Before I start this post. I want to let something out of my system. I FORGOT MY PHONE WHEN I LEFT MY HOUSE FOR THE WEDDING. I like posting most of the things that I am up every single day on both snap and insta stories. I think it’s a way for me to tell my story but like to tell my stories for the day, that’s how I keep the world posted on what I am up to. I have two phones but for some stupid reason which I have not come to terms with forgot to bring neither of them to the wedding. So you won’t be seeing any picture from the wedding. I could go on instagram and screenshot the picture of the bride and groom but heck NO. I am going rogue on this post. The good thing was that I was able to socialize throughout the ceremony without having the urge to check my phone in between activities, but it still sucks that I do not have any picture of that night moments.
On May 20th, 2018, two friends of mine married each other. This happened to be my first American wedding. Don’t get me wrong, I have been to a lot of weddings before both in Nigeria and here in the States but I have never been to one in which the couple are born here in the States. I knew Jessica before I moved to Raleigh and I met Tim after I moved to Raleigh. I hung out with both of them with some other friends to go catch a Durham Bulls baseball game. At that time, they were still kinda flirting. I also went lazy river rafting with some friends and the couple a weekend after. Fast forward a year and few months later, the rest as they say is history.
The wedding began at 6:30pm on a Sunday. I went to the wedding with my sister, Lota, as my date. Lota came up to the Raleigh with me to attend the wedding. She wore a red jumpsuit and I wore a black suit, white shirt with a red tie I am Nigerian so I am used to weddings starting on Saturdays at 10am at a church. I always see that in a lot of movies and thought maybe it’s just because it’s not real, but guess what it happens. Usually in Nigeria weddings the bride walks in then the groom walks in with the six little brides carrying flowers and throwing it on the floor so that the bride can walk on top of the flowers on the floor. American weddings are really different. No flowers, no little brides, just walks. The bride groom walks in with his mother and the bride lastly walks in with her dad. The person officiating the wedding then starts it and it last for about 20 minutes. Nigerian white weddings usually last more than two hours before the priest gets to the point where the couple now say I do.
The reception followed immediately after the wedding. The seats were rearranged and tables added. During the rearrangement, there was a cocktail at the back of the venue and people were mingling and catching up. The couple then had their first dance as a couple. I guess in America, there is always a daddy-daughter dance and mother-son dance. When I was in Nigeria, I never witnessed these kind of dances however with the way Nigerians are imitating the western culture, I won’t be surprised if it’s in play now at every wedding. During the couple’s first dance in Nigeria, people usually make it rain but I guess in America, you can only make it rain at a strip club not at a wedding. Everyone joined on the dance floor later and danced the night away. Different kind of meal snacks were passed around as the party progresses. They even had a doughnut stand and corn hole game at the back for people to play. It is different I will say to what I am used to in Nigeria or African weddings.
Usually in Nigerian wedding, people present gift to the couple at the wedding but in America, couples usually have a wedding registry. I think the registry is a smart idea that way the couple won’t get the same thing over and over again from different people. The people that couldn’t use the registry buy’s a gift and then drop it off as soon as they enter venue of the wedding. At the end of the wedding, everyone went downstairs and set up a firecracker(I don’t recall what they are called). A guard was formed so that the couple will walk through it and then ride away a new wed couple.
Wedding in Nigeria is a lot different than the ones here in a lot of ways. One thing a forget to mention is that in Nigerian wedding the grooms family will be wearing a traditional cloth uniform, the same goes for the bride’s family and sometimes the close friends of the couple will have their own uniform. Getting married in Nigeria is more expensive and a lot of headache than getting married here in the US. Happy married life to Jessica and Tim. I wish you two the best!
Until next time.. PEACE