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The Couple
Groom
Okegbemiro Seun
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Bride
Adeyemi Damilola
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Story Line
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Faith: How we happened.
Aug 2014
I had lived away from Nigeria for three years and was only visiting the country to attend my brother’s wedding at the end of August 2014. I knew that my stay in the country was literally only going to be a weekend so my sole focus was on reconnecting with some of my closest friends and getting safely on a plane back to Johannesburg. I arrived the day before the wedding and slowly inhaled the humid Lagos air and grinned casually as I moved between familiar and strange faces. My brother, Sanmi, handed my jacket and trousers to me before going to bed; I had caught wind of this weird idea of having the groomsmen wear different coloured suits on ivory pants and I just concluded that it was one of those silly things that I would have to do for my family. I also heard that evening that the bridesmaids would wear dresses matching the groomsmen’s jackets, but I concluded that I barely knew any of Damilola’s friends so it wouldn’t matter much. We went to bed.
The following morning, Thursday August 28th, we went for the traditional engagement, after which the bridal train assembled in front of the church for the wedding ceremony. We said courteous hellos and quickly began to sift between each other to find our paired opposites. My jacket was green so I kept my eyes open for a green dress. My phone buzzed with a text message, and it was my best friend, Olugbemisola, who sent me an urgent reminder to “open your eyes very well o; there will be fine girls at the wedding”. I smiled and reminded her that I was only in Nigeria for three days and I wasn’t looking to be starting something, especially if it was going to be long distance. Within minutes, the congregation had begun to sing the processional hymn and the bridal train needed to get in formation. No one was really coordinating so I jumped in front of the line and asked the lady in the green dress to join me in the front. She looked half interested, but joined anyway. We formed a line and strutted comfortably into the church. I was beaming and singing “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” with great enthusiasm. This lady whose arm was wrapped around my elbow was walking in tow and her arm felt really warm. During the service, the ladies sat a row in front of the gentlemen, and so I busied myself with the study of the texture of her hair, the hue of the bow sitting comfortably above her right ear, and the hem of her dress resting slightly above her knees. It was a lovely sight.
After the service, we formed the exact same procession and walked out of the church for photos before reconvening for some professional photos with other members of the wedding train. I sat next to her again and constantly wondered aloud how to position my arms for the group photos – around her shoulders? Clutching her fingers? Doing nothing? She was clearly irritated by my constant fidgeting but she seemed to tolerate me. After photos, we had to dance into the reception hall, and once again, we were at the head of the line. We danced happily into the hall and gave the bride and groom the best introduction that we could come up with. It was all beautiful. Just as the happy couple settled into their seats and we were about to retreat, the lady in green tapped me on the shoulder and said that she was about to leave.
“What”?
She mentioned that she had to travel back to Ibadan with her sister immediately and couldn’t wait much longer. “Oh well, that was fast”! I recovered in time and offered to help her with her travelling bag to the car which she obliged. We reached the car and said our goodbyes, and then I remembered that it would be polite to be able to call later and confirm that she reached her destination safely. But I had learned many things about the sneaky attempts guys muster to get a lady’s phone number and I wasn’t about to grow that statistic, so I said “I’ll ask my brother for your number later so I can confirm that you got home safely”. I was not ready for her response. It was a total boss move:
“Oh, I’ll just give you my number”.
I was a little stunned, but I didn’t show it. Because my phone battery was flat, I got the number on my iPod and went back to join the wedding party. The rest of the day went beautifully.
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At 7pm that evening, I remembered that I promised to call the “lady in the green dress”, so I stepped out to make the brief phone call. It lasted about 45 minutes. The following day, I saw her at the University of Ibadan wearing a brown dress that stopped right above the knee and my heart fluttered one more time. I invited her to my seminar later that evening, but she arrived quite late. I kept my eyes on the entrance while delivering my best content to the 80+ people in the room. When she walked in halfway through my talk, my heart skipped a beat but I managed to stay on my feet and finish strongly. We couldn’t talk much after the seminar so I offered to give her a call when I got back home. It lasted about two hours. The following day was my last full day in the country so I asked if she would join me for late lunch so we could talk about her business, House of Dabira. We spoke for about two hours that afternoon mostly about her entrepreneurial ventures, and I went home convinced that she was a really smart young lady. We spoke again that night, but it wasn’t about business. I left for Lagos the following morning and ran my phone battery down chatting with her the entire length of the journey. I told her that my favourite song was Lee Ann Womack’s “I hope you dance”. She said it was hers too. My favourite colour was blue and hers was purple. We spoke all the way as I waited for the check-in counter to open, while I passed through security and immigration, while I waited for the plane to start boarding and until the hostess announced for the last time that we had to switch our phones off. When I arrived Johannesburg at 5am the following morning, she was the first person I texted to say “I arrived safely”.
Over the following week, I found myself going to bed at about 4am each morning, knowing that I was going to be super late for work and drowsy for the most part. We talked a lot. On the drive to work, we talked. I would even leave the call on for the first hour or two while I sat at my desk so she could hear everything that was happening in my day. We would talk as I drove back home later in the evening and all the way until daybreak the following morning. It was like opium. One of those cold September nights, when I was very sure that there was no turning back, I said “I love you”. She went quiet for a bit and muttered some gibberish. I smiled. With some good fortune, I had a work trip scheduled for Nigeria in the month of October, so I told her that I would be seeing her again within four weeks, and thus began one of the longest countdowns in human history.
By the time I arrived in Nigeria, we had talked about nearly everything in our lives including when we would love to get married. We concluded on December 2018. When I got to Ibadan in the evening of October 11th, 2014, I headed straight with all my luggage to see “the lady in the green dress”. That evening, in spite of the fact that we were definitely in a relationship, she insisted that I must ask her out properly. So in my cheekiest voice, I asked “Would you go out to dinner with me?” I didn’t fully wait to hear the yes because I knew it was mere formality. We were officially dating. OMG!
We have communicated heartily every day since then. At this juncture, I would like to sincerely thank the inventors of the mobile phone, the internet, SMS, Viber, Whatsapp, Skype, Instagram and Gmail for their invaluable contributions to my destiny.
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Ini: How it all started.
I had made the suits for Sanmi's wedding (his older brother) and I was excited wedding day was finally here. I travelled down to Lagos with my older sister, Tumi. I was on the train. On arrival, I learnt from the eager reactions of some of the ladies, that we had been paired with groomsmen according to colour. Interesting, I thought. So, I proceeded to show everyone else their colours and the men they were paired with. My first thought was, Oh please, not him. He sounds very boring. I began to mentally prepare to be very bored.
The next day, after the engagement, we were all milling around the church entrance when we were told to pair up for the procession into the church. There he is, I thought, rolling my eyes. Putting on my best you bore me expression, I placed my hand in the crook of his arm and led the procession into the church.
Whew! At least, I don't have to sit beside him. The ladies were directed to the first pew and the matching groomsmen shown the pew behind us. Halfway through the service, the photographer, Kunmi Owopetu, a good friend asked me for the address of the church. So, I turned around to ask for a copy from Faith and there he was, smiling like he had been waiting for me to turn around. Kilo n m'eleyi. (What is wrong with this one?). Program please, I mouthed. He gave to me. I handed to Kunmi and returned it with a grateful smile when Kunmi was through.
After church, we had a photo session before the reception. We had to sit together, because colour. Then, he spoke. I don't know where to put my hands. Do I put I around your waist, your shoulder or just place it on my laps? I don't attend many of these things. I thought, you better shift! No oh, put it on my head. I mentally rolled my eyes to infinity.
We danced in the couple but I caught his stares a couple of times. Yes Faith, you stared. I have pictures to prove it! After dancing the couple in, I had to leave. I mentioned it to him and was surprised when he quickly offered to carry my suitcase. Aw, ehya. E ma se o.
I was preparing already for him to ask for my number and I was crafting the perfect let down. We walked till we were near the bus. I was about to say goodbye and walk away when he said, I'll ask for your number but my phone is dead. I was shook when I heard myself saying, I'll just write it for you. Do you have a pen? I was like sis! From where, the deal was no numbers but anyway, he is boring, so, you'll stop talking to him soon enough.
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We spoke on the phone briefly that night. Briefly lasted 45 minutes. The next day, he mentioned he will be in Ibadan and would I please come by his program? Sure, okay. That morning, I dressed up a bit to attend a friend's debate event. Imagine my surprise when I heard, welcome the something something trailblazer, Faith Abiodun. Everybody in the room was on their feet, applauding and hooting. Issokay, trailblazer. I decided to go say hi after he was done. Only issue is, everyone on my row had to stand to let me pass as soon as he was finished. Finally made it out and it started drizzling. I literally had to run in the rain to catch up with him. *eyerolls*
We chatted briefly and I mentioned that I'll attend his evening event. I knew I was going to attend very late though. I dragged two friends and off we went. The seating in the room was such that he was facing the door and everyone else had their backs to the door. As soon as I stepped in, he lost his train of thoughts. He was staring, lol! I did a U-turn and left. Let's just say I didn't attend the event. I stayed out till he was finished and went to say hello.
We had our first date the next day. I had never felt like I was under investigation until this date, lol! He was rapid fire, straight to the point and when he was done he said it was my turn to ask. I could barely ask anything, I was exhausted from the grand inquisition, lol. He left the next day. We spoke on the phone from Ibadan to Lagos, till he got to the airport, went through security and boarded his flight. That was the beginning of many of the longest phone calls of my life. He called several times everyday. When he said, I love you, I was not surprised but I mumbled something about not being sure of the things I was feeling and needing to sort through them. When he eventually asked me to date him, we had talked about almost anything and everything. We knew dating was not for the fun of it. If we were going to date, we were going to get married but I needed him to come home to ask properly. He did four weeks later, on October 11, 2014, came straight to Queen's hall and asked. That was the beginning.
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Vendor Appreciation
Locations: The Blowfish Hotel, V.I., Lagos and Takwa Bay Beach, Lagos
Photography: Adeleke Togun. Assist: Ogeche
Bride's outfit: Dabira Bridals for House of Dabira
Bride's hair: Hair by Pribodunke
Groom's outfits: His own -
Gift Registry
Your presence at our wedding is our most cherished gift! Should you wish to honour us with gifts, our Wrapistry registry link below will help make it easier and more convenient for you to choose something you know we will love. We are forever grateful!
Kindly copy and paste the link below in your browser:
https://wrapistry.shop/giftregistry/?giftregistry_id=204
The people
GROOMSMeN
Okegbemiro Temitayo
Best Man
Okegbemiro Temitayo
Best Man
Okegbemiro Temitayo
Best Man
Okegbemiro Temitayo
Best Man
Okegbemiro Temitayo
Best Man
Okegbemiro Temitayo
Best Man
Okegbemiro Temitayo
Best Man
Okegbemiro Temitayo
Best Man
Bridesmaids
Wunmi Felix Akeredolu
chief bridesmaid
Wunmi Felix Akeredolu
chief bridesmaid
Wunmi Felix Akeredolu
chief bridesmaid
Wunmi Felix Akeredolu
chief bridesmaid
Wunmi Felix Akeredolu
chief bridesmaid
Wunmi Felix Akeredolu
chief bridesmaid
Wunmi Felix Akeredolu
chief bridesmaid
Wunmi Felix Akeredolu
chief bridesmaid
Wedding
Okegbemiro Seun
Adeyemi Damilola
TRADITIONAL
WEDDING
20 May 2017 at 8:00 am
Road 6, after Street X, Abraham Adesanya Estate, Ajah
the wedding
ceremony
20 May 2017 at 11:00 am
Christ The Rock Foundation Chapel (City of Favour),
Adetokunbo Onaleye Drive, Westwood Estate, Badore-Ajah, Lagos
reception
ceremony
20 May 2017 at 1:30 pm
His Grace Event Center,
Dream World Africana Way, along Orchid Hotel Road, Eleganza Bus stop, after 2nd Toll Gate, Lekki Peninsula, Lagos
Gallery
The Couple
Groom
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Bride
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2015
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How we met
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The first date
10 Feb 2015
2016
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We are Engaged
05 Mar 2016
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Outdoor Tour
05 May 2016 -
Getting married
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