Our story

The quiet miracle of becoming each other's home.

Some people start as friends, then slowly become family. Our friendship was a prayer, a wish and divine intention. It was God giving us a safe landing in each other.

From the UCISS assembly hall to the church hall, the thread kept finding its way back to us.

December 19, 2026: the story becomes a home.

Esther-Praise smiling at Jeremiah during their pre-wedding shoot — The look that says home.EP × ODJ

Our timeline

From UCISS to forever.

15 years of friendship, honesty, laughter and vulnerability: two threads woven from the assembly hall to the church hall, to tell a story, to become one long thread.

September 2009

First meeting

A black and white portrait of Esther-Praise and Jeremiah smiling

We met on the first day of school at the University of Calabar International Secondary School (UCISS). An ordinary beginning that planted the seeds for an extraordinary tale.

I couldn't sing the national anthem. I looked around and felt so self-conscious because everyone was singing. Then I looked to my right and there was this little boy with glasses - much shorter than me - and he wasn't singing either. He said in an American-sounding accent, Hi, I'm Jerry. What's your name? Immediately I felt so safe, I felt significantly less alone. And I replied, quite eagerly, I'm Esther. That was that.

University of Calabar International Secondary School (UCISS)

The years between

Kept close

Pre-wedding portrait frame 11 of Esther-Praise and Jeremiah

Through school years, new seasons, distance, and all the little changes that come with growing up, we kept in touch. Friendship became familiar, steady, and quietly important.

Calls, messages, check-ins, and grace

January 1, 2025

We began

Pre-wedding portrait frame 1 of Esther-Praise and Jeremiah

On the first day of 2025, we started dating. What had been warm and familiar became a clearer yes: prayerful, deliberate, and full of peace.

Starting the year with you as my woman was a no-brainer. In hindsight, it just makes sense. You are my best friend, and now you are my girlfriend. It's the best combo jutsu ever. So, here's to a lifetime of love, laughter, and maybe a few corny jokes along the way.

A new year, and a new chapter

December 6, 2025

Engaged

Pre-wedding portrait frame 15 of Esther-Praise and Jeremiah

We got engaged. The story that started in school would become a promise before God, family, and the people who love us.

When I look back, I see all the small doors that could have stayed closed. One more decision a little to the left, and maybe we're just "old friends" who check in once in a while and make jokes about the past. But God kept threading our lives together in tiny, quiet ways. The kind you don't notice until you stop and look back. It's like that verse that says He makes everything beautiful in its time. I feel that with you. Isn't that your name even? The timing, the path, the long wait... somehow, it all makes sense when I see you here, now.

Forever, formally spoken

December 19, 2026

Wedding day

A drone portrait of Esther-Praise and Jeremiah in a green field

We get married in Calabar, surrounded by the people who have watched, prayed, laughed, and loved us into this moment.

10:00 AM AT THE CATHEDRAL OF HOLY TRINITY