The Wedding Story of... Gregory & Ebony Baker

When Ebony Johnson and Gregory Baker met at a planning session for a high school step competition in 2003, there was no particular attraction. They took care of the business at hand and went separate ways. They ran into each other from time to time at step events but there was still no chemistry. That changed about three years later when a college roommate of Greg's ended up working at the same high school where Ebony worked as a guidance counselor.

Greg's buddy kept saying that Greg and I ought to hang out. He thought we'd be good together since we had so much in common.

Both were sponsors for their high school step teams. They were involved in a sister/brother sorority/fraternity. Ebony was a member of Zeta Phi Beta and Greg was a member of Phi Beta Sigma. She did the mentoring for the Zeta youth group, he did the mentoring for the Sigma youth group. Greg had just completed a master's program in administration at the same program at the same college that Ebony was interested in enrolling in. Greg stopped by the school to meet with his friend and give Ebony information on the master's program. He also brought lunch, and that is when he and Ebony connected. Lunch turned into dinner and they've been together ever since.

On March 9, 2006, Ebony received a Fed Ex summons accompanied by a white carnation. The missive included a number of riddles she was to solve before the night was over. She wracked her brain coming up with all kinds of scenarios but she did not anticipate a marriage proposal. "I was caught totally off-guard," said Ebony. "There were several other times I thought he was going to propose but they just turned out to be very nice evenings!"

The riddles had to do with their firsts: the first day they met, their first date, their first kiss. They traveled back in time, visiting each of the places where they took the first steps in their relationship. They ended up in Dawes Park, not far from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

"It was dark and wet because it had rained earlier," said Greg. "I started talking about how beautiful it was the first day we walked there and then said, 'Like life, you don't always know what will happen.' Then, I asked her to marry me."

Eight months later, on November 17, 2007, the doors to the sanctuary of Union Baptist Church were thrown open and Ebony's father escorted her down the aisle. She was beautiful in a strapless white gown with a fitted bodice and a dropped waist. The bodice was jeweled in silver and white bugle beads, sequins, and pearls. The ballroom-style skirt shimmered as Ebony moved. Greg stepped forward to take her hand wearing a three piece chocolate-brown Calvin Klein suit.

The sand from the beach played an important part in their wedding ceremony. They had gone back to Dawes Park and scooped up some of the sand. They dyed half of it chocolate brown and the other half an icy blue. During the wedding, their mothers poured the sand into a vase to symbolize the coming together of the two families. Then, Ebony and Greg placed their hands on the container and gently shook it, mixing the sand until the chocolate and blue intermingled, symbolizing that the two had become one. "Now we have that sand in our home," said Ebony. "It serves as a reminder of the commitment we made to one another."

Ebony and Greg chose to honor their cultural heritage by jumping the broom. 300 hundred guests watched as the couple held hands and leaped into matrimony. This Afrocentric custom, dating back to the 19th century, indicated that their old lives as two had been swept away and their new lives as one had begun. Afterwards, the newlyweds climbed into the back of a limo and were driven to the Grand Wayne Center in downtown Fort Wayne. The backdrop of the Anthony Ballroom was the perfect setting for the contemporary chocolate and blue decor. The softly lit room featured fairy lighting, chocolate twigs in tall vases, stones artfully arranged and more.

"The wedding and reception was everything that I wanted," said Ebony. "From the start to the finish, it exceeded my expectations! And, the nicest thing was that we included ceremonies that made it our own."