You Guys!!!!
I finally did it, I finally overcame my birthday anxiety and threw myself a party! It’s been quite the journey, fighting my birthday anxiety and honestly, I have to thank Perfete for pushing me. Imagine being surrounded by people celebrating themselves and loving celebrations without catching the bug? Impossible!
After my 29th birthday last year, I didn’t realize when I popped open a Pinterest account and started creating my mood board. Initially, it was just for vibes, but soon after I started sharing the board with friends and family, and then KUNBI! And honestly, it was a wrap.
Kunbi took one look at my mood board and gave me the most beautiful, most meaningful theme –
SELF PORTRAIT – Visualise your best self & show up as that.
(Which she immediately forgot that she did Bahahahahaa!!)
And that’s exactly what we did. I really did want my friends to come as the highest version of themselves not just in terms of their clothes but internally. I explained it all on the invites below:
Before I started planning I immediately knew that the only person I could work on this with was Teni Sagoe of Atinudah Concepts. She just gets it. I literally sent her the mood board and her interpretation of it was just insane. She decided that this photo of me from my holiday would essentially become the party logo and she put my face on everything!
She worked with Nazadi to create the most amazing vibe. The neon lights, bright colors, and affirmations really did feel like my personality was shot out of a cannon and plastered all over the place. The shot wall was my favorite feature tbh, a tower of shot glasses with affirmations on each glass, the best!
My actual birthday was the day after and Teni’s birthday was the day of. I still can’t believe how much of herself she gave on that day, planning not just one but two events! She’s such a queen and I can’t thank her enough. I did end up surprising her with a cute birthday moment but honestly, words will never be enough! She held my hand through the process and did not allow my birthday anxiety to win when it tired us both and for that, I am so grateful.
I can’t tell you how many times I almost gave up because we couldn’t find a venue. One time, we could have sworn we had found the perfect location only to realize that they didn’t allow loud music….go figure. But Teni kept trying and eventually found Spades Lagos, a gorgeous restaurant and bar with a waterfront view, and honestly, I was sold. The venue literally looked like my mood board and it just made sense! The space was managed by 2 wonderful chefs – Chef Rodney & Chef Merit who really went above and beyond to make sure I had all I needed, I am forever grateful!
In my mind, my party was split into 2 halves. One half was for me to dance and party with my mom and her sisters – my aunties, the women who sold the idea of growing & glowing up to me from the beginning of time. These are the women who raised me, they taught me to dance even in the tough times, they have held my hand through different stages in life and have been the most incredible examples of strength, grace, resilience, and faith, and turning 30 without them made no sense. Dj Loyalty gave us the best of the 80s and we literally danced the night away – until they got tired and left haha!
The second half of the party was for my friends and we honestly had the best time ever! Everyone looked amazing in their outfits but the energy was charged with good vibes and positivity, you could taste it.
Fifographer, my darling friend gifted me the most gorgeous self-portrait photo booth set up where he took gorgeous portraits of all my friends. I remember taking the camera out of his hands at some point to force him to dance with me.
A special shout out to Pomelo Cakes for my donut tower cake and for Teni’s surprise birthday cake as well.
For my birthday outfits, I had no idea what my best self looked like, but I know what she felt like so I engaged Lisa Folawiyo one of my faveeee Nigerian Fashion Labels to make an outfit for me. Lisa & Sike know what we went through finding the perfect look and how it all came together last minute. The peach, beaded blazer dress is SO ME you don’t even understand. I bought the second look in a panic when I was unsure of where the first look was going. The metallic green top was from LFJ Official & the magenta shorts were from Imad Eduso. Both teams were so kind and got it to me in days! It was also very important to me that I wore Nigerian brands, I am obsessed with Nigerian brands!
I had the most perfect 30th birthday celebration, all the love and kindness I experienced will fill my heart for the entire decade. I can’t even express how it felt to just soak in all that love. And to that person struggling with birthday anxiety, I would 100% recommend you start planning for your next birthday today… if it’s an over-the-top party, an intimate living room soiree, or a birthday trip, whatever it is, YOU ABSOLUTELY DESERVE TO BE CELEBRATED.
Vendor List
Event Planning & Creative Coordination: Atinudah Concepts
Decor: Nazadi
Venue: Spades Restaurant Lagos
Food & Drinks: Chef Merit & Chef Rodney
Dj: DJ Loyalty
Photographer: Fifographer
Cakes: Pomelo Cakes
Feyi’s Outfits
Look 1: Lisa Folawiyo Studio
Look 2: LFJ Official Top & Imad Eduso Shorts
