a great effect on me to see my mother tongue, Igbo, written down.
What’s the one thing you hope readers take away from your book? A joyful moment of recognition. I want people to see themselves, their languages, things they would eat, wear and enjoy.
What has been the response since publishing the book? I knew that people would be entranced by the tactile, collaged illustrations by Amber Cooper-Davies. These illustrations have been great success with parents and children. The Amazon reviews have also been very positive; people love to see things they are familiar with immortalized in books, particularly the rare treat of seeing African languages in high quality print. I was honored to be invited to run a workshop at the Royal African Society’s Africa Writes literary festival this summer, and have had really enthusiastic responses from the primary school students and teachers I’ve done workshops with in Nigeria and in England. It’s been great fun.
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PHOTOGRAPHER: Steve Korn DRESS: Phuong Ngyuen MODEL: Anita Mwiruki HAIR: Sarah Thomas MAKEUP: Sable Desiree CAKE: Amanda Bedell of NuFlours FLORALS: Shelby Bond WEDDING PLANNER: Stephanie Swierkos
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the meeting
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the proposal
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the wedding day
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love!
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the credits
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Jackson Manning and Nicole Tossou met on Match.com on June 20, 2012. It was Nicole's first week and Jackson's last week, in fact, when he got Nicole's "wink" notification, he thought he'd successfully cancelled his membership a week earlier in a fit of desperation. In the end, having heard from Nicole and one other girl, he decided to try one date with each, and if neither worked out, he'd take an indefinite rest from the dating world. Nicole was his second and last date.
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Spanned from 7:30 pm June 30th to 6:30 am July 1 - eleven strictly PG-13 hours. In that time, Jackson and Nicole hit up three restaurants and three Brooklyn neighborhoods, from Lantern Thai in Brooklyn Heights, to The Chocolate Room and Clover Club in Cobble Hill, before landing on a bench on the Eastern Parkway just outside Nicole's apartment, to pine away and talk until the sun was literally rising. Just like in the movies.
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As travel buffs, going into 2013 Jackson and Nicole decided that one of them would take the first half of the year and the other would take the second, and within their halves, they’d plan a surprise trip for the other person, start to finish. Jackson took the first half. The morning of March 23rd , 3 days before Nicole's 30th birthday, Jackson woke her and let her know she had 24 hours to pack. The next morning, they were in Ixtapa, Mexico, at the Capella Ixtapa hotel On the morning before Nicole’s birthday, Jackson popped the question got the desired answer and then they had the next two days to celebrate. A catamaran cruise, their first ever swim with dolphins, and a birthday to remember rounded out the trip of a lifetime . And they came home engaged. The couple is getting married on September 25, 2015.
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Philippa + Kai 20th August 2015 Conservatory at Painshill
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Sachel + Ethan Sachel and Ethan have known each other for 20 years. They met when they were kids, 7 and 8 years old respectively, at their church’s youth summer camp outside of Atlanta, Ga.
Amanda Hedgepeth Photography
Of First Impressions Sachel: My first impression of
Ethan was “he’s cute, but I’m not going to give him the time of day.” Looking back, I was so funny as a little girl. I was super shy and didn’t want him to know I liked him. Even still throughout all those feelings, he was my fist kiss and the first guy I ever wrote in my journal about and the first guy I ever said I love you to. I guess you can say, eventually, I came around and allowed my love for him to take over…almost 15 years later. We stayed in touch throughout the years and there was a moment when I came to surprise him for his college graduation and we were getting
ready to go out for a party celebrating the seniors. I was in his bathroom, putting on my makeup. He said something silly and in that moment, I knew I wanted to be with him forever. Ethan: My first impression of Sachel was “WOW. Who is THAT? I gotta get to know her!” I was a lot more open than she was and I knew instantly that I wanted to marry her one day. When I was a little boy, I even told her mom I was going to marry her one day. No one could tell me differently, not even Sachel herself. She has always been my dream girl. I can’t put into word show I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I simply KNEW. www.afroellemgazine.com | 73
The Proposal When I was nine years old, I knew I was going to marry Sachel. I didn’t know when or how, but I knew one day I was going to ask her to marry me. And then July 12, 2014 came. In 2013, I called her best friend, Tammy and told her that I wanted to ask Sachel to marry me in Charlotte during their sorority’s national conference. Almost immediately, we began planning and coordinating. I had Tammy find out things from her such as her ring size, the kind of styles she liked, and her dream engagement scenario. We began looking for venues in Charlotte, and planning out the logistics. With her being a photographer, I knew she would want it documented, so there would have to be places where people with cameras can hide, but still get great shots. It took us a while to find the perfect place, but when we stumbled across Wing Haven Gardens, I knew it was perfect. It was picturesque and had all the elements I was looking for. After purchasing the ring I had to ask for her hand in marriage. Call me old fashioned, but it was something I wanted to do. I nervously contacted her mother and sisters. Once I told them that I had something to ask them, they quickly were alert and prepared for the question. Their response was unanimous: “We saw this coming! Of course you have our blessing!!”
Sachel Samone Photography
I was now ready for the big day. To throw her off, I picked a fight with her the night before. On that Saturday in Charlotte, I had to find a way to convince her to dress up without becoming suspicious. So I told her that I wanted to take her somewhere that was special to me while I was a college student. I have to give a special shout out to Tammy’s parents who were also in on the planning. They assisted in picking up Sachel’s family and taking them to the garden. They also kept watch, awaiting our arrival so that they could inform everybody else. We arrived around 4:30pm and began to walk around. On cue, Sachel begins snapping away. She’s such a photographer. She found a bench in the midst of the garden and continued to snap away. She asked me to stand in front of her so that she can take some photos of me. “Stand right here, we’re making memories,” she said. Right then and there, I think to myself, “Ethan, you have
to do this now.” I looked at her and took a deep breath and began to say my piece: “In the spirit of making memories, I brought you to this garden to make a new one…” I said a little bit more, dropped to my knee, pulled out the box and said “Sachel, will you marry me?” She was in total shock, and in true Sachel form, she began screaming “Oh my God, Oh my God.” Meanwhile I’m still down on the knee waiting for a response. I called everybody out from their hiding positions and then I hear her say “Yes!!” I placed the ring on her finger and the tears begin to fall. This moment was definitely one I’ll never forget. As a man, deciding to get married is a big decision and it’s not one that should be made in a haste. We’ve had our ups and downs over the years, but I couldn’t imagine living my life without her. She has made me the happiest man in the world and I’m truly blessed to have her in my life.
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Let Me Count the Ways! Sachel: Simply put and truthfully stated, I
love Ethan’s love for God. He has such a strong faith and desire to please God that even I can’t deter him and that is exactly what I need in my husband. His faith is such an inspiration to me.
Ethan: I love her heart. She cares for me like
no other person I know. She supports me in everything I do, but gracefully challenges me to become a better man. Even when there are thousands of miles between us, I feel her love. She's intelligent and just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. I trust her with every part of me and as a man, that's so necessary. Plus she makes me laugh.
Words of Wisdom Sachel: The very best wedding advice I can
give to engaged couples is to never forget the covenant. All the wedding planning, the wedding itself is simply a party. You have a cast that comes on stage during their cue, says their lines and when the curtain closes, they go back to their regularly scheduled life. But all of the flowers, all the guests, the
dress...it's all a part of the show. And at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. What matters is the commitment you're making to each other; the covenant you're making with your bride/groom to be and God. What matters is the marriage itself. When you're going through the wedding process, when you can't seem to see eye to eye on the kind of flowers should be at the alter, who the DJ should be or what song should be your first dance song because you both love so many, remember at the end of the day, those memories are great, but the one that counts the most, is the covenant. Keep your focus on each other and everything else will literally fall into place.
Ethan: The biggest piece of advice I can give someone is, to meditate on 1 Corinthians 13. Memorize it. Hide it in your heart. Make it such a big part of your life that every action, you take, reflects it. Every relationship is unique. Every relationship is beautiful and every relationship will go through storms. But anything worth having is worth fighting for. It's going to take work and sometimes you will want to throw in the towel. But love is patient. It is kind. It's never rude and boastful. When you choose to love someone, you commit to love them unconditionally...not just when everything is good, but in the dark moments too.
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Kendria + Elex
Bride: Kendria Boston Occupation: Sr. IT Administrator, a contractor of the United States Navy Hometown: Houston, TX * Groom: Elex Stokes Occupation: Systems Engineer, a contractor of the United States Navy Hometown: Oakland, CA
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First Meeting Kendria: We met at one of the most premier Historically Black Universities (HBCUs) located in the South, Prairie View A&M University. PV-YOU-KNOW! During that time, Elex was pursing his BS in Computer Engineering while I was pursing my BBA in Management Information Systems. Although we were in two separate programs, we crossed paths while working as associate programmers for a cooperative program sponsored by NASA and Lockheed Martin. We started off as colleagues but then eventually built a love that was undeniable. I still remember
the day that he asked me for my number. You would think that he would have my number since we were coworkers, but we never formally exchanged numbers. We were at a friend’s fish fry, just laughing and talking, and at that moment, out of nowhere, Elex just asked me for my number. I guess he finally came to his senses and realized that I was the girl of his dreams. Plus, I was finally out of an old relationship so it was the perfect time for Elex to step in and sweep me off of my feet. We always joked around and gave each other a hard time, which further made it clear that I truly liked Elex and he was going to be the one who could get me to fall in love.
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“Will You Marry Me?” After arriving home on a Friday from an exhausting week of work travel, Elex expressed to me that he had a surprise for me on Saturday. Of course, I tried to get him to tell the surprise, but he wouldn’t budge. While enjoying our Saturday together, it started pouring down raining right before the time of my surprise. Somehow Elex was able to reschedule the surprise to Sunday morning but the conditions were that we had to wake up at 4am to drive Temecula, CA for the surprise. For a second, I thought Elex had lost his mind for thinking that I was going to wake up
at 4am but then I saw this serious look on his face, so I agreed to participate in his little plan. On Sunday morning, we got dressed and drove 1 hour to Temecula to visit a very popular and romantic winery. Upon pulling into the parking lot of the winery, I saw a van that read “hot air balloons” on the side of it. I immediately started screaming of joy because I thought the hot air balloon ride was the surprise. I was stoked because Elex knew that riding a hot air balloon was on my bucket list but every time I expressed my interest in riding, he always shot it down. We parked the car and lined up with the others to be driven to the location where
the actual hot air balloons were setup. Once we got over to the actual balloons, we were given our own “couples” balloon. I was happy to know that we were going to be in our own balloon instead of being in the “group” balloon with 20 other people. Before and after our balloon launched, Elex was acting very nervous, which I laughed about because I thought he was just worried about the heights. While in the air, the pilot asked us to play a game with him and one of his teammates. The game instructions were to throw a beanbag at each target that his teammate displayed on the ground, while we were in the air. As we were focused on finding the first target, we
saw a white van approaching with a huge target on the roof. As we were waiting for the van to stop so that we could throw the beanbag, the balloon began to lower closer to the ground. Finally when the van stopped, a guy jumped out of the van with roses and a sign that read “Will You Marry Me Kendria”. My mouth dropped and I turned to Elex, as he was partially on one knee with this beautiful ring in this hand. He finally asked me himself but I couldn’t respond because I was lost for words and extremely shocked, in a good way. I couldn’t believe that the day that I’ve been waiting for was finally happening right before my eyes. I accepted the ring and said, “YES”.
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‘the shoe that fits’ Elex’s first impression of me was that I had a big forehead, but of course that’s because my head was full of knowledge. He also thought I was a “goody two shoes” because I was the boss’s favorite and was eager to learn new things. My first impression of Elex was that he was an absolute jerk, but a funny one that I loved. He was a “know it all” and loved to debate but he always kept me intrigued. We found that we both loved each other as we were. We both knew that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together when we realized that we couldn’t live without each other. Both of us were family oriented, goal focused, and full of ambition, we called ourselves “the shoe that fits”. We knew that we both had characteristics that neither one of us could live without in a partner. You always hear people say that they “just knew” from the moment they met their partner that he/she was the one, and we “just knew” that we did not want to live a moment without each other.
“ You always hear people say that they just knew from the moment they met their partner that he/she was the one, and we “just knew” that we did not want to live a moment without each other.”
Happy Wife, Happy Life! The best advice given to us was “Happy Wife, Happy Life�. Overall, we have been told the importance of staying true, loyal, honest, committed, and communicative with each other. Also, to not let others intrude on our marriage. We must support each other, accept each other as we are, and learn to work things out when times are tough.
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Solomon I’m from a missionary family in the Philippines. Being missionaries, we’ve crisscrossed our country , and travelled other countries as well. When my family and I were in Kenya some years back, our hosts were my future wife’s parents, Bishop Dr. Charles Muyu, Rev. Dr. Akiiki Muyu, and their family.
Liz I am a young pastor, the worship pastor at Gospel Tabernacle Worship Centre South B. I’m also a radio producer at Truth FM Nairobi, Most importantly I’m a daughter, sister, wife, and mother. My life and purpose here on earth is driven by eternity.
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How They Met I met Solomon through my parents who have been friends with his parents for the past twenty years. His parents are missionaries and when in Kenya they minister at our church. So basically throughout my childhood I’ve known him and his family. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him after getting to know him better when we were older. He grew up to be my ideal man. One who fears God and has regard for people. Selfless, intelligent, witty, attractive, kind at heart , just a few of the things that assured me he was the one.
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The proposal was special. He had gone back to his country to study, and I had last seen him in 2012 when my family and I vacationed in the Philippines. We kept in touch online through Facebook and Skype but we didn’t talk much, and we weren’t dating either. Then, one evening on August 2014, his sister-in-law who lives in Nairobi called me to say she would be coming over with a gift. I didn’t think too much about it, because she has always been buying me gifts and taking me out, so I thought this was just one of those generous times. After she came over and while we were in the living room talking, she asked her husband if he could please bring the gift now. At that moment I was sure the gift was a cake, but lo and behold my (future) husband walked in, and I literally screamed and fell off my seat. While I was still in shock, he got down on a knee and proposed! I was crying like a baby, because unknown to him, that same week I had been praying that he would ask me to marry him. So in absolute amazement of how God answered my prayer, in tears and after a long pause, I said YES! What I loved most about the proposal was how unexpected it was. One minute I was single and the next I was engaged and planning a wedding.
Liz: The night before my wedding I spent it with my father. He spoke to me a lot about marriage. But one statement he said really stood out for me and has proved to be one of the best marriage advice I got. He said, “Never compare your marriage with another marriage. Each is unique and has its own challenges. Never ask your husband to be like another man, you have no idea what battles the other man or marriage is fighting.” Solomon: The best marriage advice I received was that our marriage would be stronger if it’s foundation is The LORD. Second best is to listen to and think of my wife’s welfare before mine.
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Liz: Honestly, marriage has taught me how to love. Love as defined by God in
1Cor 13. I have learned love is not a feeling or an emotion, but rather love is the everyday choice to be patient and kind. Love does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails.
Solomon: So far I have learned that when the difficult times come, like heated arguments, huge differences, and similar things, loving your spouse becomes a conscious decision which is apart from emotion.
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Niyia + Karl October 12, 2014 Niyia and Karl met on June 22, 2013 at a Mary J Blige Concert. They dated for a year and Karl proposed on June 22, 2014 at the same bench where they talked for hours after their first date.
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Veiled Model: Sparkle MUA: Jessica Vinson Dress by: Jessica McClintock Photographer: Nichole Beatty of A. Monet Photography, Washington, DC
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