Ah, our favorite wedding photographer Ogheneworo Akara who captured the wedding of the couple of the week – Nancy and Elliot, has got an interesting narration for us.
This is the story of two rare hearts. Two people very dear to my heart.
Nancy and Elliot are a special sort of humans. That special sort you
only find in special places and once in a rare moment in time. These two
beautiful people where unique in their own way and love themselves
fiercely.
Nancy and Elliot met…and nothing was the same anymore.
I tell people I am a well travelled Nigerian and when I talk about my
country, I can be considered an expert considering the fact that I have
seen a lot of the innards of this beautiful country.
I have however, never been to Nnewi, a serene little city in Anambra
state, Nigeria before. It is off the expressway that connects Owerri and
Onitsha. Ifunanya who will be featured here soon as well. was going to
be the first to take me to Nnewi but that is history. So when she
demanded that I show up in Nnewi as Nancy’s traditional wedding
photographer after she referred me to her, I had to choice. Now, this is
a call to all Nnewi brides, please call me. I want to go back to that
town.
Why? Nnewi people are a beautiful set of human beings. Humble,
Polite, Courteous, Peace Loving, Beautiful, Industrious and Rich ;).
There are some huge achievements in this town. The only indigenous car
assembly plant (Innoson) and the second biggest Cement producer ( Ibeto)
in Nigeria are indigenes.
Nancy is an Nnewi person. But add to the above a childlike beauty, a
facial innocence and a mischievious playfulness and you will understand
the kind of person I met when I saw Nancy looking out for me from the
balcony of her dads beautiful country home.
This picture captures succinctly the person Nancy is. remember the
way a child looks at you when she sees something interesting and peeks
from the back of a covering object to observe? Look at the picture
again.
And this tells us the other side of her, the boisterousness.
I
had a great time shooting this wedding. Nancy, this is not flatter.
Thank you for making Nnewi awesome. You were hospitable and fun to gist
with.
I titled this photograph, When cooperation creates beauty. The hands are not one persons own but two people. Guess!
We started getting ready for this wedding as from about 11:30am in
the morning. Being a traditional wedding, it usually begins later than
white weddings do.
Everybody was in the mood. Daughters made up mothers who did not want to be left out of the fray.
The
young ladies applied the beauty techniques they had learnt and used the
materials they had acquired for this purpose, skillfully.
The result of all the labour was the following.
Every
one was resplendent and the bride who was undergoing a transformation
under the hands of Amaka looked unhurried as she was being unravelled.
Brush stroke after brush stroke!
Nancy had a fine array of accessories for her wedding.
But
one of the best parts of this wedding was Nancy’s gele tying. The lady
who did the tying is skilled. She masterfully showed us how skillful she
was in her art.
Behold our bride……..Nancy Ejike!
When Nancy came out the first time to greet everyone i just imagine what would have been been on Elliots mind.
Do i still need to imagine? It is clear what was there……Damn! I got the right one.
After
the greetings, Nancy went to step into her second outfit of the day and
I quickly identified the living room as having the best light in the
house.
And the photographs started. One after another we produced greatly lit photographs.
And we were aided by the beauty of these angels. They practically sparkled in front of the camera.
But none could compete with the beauty of these two. The genes spoke loudly that beauty is DNA deep.
This
photograph is already trending on instagram as every account that posts
about weddings struggle to show off the beauty that was captured here.
When Nancy came out the second time, it was choose her groom amongst the men hustling to be “the one”.
Chief Ibeto was the chairman of this occassion and such a humble man he seems to be.
After collecting the glass of palm wine from Chief Ibeto, Nancy set out looking for the man who had captured her heart.
And
as culture demands, she gave him glass of palm wine to drink from,
signifying she had chosen him as the one she has agreed to marry.
Elliot
is a gentle giant. A little shy and uncomfortable in front of the
camera but who cares? He was comfortable around Nancy and that was all
that mattered.
It
was dance on from this point as people celebrated the newly married
couple with the raining of Naira notes on them. You could hear the
pattering of the notes as they hit the ground.
Of course no one was going to out do Chief himself, he flung the crisp NGN1000 notes around like they were face wipes.
And
Elliot, O Elliot, interesting dancer that he is quickly adopted the
little moves he could quickly grasp and moved along to the sounds of
shoki around him.
I
tell people i have the most satisfied life out here on planet earth.
Sharing the moments of peoples joy and being paid to do it must be the
best way you can live this life.
White wedding:
The venue for the preparation was Federal Palace Hotel and Eko Hotel
& Suites. Two beautiful settings that we were happy to shoot in. I
was assisted by my the excellent Emmanuel Akan.
Elliot’s shoe was practically yawning to be worn. I wonder what it feels like to be a wedding shoe.
Everyone was getting ready for the big event and none was in a hurry more than the best man himself.
Every bride wear shoes you know. But a set of shoes that show you the
way of light, a pathway to love, only Nancy could have found one to buy
And she also found flowers that bloom when she smiles because her smile is that magical.
Mosun
of IPC Events was the planner here and we caught her as she went about
her dutiful inspection of the details of the day as they unfolded.
Nancy’s makeup was done by the wonderful Amaka Ihuoma. You can find her on facebook here
And she did a great job of beautifying this gorgeous lady. Nancy came our looking divine.
Just see for yourself. Nothing over the top. Just perfect.
and then Nancy smiled and the flowers started blooming around the room.
Elliot was in the meantime also getting ready. He could not wait for
the blessings of the priest to light up his wedding enough. He was in a
hurry
For when you have a bride like Nancy, you look into the future with contentment and confidence.
I always say, your wedding is almost always as good as the
bridesmaids you have. Nancy had this awesome set. Beautiful, vivacious,
happy go lucky ladies. They had fun popping the champagne as they
celebrated Nancy’s match to a becoming Elliots wife with glee.
Okay! Enough of all that. It was time for the serious stuff. The dress was worn, as the shoes and all the other accessories.
Our bride stepped out ready for the big day effulgent.
She couldn’t wait to run to church.
We set about the task of the solemnisation with all the seriousness it deserves.
and everyone was seated to witness these two become one.
One
thing I like about Elliot, the confidence he radiates. I WILL!! He said
those two words so confidently, I believe Nancy saw his firm commitment
from those two words alone.
When she “gave him this ring”, she surrendered everything without reservation looking straight into his eyes. While
some shed tears at the emotions of the moment, this young lady cared
not for all those ceremonies. She went to work, dreaming about her own
wedding day and Prince Charming.
When
last did you see such a beautiful kiss at a wedding between two
Nigerians? When? Look at this kiss again. Beautiful right? Oya shut your
eyes. You have overlooked. Ah ah!
O!
there were two brides in this church. NO! I didnt suggest Elliot was
marrying two women at once. How often do you see two brides in the same
church, getting married at the same time, gist away?
After the thanksgiving, it began to dawn more on Elliot what a wonderful decision he had made. His smile tells it all.
Ada was set to break down in tears here with all the awwws and ahhhhs coming from her friend.
As
Elliot went ahead to tell this beautiful two, “when you grow up to
become a beautiful woman like my wife, you will marry a good man like me
too”.
Soon
the ceremony was over and it was time for the couples photographs and
as usual we had time for just a few before the reception started but
this below is my favourite. The emotions on their faces. Perfect!
Beautiful train, right? Perfect pick, perfect each!
According
to IPC Events, It rained flowers at the reception and yes it did. But
what I liked the most, the beautiful lighting in the hall.
When
it was time for the couple to come in, the asoebi ladies ushered them
in and the dances………….The new steps were everywhere. You need to pay
attention and learn from these people.
Ada digged it with her partner. Her style……”The Shaking Shoulders”.
This
young man’s dance steps had the entire crowd on their feet recording.
It was “The Broken Bone dance”. Dont try this at home o.
Next came another new dance style, “The Covered face” and “The Strolling Man”.
But nothing beats the real deal …………………. SHOKI!!!!!!!!
Nancy’s Shoki was for her, her husband and children together.
The MC finally had the sychronised style for the entire train….The Finger Raiser”.
It
was a beautiful ceremony. Cakes were cut, Kola’s served, Husband and
Wife fed themselves but it was the beauty of Nancy’s smile when she
danced with Elly that was the best thing I saw.
Such contentment.
When Elliot let out his true dancing self, everyone joined in the mirth
Until Nancy came to the rescue
and the Naira began to rain down.
Nancy’s aunty was like Chai! Chai!! All this money you people are spraying…There is God o!
This Meme!!!!! When Shoki Takes Over Your Soul!!!
From then on, it was serious worship and and lots of orijin.
Sorry, did I say worship? I mean’t Shoki and Orijin o!
Even the planner joined in the groove as DJ Ozzy thrilled everyone.
It
was a beautiful wedding guys. I had fun, Mosun had fun. But who cares
about us? Nancy and Elliot had fun and that is what matters at the end
of the day.
If you want a beautifully covered wedding, please feel free to
contact us at 08025019121.
KFB wishes Nancy and Elliot all the love they have shown they deserve,
wonderful marriage and a lifetime of bliss.
We can only hope for more spectacular weddings and love stories in the coming
weeks….you can always reach us on [email protected] to have your
weddings/love story featured too.
Remember that you are one of the wonderful things God has made – wonderful
inside and out. You’re blessed. You’re special. You’re loved…xoxo.