Happy Monday friends! Our first wedding of the week is super personal to me (so prepare for a picture-heavy post). You might remember my sister-friend Ndali from her engagement shoot and traditional wedding features on the blog- yeah that drop dead gorgeous girl. I am so thrilled to finally share the last lap of #Kayali2013 with you. Ndali and Kayode made the perfect pair at their wedding at the Ark Events Center in Lagos, Nigeria. The bride was indeed a vision in her feather-bodiced Manuel Mota ball gown (I mean REALLY). I had so much fun celebrating with my dear friends and you can spot me in a couple of pictures below – including a cheeky veil shot with the maid-of-honor (hehe). Ndali was kind enough (read as: forced) to guide us through her gorgeous day. Enjoy!
From the Bride:
What was your inspiration for the day?– I think it’s more a question of what wasn’t I inspired by? A lot of my decisions didn’t take too much thought. I just knew. I wanted gold. The colour was a must. I wanted the bridesmaids in ivory with me because I wanted us to look special together. Another option would have been gold but I couldn’t find anything fitting and there weren’t any other colors I was confident about. The orange and blue palette was one I had seen and thought was really good.
Unfortunately for my wedding planner and fortunately for me, I knew EXACTLY what I wanted. For less. No compromise, no alternative.Haha
Kunbi here! .. One of MY favorite details from Ndali’s wedding was her bouquet- the perfect mix of modern and traditional- a lush rose bouquet with heirloom brooches.
The Reception
Favorite Memory: It’s funny, my favorite memory wasn’t on the day, but when I saw the pictures by Alakija Studios. It made me want to do it all over again. It showed so much love, joy and laughter. I couldn’t have asked for better wedding or birthday. Hands down BEST.PARTY.EVER.
Advice for future Brides – Based on my experience and what I failed to do, I’d say two things:
1. Don’t sweat it. I don’t want to say it’s just a wedding but seriously ladies, it is just a wedding. Don’t be so emotionally tied to it. The day is such a blur and once it happens, it’s hard to believe all your hard work and stressing have come to an end. And trust me; you can’t have every single thing perfect. So relax as much as you can.
2. The most important thing you need to do is prioritize your relationship with your future hubby over the wedding day. It’s easy to forget there’s life after that day; that everyone else fades away and it’s just you and him. To forget the reason you’re even having a wedding to begin with.
Planning can overwhelm and take over your soul. You need to check that. Make a conscious effort to zone out of wedding mode periodically and focus solely on yourselves. TLC. Ban any talk or reference to the day. Trust me.
Vendors: Invitations – Ceci New York | Makeup- Bimpe Onakoya | First Dress – Manuel Mota for Pronovias | Second Dress – Anna Campbell reworked by Frank Oshodi | Shoes – Nicholas Kirkwood | Accessories – Anna Campbell | Bridesmaids Dresses – Lazaro Noir by Jim Hjelm | Grooms First Outfit – David Wej | Groom Second Outfit – Hugo Boss | Groomsmen – David Wej | Wedding Planner & Decor – JustWeddings | Photographer – Alakija Studios | Cake Designer – Celebrations
