Bride: Charis Granger, 31, High School English Teacher
Groom: Peter Mbugua, 34, Health Care Administration
Married On: July 1, 2012
Wedding Location: The Carter Presidential Center
Wedding Style: Classic Elegance
Third Time’s The Charm
When two people are meant to be together, love always finds a way. It took Charis, a high school English teacher, and Peter, who works in health care administration, two years and a little help from their parents to figure out what the universe was trying to tell them – they were destined for each other.
They first met in 2006 during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Peter lived in England and Charis in Maryland, but they were both in Atlanta visiting family for the holiday. Charis’ father and Peter’s mother grew up together in Trinidad. Peter and his mother joined Charis and her family for brunch that weekend, but there were no sparks between them at the time. They went off in their separate ways, but their parents refused to stop hinting that they should keep in touch.
Although they didn’t speak much after that, in 2007, Peter moved to Maryland, not far from where Charis lived and worked. After caving in to their parents’ requests, they chatted on the phone, but there were still no sparks between them. Only, their story doesn’t end there. A year later, they both found themselves back in Atlanta once again during the same weekend visiting family. “I’m not sure what compelled me to talk to him again that evening,” says Charis. “After I approached him, I knew my life would never be the same. When we talked, this time something was different – I was intrigued by his worldview and his intelligence. We talked the whole night and then after.”
Your Love Keeps Me Warm
In early 2011, Peter told Charis, whom he’d been seeing for nearly three years, he was going to visit a few friends in Philadelphia. She believed him, but he had an entirely different trip planned. He instead traveled to Atlanta to ask Charis’ father’s permission for her hand in marriage. Once he received it, he went back home to Maryland and planned a romantic early spring weekend for he and Charis at the Chesapeake Bay. “I didn’t know it then, but he wanted to propose on the first day of spring as a symbol of new beginnings,” she recalls.
On the last day of their romantic trip, the couple decided to take a walk along the dock before checking out of their hotel. It was so chilly out Charis barely noticed that Peter was up to something. “Peter spent a few minutes commenting on how beautiful everything was, and I agreed, although I was freezing and could only think of going inside,” she admits. “All of a sudden, Peter took my hand and got down on one knee, and that’s when I realized something special was happening.
Photography by Lacey for Scobey Photography