Kolo Toure's wedding photos

Manchester City and Ivorian Defender Kolo Toure weds Chimene Akassou in Abidjan. The two have been together for 10 years and have two children. See some of the pictures

Photo-op: Singer Lynxxx gets married?

Before you guys get a heart attack Lynxxx isn't married... yet!

The singer and a mystery lady on the set of his video for his single "Fine Lady" - totally lurve her dress

Yummy Chocolatey Goodness! hmmmm!

P.S: Gist reaching me now is that his lady love in the video (hot babe pictured with Lynxxx above) is Ghanaian actress Joselyn Dumas

To veil or not to

Bolarin Biobaku at her traditional marriage

I remember when my family friend was getting married she had decided she didn't want to wear a veil but wanted her hair flowing with a gigantic tiara atop her head. When her mother heard this she almost had a fit. How can you not veil?, a bride must be veiled on her wedding day, Why do you want to be different? My family friend being a tomboy lashed out "Mum, I'm not everybody"

Which brings me to the question- Why do brides wear a veil?

In the old Roman Empire, it was said that the veil was meant to scare away evil spirits who might kidnap the bride before the wedding.

It was also used for arranged marriages so that the groom will not back out based on the physical features of the bride. In this type of marriage the bride is betrothed to the groom and this may have been kept secret by their parents, it is at the wedding that he would formally unveil his bride.

TV Personality Star Jones rocks a record 27 inch long veil
Hers was longer than Princess Diana's by 2 inches

In reference to biblical times, the veil was used to trick Jacob into marrying plain Leah instead of her sister Rachel.

At other times the veil came to symbolize chastity, purity and modesty. When the veil was lifted it signified that the groom was taking possession of his wife and he has a right to enter conjugal relations with her. This supports the saying "a bride was given to her husband in marriage while a man took a wife".

Today the veil has become more of an accessory. It is no longer tied to such superstitious beliefs as in times past.

It has become a beautiful fashion statement - the longer the veil, the more formal the wedding as there are varieties to choose from.

The decision to veil  is entirely yours. Whether veiled or not just be sure your rocking that aisle.

Photo-op: Bella Naija's Uche Eze with hubby Bode Pedro

Tres cute

Wishing the couple a happy married life

Life in a single lane: Nkem

I walked out of The Palms Shopping Mall feeling so fly. I had gone to see 'The Avengers' with a couple of friends only for me to run into Nkem my ex boyfriend.

Rewind 5 years ago

Nkem and I had been an item back in school. We complemented our outfits, won many 'best couple' awards, we were quite popular. Everyone admired us. He had loved me with such pure innocence, he thought I was his everything, he thought the sun rose and set at my feet. I meant everything to him.

Until one day I had told him I was tired. I was tired of his ass always checking on me. I was tired of his doting. I had wanted some variety. I wanted someone that I could be adventurous with. With Nkem it had been either my way or nothing at all. I craved adventure, I craved craziness... I heard stories from my friends about their wild nights on the town and  here I  was, stuck, playing faithful girlfriend to Nkem while my life swiftly passed by. I was young, hot and wanted to be free.

 I wanted out.

Pre-Wedding Checklist

Sometimes planning a wedding can be a big hassle. If you aren't well organised and if you are not using a wedding planner, you could become overly stressed and worked up before your wedding day.

Here is a checklist compiled by yours truly for a typical Nigerian wedding in no particular order

Eniola and Abdul Alebiosu at their traditional engagement ceremony
Photo courtesy sugarweddings.com

• Meet the parents
• Plan introduction ceremony
• Choose traditional and wedding dates even though tentative
• If it is a church wedding, decide on the church you would love to wed at.
• You may request for an officiating minister in advance
• Start marriage counselling. Most churches usually require 3 - 6 months notice
• Choose wedding theme/colours
• Start buying aso-ebi. Start early enough.
• Start shopping for wedding favours.
• Shop for a wedding venue, start early because most venues are fully booked 3 months ahead
• Get vendors- makeup, cake, caterers, decoration, music, security, desserts, drinks e.t.c
• Bring together bridesmaids and unless you are a gbobgbo bigz gal and willing to write off their bill tell them the price of their dresses and accessories- whether your ordering or using a tailor.
• Get your wedding dress and accessories - start early and have a set idea of what you want, else you'll be tossed about by every wind of doctrine as there are several great styles to choose from and this may leave you feeling even more confused.
• Get a tailor to make your traditional wedding attires.
• Check on the groom and make sure he's put together his wedding party- their clothes, accessories etc guys are generally very lackadaisical about stuff like that
• Shop for your rings
• Plan your honeymoon
• Take engagement shots
• If you have wonderful friends, they will plan your bridal shower
• You may choose to do pre-wedding dinner instead of a bridal shower
• Do the traditional rites.
• Then court wedding - these two are usually days apart i.e. trad and court wedding
• Relax and prayerfully wait for your wedding day.

You may decide to hire a wedding planner that will take care of pretty much everything.

Photo-op

My best line "Wait on your Boaz and make sure he respects Yoaz"

#True talk

Meagan Goode weds Devon Franklin.. Yasss!

Nothing 'Church' about that kiss..
Looks like they are kissing each other from the soul 

                                             
Meagan Goode finally Jumps the broom


This was a wedding packed weekend- Bella Naija's Uche Eze got hitched to her long time love Bode Pedro (Congrats Bella Naija) and Meagan Goode tied the knot with Seventh day Adventist Pastor and Sony exec Devon Franklin.

Meagan got hitched to her preacher man beau Devon Franklin in an antique, purple and gold themed wedding outside of Los Angeles. The couple met each other last year while filming ‘Jumping The Broom’.

Meagan walked down the aisle to ‘These Arms’ performed by the Craig Lewis Band while dressed in a custom R-Mine gown with a purple dipped train. At first, she had a hard time convincing designers to dip the train, however she was dead set on dipping it in purple. Of her dress Meagan said, ‘I didn’t want girly, I wanted handsome. It’s got a bit of a masculine feel to it. I wanted something that felt a tad bit rebellious and out of the ordinary. That felt closer to my personality.”

The happy bride also wore jewels by Beverly Hills' Jason the jeweller .

Photo-op: Marriage List

Omo see wedding list! Chai the guy will so pick race!

It's my wedding day and it's raining

It's raining men hallelujah, It's raining men, Amen! or well, not...

Your wedding date is set in stone but according to the forecast there is likely to be a torrential downpour. Instead of being all gloomy, use the rain to your advantage, after all no matter how hard it rains you are gonna be married off to your prince at the end of the day. It is widely believed that rain on your wedding day brings good luck.

Tips to prepare for a rainy day wedding

Choose a location - If it is an outdoor wedding you may like to check that the venue has an alternative plan in case of rain. If they do not have one you could invest in a tent. You may also want to check if it has changing rooms in that case you may decide to dress up at the venue to avoid the issue of transporting yourself and bridal party to the venue.

A beautiful transparent tent. We can still see the effect created by the rain
Awesome!

Invest in beautiful accessories like matching umbrellas and rain boots. You should invest in trendy rain boots for you and your bridesmaids. This would add so much beauty to your wedding.

Photo-op

See what our beloved naija is doing to our brides. Smh!

Wedding songs: 30 classic 'first dance' songs

Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries waltz to Robin Thicke's Angel
Sadly the marriage lasted only 72 days

I was so blown away when we had Timi Dakolo sing at my cousin's wedding- that's been my favourite movie (wedding)  moment till date, only this time it was real. We were all joking around when Timi grabbed the mic and throatily sang  Aaron Neville's classic "I don't know much but I know I love you... that may be all I need to know". By the time he was done all of us on our table were teary eyed especially as the bride and groom were lost in a romantic moment. This was their first dance as a couple and it meant so so much.. and heck i was privileged to share that.

Shout out! Adachukwu Oguike...Bear Hug!

My second best moment  (sorry it's a movie this time.. he he!) was in the Julia Roberts classic- My Best Friend's Wedding where they belted out the best version (I've heard yet) of  Frank Sinatra's classic 'The way you look tonight' Yasssss! that totally gave me life.

Well, I just compiled my top 30 wedding classics of all times. Please feel free to add yours

1. At last -  Etta James
2. Come Rain or Come Shine - Ray Charles
3. Can You Feel the Love Tonight - Elton John
4. Can't Help Falling in Love -  Elvis Presley
5. Endless love - Lionel Richie and Diana Ross
6. Here and Now - Luther Vandross
7. Unforgettable - Nat King Cole
8. Lady in  Red - Chris Deburgh
9. I Finally found someone - Barbara Streisland and Bryan Adams
10. I will - The Beatles
11. Our Love is here to stay - Billie Holiday
12. Tonight I Celebrate my love for you - Roberta Flack and Paebo Bryson
13. Don't know much - Linda Ronstandt and Aaron Neville
14. Fever - Peggy Lee
15. "Forever" and "Ever", "Amen" -  Randy Travis
16. Embraceable You - Nat King Cole
17. Grow old with me - Mary Chapin Carpenter
18. It had to be you - Frank Sinatra
19. Just the way you are - Billy Joel
20. Maybe I'm amazed - Paul McCartney
21. From this  moment - Shana Twain and Brian White
22. Marry me-  Train
23. Crazy Love - Van Morrison
24. Marry me - Neil Diamond and Buffy Lawson
25. The best is yet to come - Frank Sinatra
26. My Girl - The Temptations
27. Truly - Lionel Richie
28. Groovy kind of love - Phil Collins
29. A whole new world - Paebo Bryson and R. Belle
30. If Tomorrow Never Comes - Garth Brooks

Wedding song: Beautiful Onyinye P-square feat Rick Ross

This is gonna be the trending wedding song for the rest of this year. You heard it here first. Wink! and it features  Rick Rozay with cameo appearance by Akon. Two thumbs way up P-square!

Lurving eet!

We want our marriage to model God's love - Meagan Goode and fiance Devon Franklin speak on marriage

Sister 2 Sister magazine caught up with actress Meagan Goode and fiance Devon Franklin at T.D Jakes 35th anniversary gala in Dallas to chat about their engagement and plans to keep themselves until their wedding night

Devon expressed that he hopes their union will be an inspiration to other couples, while Meagan said that removing the physical and intimacy from the relationship gave them a chance to really get to know each other and what they were getting into.

Devon: We want our marriage to be one of truth, one of love, and hopefully model God’s love. In reality we’re not perfect. But we are striving to live a life of Christ. We are striving to be an example of what his life looks like on this earth, and hopefully through our union people will be inspired, people will see themselves in us.

Meagan: The relationship is completely different. When you know somebody and you know their heart, it’s not even a question about the physical part of it that comes into play completely later on. You really just get a chance to understand what you’re getting. You don’t just want to be with this person on Friday night, but Saturday afternoon too. That’s just icing on the cake.

Falling more and more in love with these two.

Adieu! the Anyenes.. We will meet again.

I have not blogged in a while because I am grieving. I lost my uncle and his entire family in the ill fated Dana plane crash on June 2nd 2012. My Uncle Onyeka had great plans. He was loved by many, had touched lives but we lost him- not only him but his entire family was wiped out. This breaks my heart more than you can ever know. I fear for my mum , my grandma, every single one of us is inconsolable. We can't question God but this occurrence brought some things to the fore. Which way Nigeria? the plane crash was not caused by an act of God but was due to gross negligence.



Adieu Uncle Onyeka, Maimuna,Kamsi,Kayine,Kaima and Noah Anyene
and everyone we lost in the ill fated Dana plane crash


Ola Fadumiye, freelance writer and blogger at jostwrite.blogspot.com captures my mind with regards to the Nigerian situation. See her post below:


Culled from jostwrite.blogspot.com




The Ugly Amidst the beautiful... Nigeria!



In just three days, there have been three tragedies in and about Nigeria and in these tragedies...many lights were quenched. The lives of people are precious, and when people die because of another's carelessness and SELFISHNESS, it stinks and stings.

I am almost over yelling about how Goodluck and his government needs to be flogged. I am over debating about how bad Nigeria is and how it needs change. It is my same mouth that speaks that should build. This post is not about how incompetence every single sector of the nation I call mine is...I'm so over the talk. I am not even sure what this post is all about.

But are these deaths really meant to be...no adequate fire fighting tools, emergency services are non existent, inadequate roads, too narrow roads, too crowded roads, lack of crowd control, faulty radar system, ignored warnings about faulty plane...if all was in place, HECK! if the last issue was addressed...would these people be alive? Would their family still smile?

In the same space where love is happening and life is given..there is death, corruption, heartless travel officials and people without regard for life...just profits.

In that same breath of beautiful is the ugly...all in Nigeria and in life.

The news that a family traveled in to celebrate a wedding and met their death breaks my heart. The celebration of a wedding union and the death of three generations, a grandmother, a husband, wife and four children...the juxtaposing of beautiful and ugly. As a woman that loves to get on a plane and who also experience slight panics during turbulence, I am not sure how to imagine ones death when you are very aware the very plane you are sitting on is about to crash.

Beautiful things happen alongside ugly things. The birth of a child and the loss of more than 150 lives in a plane crash in Nigeria are the juxtaposing of beautiful and ugly. The coming together of a man and a woman and the lose of over ten people in a terrorist attack in Nigeria all happening in one weekend and in one city is the coming together of the beautiful and ugly.

My heart is sad and this post is making no sense to me.

I know it is customary to pray that the soul of those who die rest in peace, but aside from the issue of who goes to heaven vs. who goes to hell...is there ever rest for victims of unjust deaths, murder and terrorist attacks? As much as there is no rest for the perpertrators, is there ever rest for the souls? I am not sure what I am trying to say, but my heart is heavy and full, and downloading it coherently seem almost impossible even for me.

My pen is heavy, so heavy it is weighed down

I will see you all tomorrow.

Beloved, You are Loved Absolutely!

Wedding trend: Parasols

The parasols are back.. Yay!

Make like J-lo and rock a parasol at your wedding
J-lo at her wedding to ex Marc Anthony in 2004

Choose a lacy parasol for a classic and decorative feel to your wedding

Parasols are really so fifties but many brides are rocking the 'em in this day and age. Beautifully crafted designs are becoming more visible at weddings. It is practical for outdoor weddings and can be used to add elegance and beauty to your wedding, even creating a vintage feel. Parasols are also a fashion statement.

There are different types of parasols from the classic Battenberg lace to the more practical paper parasols. The key to choosing the type of parasol to use will depend on cost and practicality. For instance if it is to shield yourself and your bridal party from the elements such as  rain, it is not wise to use a paper parasol


Tips for incorporating the parasol into your wedding

Goodbye May... Hello June!

May was such a beautiful month and I'm thankful to God for so many things (*bursts out singing* "everything na double, double" 2x)


 I also started blogging seriously again in May.. this calls for thanksgiving ( if Chelsea fans can just for winning the UCL, then I can too). I also re-branded my blog from a cake blog to a weddings and style blog.

 Thanks to y'all for all the great ideas.

More importantly some of my friends got married... Yay! Wishing Ese, Temi Alesh and Chinedu Ulasi a happy married life and I'm dedicating this post to y'all.

Love is not a want, love is now a need - Maxwell

Mr. and Mrs K'ore Akinbode

Mr. and Mrs Alesh

Mr and Mrs Ulasi

Congrats guys. Big Hug!

For those of y'all waiting for the right partner, remember God makes ALL things beautiful in His time.. Never settle!

To y'all.. Have a fruitful June

Mwah!