John is an extrovert. Nsela is not.

Nsela is an Ed Sheeran fan. John is not.

In September 2018, John was invited to an Ed Sheeran concert by Sarah (one of his best friends) after her fiancé refused to go. He wasn't all that interested in the show but went along anyways. Nsela got an invitation from her co-worker, Gillian, to that same concert 8 hours before the event started. She panicked at the idea of such last-minute plans, but her love for Ed Sheeran outweighed her anxiety and she agreed to go as well.

During the opening act, Nsela and Gillian went to the bar to grab a drink. That's when a random white boy came up to her with a grin from ear to ear and said, "Hello!" Unsure of what to do, Nsela uttered, "....Hello?"

After a bit of small talk, John and Nsela exchanged numbers and went their separate ways. In the days following the concert, Nsela would be traveling to South Africa for a month while John went on a trip to Mexico.

Nsela didn't expect the conversations with John to continue, especially with them both being on opposite sides of the world. But each day, she woke up to 2am texts from John sharing photos and stories from his trip.

Once they were both back home, they arranged to have a proper date. They met in New York City and spent the day talking and walking the length of Central Park. At least until Nsela made them stop and sit down because there's no reason to walk that much without a destination in mind.

That day, they realized that they were the complete opposite of each other in pretty much every way. He likes hikes, nature, going out to meet new people. She likes staying in to watch movies, is deathly afraid of bugs and strangers, and prefers climate controlled environments.

After three years, two dogs, and one move to Texas, Nsela and John are still as different as they could be. That's pretty obvious from the engagement story itself.

John planned to propose under the guise of having a post-quarantine housewarming party where they would be surrounded by friends and family to celebrate with. Nsela, on the other hand, questioned John heavily on why they were hosting a housewarming party a whole year after moving down to Texas. They disagreed on just about everything. The decor, the food, the games, even the time and date of the party. But by the end of the night (once Nsela realized what all the fuss was about) they both agreed on one thing. There was no one else they'd rather spend the rest of their lives disagreeing with.

The rest of our story starts February 18th, 2023, and we're so excited to share a part of it with you!

Engagement Photos

by Pharris Photo + Films