Simple Pleasures: Pippa and Fola’s rescheduled day shows how streamlining the fuss allows your choices and style to shine
What a knockout, super swish couple we have on the blog today, showcasing Jesse Konadu’s glorious photos of Pippa and Fola’s day at The Old Marylebone Town Hall which took place last September. Like just about every UK 2020 couple it’s been a R O L L E R C O A S T E R! With their original day scheduled for April 20, an all too familiar story of cancellations, constant uncertainty, with added edge of their seats moments, waiting for new last minute dates from the registry office that would sync with when Lagos airport was allowing flights, to get essential family members to the occasion! But also a mighty love story of two people who found love when they thought they were too busy to look, instead love found them….siiiiiiggghhh… And can we just take a moment for Pippa’s couture dress of dreams that is giving us a contemporary twist on Jackie Kennedy Chanel vibes.
ALL IMAGES BY JESSE KONADU PHOTOGRAPHY - who also offers these words of wisdom and comfort for couples right now “"Being a wedding photographer in the midst of the pandemic has been very humbling. Regardless of your wedding size, special moments would always be captured, but with micro-weddings, it's just that little bit easier for the photographer. I've found that a lot of the weddings I've shot make more time for photos/video without the pressure of rushing to the reception. My advice for couples planning their wedding - regardless of how large or small it may be is to carve out time for your photographer. It's the most important aspect of planning your wedding as we are responsible for freezing the day and making that moment last forever!"
FOLA AND PIPPA - Who you are and what you do?
I’m Folajimi Odukomaiya, an entrepreneur, data scientist and AI product manager.
I’m Pippa Dafinone, I’m a Chartered accountant and valuation specialist.
How did you meet?
Pippa: We met at a time in our lives when we both least expected or desired a partner. I had just started the ICAEW accounting qualification and so had zero time for socialising between studying for 15 exams and balancing that with work.
Fola: I had just relocated from Lagos (Nigeria) to London after completing the mandatory year long National Youth Service Corps programme (a government initiative originally set up to reconstruct, reconcile and rebuild the country following the civil war). I was desperately looking for a job and was not in a position to spend copious amount of time socialising.
A mutual close friend invited us both for a night at Winter Wonderland. I guess we both needed a break from our realities as we accepted the invitation...the rest is history.
Did your wedding take place the day it was originally meant to - What has been the journey involved since last March!
Pippa: *laughs* definitely not. I think like most couples who were planning a 2020 wedding, things were definitely derailed!
Fola: Yeah, we were lucky to have just had our traditional wedding in Nigeria (which was quite a large event) so our hope was to have a smaller white wedding in April. However, once the lockdown was announced, all plans were thrown in the air! Our families are based in Nigeria so we were eagerly anticipating when both countries would lift the restrictions before we could make any plans.
Pippa: We very much had our hands tied! All we could do was patiently wait for a call from the registry to confirm new dates. The call finally came (I think in July) but the Nigerian airport was still closed! We decided to pick a date in early September, predicting that flights between both countries were likely to be open to allow people to return to school / uni. Just as crucially, we wanted to catch the last days of summer as we both despise being cold, so early September was a must!
What did you find particularly hard emotionally in the both the planning and anything on the day?
Fola: All the uncertainty hanging over our heads in the run up to the wedding was hard to deal with. Not too long after we selected the September date there were rumours about a possible second lockdown as cases started to spike again in Europe. We were particularly worried about pushing back the date and whether our families would be able to attend.
Pippa: The rules were constantly changing (and rightfully so), but this meant it was incredibly difficult to plan anything. A week before the wedding the government announced that there would be new restrictions imposed to curb the increase in cases. Prior to further guidelines being published later that week, we had no idea if weddings would be allowed, if so, how many people could attend, if receptions were allowed and if restaurants would close again. We only got confirmation to go ahead 3 days before the wedding!
On the actual day, I was very stressed as there was so much traffic in London, since it was the first day back for schools and offices and many lanes were shut for cycling. What should have been a 30 minute drive took over an hour so I was frantically panicking whether we’d be able to get married within our time slot or if it would be postponed again (but this time at my doing).
What were the parts of the wedding you thought you were going to really miss.. was that how it was when it came to it?
Pippa: I missed the father/ daughter dance the most. Our dads were not able to come due to health risks so that was definitely sad, I had already picked songs in my head (Because you loved me by Celine Dion and Together Again by Dave Koz) and had many dreams of that moment.
Fola: I was looking forward to seeing that. I was looking forward to our first dance, to be honest dancing, period. Luckily we had a wedding in Nigeria where there was a lot of that so all was not lost.
Pippa: Also we love travelling and were really looking forward to a couple of weeks either in South East Asia or exploring India and then heading to the Maldives. Alas, the UK air bridge list was changing every other day so it was just way too difficult and unpredictable to plan.
Is there anything that has actually ended up being for the better out of the situ?
Pippa: I think COVID reinforced the intimacy of weddings which I valued greatly. Reciting the vows we wrote for each other was such a personal, vulnerable moment and I for one was much happier having that in the company of our nearest and dearest.
The cost savings were another bonus! It’s easy to get carried away with spending in order to meet an idealistic view of what a wedding should be when in reality is there is so much that is not needed. As long as you look good, your partner shows up and your close family and friends are in attendance, that’s all that really matters.
Fola: I think our desire to have a big wedding lessened given we had hundreds of guests at the traditional event in Nigeria. That said, being forced by the government to have less than 20 people is something we treasured as we could speak to every individual in great length and share our joy in a more intimate setting, with people who have supported us individually and as a couple over the years.
Do tell us more about all these glorious details with suppliers please!
Pippa: It was important to us to support black women at our wedding and so all our vendors, with the exception of the restaurant was owned by a black woman.
Our reception meal was at The Ivy Restaurant whose staff were brilliant, kind and very accommodating to our needs! The ambience in the private dining room was in line with our theme and it had lovely views of one of London’s most notable monument, Tower Bridge. The restaurant worked with my mum and sister to add personal touches to the room, like the names of our favourite cities we visited in the last 4 years.
The wedding dress was made in Nigeria by @odeva_nigeria. She’s a fantastic designer who made my outfit (dress and fascinator) as well as my evening dress for the traditional wedding in Nigeria, both without seeing me in person!
My make up was done by Deborah @daretolookgood. I’m really quite a simple person and she captured the essence of soft glam beautifully on that day. Would recommend her over and over again!
The flowers and corsage were done by @FloralsbyFunmi. I found a similar bouquet on Pinterest and reached out to her on Instagram (2 weeks before the wedding). She was absolutely amazing and delivered it in person!
My husband and I both have a sweet tooth so the cake was important to us. I came across the talented Nastassja @ms_sugar_plum on Instagram (again 10 days before the wedding) and she is just incredible with her creative designs and unique cylindrical cakes.
The wedding photos, everything you see was done by the talented Jesse @jessekonadu.photography. I contacted her a couple of weeks before the wedding desperately searching for a photographer. She was such a pleasure to work with and captured the most important moments of the day (the tears, the smiles, the face masks). We also have the most beautiful engraved wedding album which was hand delivered to us!
What was your favourite part of the day?
Pippa: I have 3... the first was walking in with my twin brother to meet my husband. The second was hearing my husband recite his vows and how personal it was, including references to my favourite movies. The third was walking down the front steps of the town hall to our close friends and family throwing confetti and seeing the smiles / happiness.
Fola: my favourite part was hearing Pippa’s vows and the moment we said ‘I do’.
And what’s your fave thing about each other?!
Pippa: I love how adventurous he is and his openness to try new things. We’ve had the most random and fun dates, travelled through Europe and done some thrill seeking activities. I love that he’s always game and it feels amazing marrying someone with whom I enjoy experiencing life.
Fola: Hands down my favourite thing about her is her emotional intelligence. She’s one of the most caring, loving and empathetic people I’ve ever met and she has some of the traits that I aspire to have.
What would you like to say to couples going through putting their wedding together which will take place soon and potentially facing a scaled back day?
Pippa and Fola: Keep things as simple as possible, be open to changes and prepared for unwanted surprises. At the end of the day do remember that the most important thing is the marriage not just the wedding and try to channel your focus and excitement towards that.
Suppliers
Photos: @jessekonadu.photography
Cake: @ms_sugar_plum
Flowers: @FloralsbyFunmi.
Dress and head piece: @odeva_nigeria
Make Up: @daretolookgood
