Groom: Moneyede Martin, 28, Attorney
Married Since: June 18, 2011
Wedding Location: Negril, Jamaica
Wedding Style: Tropical Elegance
Road Trip
Six years ago, two students crossed paths on campus on their first day of law school at The University of Florida. As fate would have it, both Darian and Moneyede were on their way to the same seminar, so they chatted along the way. Like many women do, Darian played hard to get. “He was too cool, and I pretended to be very unimpressed,” she recalls. He will tell you that he already had a feeling she was The One.
They spoke only in passing for months, then Moneyede saw a chance to get closer to the woman he just could not get his mind off. They were both going to be in Miami for the summer, and when Darian told him about her plans to take the bus, Moneyede offered a ride back to campus. It was an offer she couldn’t resist.
“I accepted,” says Darian about their five-hour road trip. “We couldn’t stop laughing, we couldn’t stop talking, and we fell hopelessly in love somewhere in between.”
Coming Full Circle
Once they decided to give love a chance, Moneyede and Darian were inseparable. They’d already spent four blissful years together when he proposed they take another road trip back to their old campus to grab a slice of pizza at the spot she loved. They left right after work and by the time they got there, Darian was exhausted, but Moneyede insisted they go check out renovations to the school.
It was the wee hours of the morning and the happy couple wandered around their old stomping grounds. “Do you remember the exact spot where we first met,” asked Moneyede. Intrigued by the game, Darian tried to pinpoint the location as he grabbed her by the hand and led her to where she’d first clumsily bumped into him.
New Memories
Moneyede told Darian he wanted to make a new memory with her in that very special spot.
“He slowly got down on one knee and pulled out a tiny box wrapped in a delicate bow and asked me to marry him,” says Darian. “We spent an hour in that courtyard promising each other fidelity, honesty, and endless love. It was the most amazing night of our lives.” The next stop for this traveling couple was the altar.
They planned a beautiful and intimate destination wedding in Jamaica to share with their closest family and friends. Share their love!
Photography by Cendino Teme