Whooooo! *wipes forehead* That was the most amazing event that I have ever been privileged to host. It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to make sure the event was a successful one. It was a successful one indeed, but it flew by sooooooo fast! We still have one more wedding to successfully execute in August and I definitely will take everything that I learned during the traditional wedding and implement it at the wedding in August. I could not believe all the beautiful people that came from near and far to support my loving husband and me. Some people I have not seen since I was a child and some who I’ve never met before, lol. It was awesome! I ran around so much, changed three times, and spent a majority of my time on the dance floor. So I have to rely on the photos from the photographer to try to remember who all was present. It was definitely a packed house (600+ people), but I felt the incredible energy, love, and support from my guests.
My cousin Stacy mentioned something that really touched my heart. She said that the wedding brought everyone together and that what a family/community/village is about. All of my aunts (and my mother; especially her) who cooked and catered the wedding, uncles (and my Daddy) who contributed their time and strength, my brothers who drove back and forth to obtain the items that could not fit in my car and all the last minute items that I needed. Lastly, I REALLY want to thank my beautiful husband who has invested sooooooo much time and support to ensure that I received the traditional wedding of my dreams. I thank God for my circle every day.
My favorite part of the night was the “Daddy and Daughter Dance”. This is not typically done at a Traditional Nigerian wedding, but I’m so glad my Dad added that to the program. It took me back to when I was a child. My Dad would put on a record or cassette with our favorite songs and we would dance for hours. We definitely did not have much, but those were some of the best moments of my life. I will always be “Daddy’s Little Girl”. Another reason why that was the best part of the night for me was the fact that the DJ played one of my Dad and my favorite songs by Jean Baron Loketo. We both heard it come on and we already knew that we had to kill it!!! LOL. I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT MOMENT!!!
It was an Awesome, awesome, AWESOME occasion!! But I there are some things I have to remember at the August wedding.
Things to remember as a Bride:
1. My stylist, Thai Couture, mentioned that “Stella doesn’t know how to be a BRIDE!” I kept trying to cater to everyone else, organize the event, and setup the venue. I didn’t take enough time to relax and bask in the fact that that was MY day. So in August, I intend to kick my feet up relax, not worry about ANYTHING ☺
2. Everything will not always go as planned and the things that I worried about did not matter.
3. Communication…………the event ran smoothly, however my family members were never in one spot to take a family photo. We have very few with a couple of my family members and I wish that was coordinated better. So in August…….you guessed it……that is a must in order to keep a smile on my face. As I mentioned before, the big day went by too fast, but I am so glad that we had awesome photographers to capture moments that Jamaar and I will cherish forever! Bride or not, what are some important things to remember about a major event? Search the hash tag #WhenLiberiaMeetsNigeria on Instagram to watch video clips and see pictures that our lovely guests posted.
One of my favorite traditions during an Igbo Wedding is the bride’s search through the crowd for her groom. Basically, the bride dances around with her “maidens” looking for the man she has chosen as a suitor.
After Jamaar and I cut into the cake. I picked up a piece to indulge in. The second I opened my mouth to eat it, the MC called me for the Father and Daughter Dance. I had to put it back down…..I was so heart broken. LOL. The cake was gone by the time I got back to it. Must have been really good!
A staple in Igbo traditional weddings- A dancing Masquerade.
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Until we meet again, keep smiling, love hard, and enjoy more photos from our hashtag here.
XOXOXO
P.S. I said “YES” to my dress on 2/14/15!!! Look out for my next post ☺
