A Raleigh Wedding Honoring The Couple's Love And Cultures |

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Deborah Oyeyemi, a resident physician at Yale, and Chad Walton, an IT consultant and photographer, had an “instant connection” when they met in October 2017. “We met on Tinder; Chad was my second and last date on the app," shares Deborah. "We exchanged texts, then calls, for a week or so before meeting for dinner in downtown Durham. We spent hours together and ended our night on a rooftop overlooking the city after sunset.” By the holidays, they were officially a couple. “We were spending every free moment from my busy medical school schedule at Duke together.”

Three years later, Deborah had moved to Connecticut for her residency and they were set to spend their anniversary apart for the very first time. But, Chad had a surprise in store. “He convinced one of my best friends to take me on a hike,” Deborah remembers. “When we got to the top of East Rock, I saw a man in a suit holding roses. Before I knew it, he was on one knee with a ring asking me to be his wife. He even had our song, ‘Best Part’ by H.E.R and Daniel Caesar, playing.” She was caught completely off guard. “I didn’t even know he was in the state!” she says. But, Deborah answered with a resounding “yes.”

The couple didn’t shout their engagement from the rooftops right away, though. “We took a week or so before telling folks outside of our immediate family, and that time was so precious,” Deborah says, advising other couples to do the same. “Take a moment, even if just for a day or two, after getting engaged to just breathe and soak in the moment.”

Two months later, they found their venue and planning began. “We had met and fallen in love in ‘The Triangle’—Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area—so celebrating our big day in North Carolina was a no-brainer,” Deborah says. They fell in love with Melrose Knitting Mill in downtown Raleigh, which meant planning from a distance. “I had to do my makeup and hair trials the week of the wedding since I couldn’t travel easily with COVID-19 and my demanding hospital schedule,” Deborah says. “Chad and his family FaceTimed me into tastings.”

Everything fell into place, and the couple said “I do” on January 8, 2022, in front of 80 guests. “This wedding was special for many reasons,” Deborah says, looking back. “First, it was a celebration of us reuniting after an unprecedented time apart. The pandemic had interfered with our plans for both sets of parents to meet, so the wedding was also important for bringing two families and their respective cultures together.” She continues: “I am of Nigerian descent, so traditional Yoruba details were incorporated throughout the reception. The groom’s roots guided not only the location of the wedding but also other elements, from the Southern Baptist ceremony officiated by his reverend uncle to the paying of homage to his ancestors, most notably his recently passed grandmother.”