I love this photo of them dancing as they left the ceremony!

Nadege twirling around in the empty reception room

Sneaking in a kiss during toasts :)

They got married at Sayen Gardens in Hamilton NJ and their reception took place at The Merion in Cinnaminson NJ.

I’ll be blogging the rest of my favorite images from their special day in my next post. In the meantime – enjoy!

And of course we can’t forget the guys! Here are a few shots taken by my second photographer, Nelson -

Stay tuned for more :)

I’m trying to re-organize and re-prioritize things in my life that have sort of taken a back burner over the last few months for example – reading books so hopefully I actually finish reading this one. Let see how it goes. I’m also trying to learn how to pace myself and how to take occasional breaks from the craziness that is my life and just really step back, reflect and be grateful to God for all the amazing opportunities he’s given me and for all the blessings I’ve received.

I’ll be honest and say I’m ready for our 2nd wedding to be here and over with – while I’m sure it will be an amazing day – I miss not having to do any wedding related stuff whatsoever (even though I’m not sure where I even find the time). To all the troppers out there planning your weddings without any help – I truly admire you! I really do.

Anyway enough rambling, I’ll be back with a new wedding post soon :)

My big sister Ata from InkHearts.com put these gorgeous invitations together based on the theme they chose, despite being occupied with her twin babies. I saw them and was totally awed – Fabulous and very me! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this Ata!

The invitations arrived in this pretty little box -
Just in case you are wondering who Bola is -It’s me! That’s my first name, Onada is my middle name  – people call me either or :)

And inside was this gorgeousness -

Did you figure out the theme yet? The shower took place this past weekend. Wait till you see the photos!
Coming soon :)

Our wedding took place at a place called Island Club, a men’s only club that my dad has frequented since I was a child. They have a party venue there and obviously I knew without question even before we got engaged that this would be my dad’s venue of choice to have our traditional wedding surrounded by all his best friends.

While these photos don’t tell the full story of the ceremony they do give a general idea of what happened…plus you get to see me all dressed up in my fancy “Aso Oke” :). We had a fabulous time and it was amazing to see our friends and family we hadn’t seen in forever – even my family from Vienna was there! So amazing! I really appreciate all the love and support we got and I’m so happy we went “home” to do this! Thank you and we love you guys!

These gorgeous photos were taken by the talented Jide Alakija of Alakija & Co Photography.

Enjoy!

Here goes -

My pretty clutch and shoes – I bought this clutch from England and my shoes from Barneys months before I even knew what I was wearing – I didn’t actually decide to wear them until I saw my outfit a few days before the wedding!

my dancing Choos :) -

Half of my BM crew (Vickii and Fisola – we missed you! Don’t worry we filled you in on all the details – even the mystery of the missing dress!)

Then it was time to get my face on -

Make up done, time to get my “Gele” tied -

And it begins -

Looks are deceiving, I’m not used to doing this on a regular basis and it hurt. I had to be reminded to smile about 100 times (thank you!).

Headtie done, Jewelry on.

A few portraits

And then it was time to wait until the bride (me lol) was called (at almost the end of the ceremony)….and so we took photos….

And then I checked my headtie in the mirror for the 700th time…looks ok…for now…

In the meantime our parents were having fun upstairs as the ceremony progressed with family introductions and talk about why I’m such a gem of a bride (yes please) etc…

And our parent’s dancing….

The formal marriage proposal letter -

And then the handsome groom arrived -

Photos I didn’t post: The “Dobale” when he prostrates in front of my parents and then his parents for prayers and as a sign of respect.

Almost time for me to make my appearance so I got my wrapper tied – Yes I was prancing around in half of my outfit up until this moment -

Dancing in with my friends and cousins – In case you were wondering what I had on my mind – I was so concerned about my head tie falling over (even though in retrospect that couldn’t happen as tight as it was tied) and tripping in my 4 inch heels -

Going to Kneel in front of my parents for prayers -

Saying thank you to my dad for raising me in the best way ever and making me his little queen -

Eye contact with my crying mother and the water works started -

MY FAVORITE PICTURE EVER! I love you mama!

Off to my in-laws!
Photos I didn’t post: Getting reveiled and taken over to my in-laws. Kneeling in front of them for more prayers. My “husband” coming to join us, kneeling for more prayers. G officially giving me my engagement ring, cutting out cake and the “Kiss(es)”.

Money for my first pot of soup – I cooked it already. It was fabulous thank you very much.

My dowry – LOL

Ceremony is done – we are married!

oh and our cake :)

Change of clothes, time to party!

And of course you know my camera had to be in the mix somewhere – My brother took photos with it -

Dancing with my friends :)

And then we  went home, got dressed up again and hit the town -

One wedding down. One to go. I’m ready.

Our traditional wedding was soooo much fun BUT I’ll have to save that for another post (with photos too!) as I have a couple blog posts to get to first. Although I would have loved to stay on vacation longer I’m glad to be back (not so glad to see the state of my inbox though!). In the meantime stay tuned.

Now back to Mahlet and John – I photographed their wedding last month and while I was away their wedding got published on Essence Magazine’s website under their Bridal Bliss section – You can check out the feature here.

A big thank you goes out to Janie from The Bride’s Cafe for helping me get featured and managing the entire process while I was out of the country! Although I didn’t get to see the feature right away I was pretty excited about it and I’m very grateful for the opportunity.

Below are my favorite images from their big day. Mahlet and John are the sweetest couple and it was an absolute pleasure for me to be a part of their big day!

Their ceremony took place at Swarthmore Presbyterian Church in Swathmore PA and their reception was at The Old Mill in Rose Valley PA.

Check out Mahlet’s pretty Amsale gown -

She made a gorgeous bride -

The handsome groom, John -

Celebration during the cocktail hour -

I’ll be away from the next two weeks celebrating my traditional wedding  and I’m very excited!

I’ve been sooooo busy that I haven’t had the time to update this blog but I’ll be back before you know it and of course I’ll have some photos to share. In the meantime here’s a photo to hold you over while I’m gone – A gorgeous bouquet from Kylie and Jim’s wedding which I’ll be blogging as soon I return :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Say hello to Faisha and Leonard – I photographed their engagement session early April over at Washington Square, downtown Philadelphia and then we headed over to the Loews Hotels, where their relationship started after meeting at an event, to finish up the session. The weather was perfect and they were such a pleasure to photograph. Below are a few of my favorite images -

Congratulations on your engagement Faisha and Leonard – I wish you all the best in married life!

They met right outside these doors :)

The gorgeous Nadege