Virtual meeting that started all of it

Sidney Cinese Morkel began working for the Boston Conservation Law Foundation in April 2020. She asked dozens of them for virtual coffee dates because of the pandemic.

Tommaso Elijah Wagner was the only person to book an hour.

“What are we going to talk about for that long?” she said she wondered.

As it turns out, they found quite a bit of discussion, including the fact that they studied mandarins at university. At the Foundation, she worked as a Foundation Relations Coordinator. He was a program assistant.

The two of the 28 people had not actually met until Halloween, but were invited by a colleague to attend the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

With their collaboration on the Black History Month Staff Initiative in February 2021, they discussed Black Joy and Afrofuchism and met in person at Kung Futty near Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and exchanged books. (She lends him “I think I'm wandering: an autobiographical journey,” by Langston Hughes, who lends her “5th season” to NK Jemisin.)

In their third book, Swap, in April, they met at the Rolling Green House in the Boston area of ​​the Jamaican Plains. Wagner brought homemade iced tea, while Morkel brought baked cookies.

“I realized that I was furious at him when he came out of nowhere,” said Morkel, passing through Kai. At the end of that third meeting, she asked if their next hangout could be a date.

They were scheduled to visit the museum in a week and then had dinner at Thitation, a nearby restaurant in Fenway. Wagner decided he didn't want to wait that long. Morquel was having a yard sale and he stopped by a day or two before their date.

They quickly discovered that they had “fallen into these rhythms that complement each other,” Morkel said.

Morkel was already convinced of his feelings towards Wagner, but their relationship was tested in late August 2021. Mr Wagner proved his temper, leaving his bed at 6am to pilot U-Haul. He brought her candy too.

(Click here to read this week's featured couples.)

Two years later, in September 2023, she moved with Wagner to Somerville, Massachusetts, where they live today. They proposed to each other the following month.

Wagner recreated the swap from his third book, but placed the ring inside a Rolling Green House book, while Morkel returned with friends and family together in their apartment, both in person and Zoom.

Ms. Morkel had a new job in December 2022, but most of her colleagues only learned their relationship after they were engaged.

“I love how Chi is grounded, her deep knowledge of herself, and her confidence in the person she has,” Wagner said. “I love her laughter, her eyes, and her smile.”

Mr. Morkel is the Associate Director of Foundations at the Science Museum in Boston. She holds a bachelor's degree from Northeastern University in International Affairs.

Wagner holds a Masters degree in Urban Planning and Policy from Northeastern and is an intern at Boston-based Utile Architecture & Planning. He holds a bachelor's degree in environmental policy from Colby College.

Morkel's father is a Nigerian immigrant from the Igbo tribe, and her mother is African-American. She was raised by the Anglican Church. Wagner's mother is Jewish and Chinese ancestors, and his father is of English and German descent. His mother is culturally Jewish, and his Anglican father is now Buddhist.

The couple noticed similarities between Jewish and Igbo traditions (a common respect for humor and storytelling) and tried to incorporate both cultures into their weddings.

They were married on March 8th in front of 235 guests at Robbins Memorial Town Hall in Arlington, Massachusetts, by Rabi Jenguts, the founder of the Modern Jewish Couple, an organization that caters to pagan and intercultural partners. The pair wore western dresses for the ceremony – the bride in a vintage white gown that she indirectly bought at the Poshmark was transformed into a Nigerian aso ebi dress in forest green and gold for the reception.

The appetizers included hot and sour soup and egg rolls, potatonish and akala, and Nigerian black-eyed beating.

Before dinner, the bride's oldest uncle blessed the cola nuts. Igbo tradition symbolizes unity. The couple danced hola to Harry Belafonte's “Habanagira” when guests showered the couple with cache, a Nigerian wedding tradition known as money spray.

“Tonmaso is a sweet, stubborn, charming mix,” Morkel said. “He also easily joined my family and embraced new cultural heritage and food.”