Beauty Sightings: Gorgeous Aso-Oke's and Gele's!!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Today we are showcasing BEAUTIFUL brides dressed in their traditional Aso-Oke's and Gele's!!

"An Aso-Oke  (pronounced ah-SHOW-kay) is a hand loomed cloth woven by the Yoruba people of south west Nigeria. "Aso oke" means top cloth in the English language. The fabric is used to make men's gowns, called Agbada, women's wrappers, called iro, and men's hats, called fila. The gele (pronounced gay-lay) is a head wrap synonymous with the Yoruba as well in Nigeria. Geles use materials such as Aso-Oke, Brocade, Damask, and the most popular, Jaquard."

You will  mostly see Yoruba brides wear these outfits during their traditional engagement ceremony (I will go into more detail about what that is on another post). Brides also switch into these outfits towards the end of their wedding reception instead of a shorter dress or a party dress like Western brides. As you will see through these pictures these fabrics come in SOOOO many different colors and combinations. As a bride you can literally choose from a myriad of fabrics, colors, and textures to get the look you want!



Photo Courtesy of S67 Photography (http://www.s67photography.com/)



Photo Courtesy of S67 Photography (http://www.s67photography.com/)



Photo Courtesy of S67 Photography (http://www.s67photography.com/)



Photo Courtesy of S67 Photography (http://www.s67photography.com/)

Photo Courtesy of S67 Photography (http://www.s67photography.com/)



Photo Courtesy of S67 Photography (http://www.s67photography.com/)




All of the pictures below were borrowed from www.bellanaija.com!!















www.xsightn.com




What color do you want your traditional outfit to be? Which color combo was your favorite? Let us know!!

Stay Beautiful My Loves,
Memi




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How to Thursdays: Getting the groom involved!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Hey Guys!! It's that time againnnnn for How-To Thursdaysssss (in my best game show hosting voice, LOL!)

I know I tend to focus a lot on the girly stuff, because let's be real here, most guys have NOT been planning their weddings in their minds for years and years. Even after the engagement there are some guys who want little or nothing to do with wedding planning! I have a couple of my male friends that are getting married and they are VERY involved in the process so this post is dedicated to them! Hi-FIVE to those grooms out there who are involved and LOVING it!! There are some women who do not even ATTEMPT to involve their fiancee' unless it is about writing checks!! It should not be like that! It is a day for BOTH of you to enjoy and rejoice. If they want to be involved don't push them away, it's not fair, lol! To the ladies who don't know HOW to get their man involved show him this post so they know even though they may not care about linens, flowers, and silverware, there are other things they can do to get involved and feel like they are a part of one of the most important days of your lives together!


Photo courtesy of www.123rf.com


I found some cool pointers from a wedding planning site that gave some really cool ways to keep the groom IN THE LOOP!

1) Have one-on-one discussion with your groom. - Find out his likes and dislikes and what are the MOST important things that HE wants at the wedding. It's okay that you want a pink princess wedding but will HE feel comfortable with that? If not, try and compromise! For example if he wants to hire breakdancers to perform and you disagree, ask if you can have your pink wedding and he can have his breakdancers! Give and Take is KEY!

2) Make wedding planning fun for the groom. Try to lower his anxiety about wedding planning and boost his self-confidence. For example, compliment him on his creativity, organizational skills, musical tastes, etc. Most guys are not naturally wired to care about the stuff we women care about. So when they show some effort and improvement COMPLIMENT THEM and let them know how much you appreciate the effort!

3) Create manageable tasks that the groom can be involved with and take accountability for, such as ordering the wedding invitations, addressing them and mailing them to your guests. Give him portions to OWN that way he can take pride as well, when everything is a great success!!
  
4) Ask your groom to what degree he would like to be involved regarding wedding planning. Avoid trying to read his mind about his feelings about being involved in planning your wedding. COMMUNICATION is crucial!!

5) Ask your groom if there is a special area that he would like to be responsible for such as:
  • wedding music
  • flowers for ceremony
  • planning your wedding lunch or dinner menu
  • finding tuxedos or suits for himself and his groomsmen
  • listening to different DJs and bands and selecting his favorite one
  • researching and visiting reception sites
  • planning honeymoon (destination, accommodations, itinerary)
  • selecting and ordering wedding cakes and desserts
6) Work with your groom’s special interests and talents. For example, if your groom loves cooking, have him plan the menu for your wedding lunch or dinner. If your groom loves music, have him plan the musical entertainment for your reception.

7) Brides, avoid the “Bridezilla” phenomenon. I know there is a TV show that highlights this behavior, but trust me, it is NOT attractive! A “Bridezilla” is defined by the following behaviors and characteristics:
  • controlling behavior
  • irritability
  • yelling
  • making all the decisions
  • being hard-to-please
  • criticizing the groom’s tastes, ideas and preferences
8) Encourage your groom to think about planning your wedding together as a special, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you two to bond in a unique way and learn more about one another through the wedding planning process.

9) Ensure that you have open and honest discussions about your wedding budget, including the overall budget, budget for ceremony, reception and honeymoon. Discuss what expenses the groom, the bride, the couple, the bride’s parents and the groom’s parents will be responsible for.

10) AVOID fighting over wedding planning and wedding budgets. Finances is the number one topic married couples fight over. Start your marriage on the healthy path by having loving, mature, productive discussions about your wedding finances. I know this one may be a tough one but with proper planning and communication the arguments can be brought to a minimum!

11) Keeping Track. If your fiance is a natural organizer, ask him to keep track of receipts, schedules, contracts, and appointments. Not only will this lighten your load, but also he'll be involved in the planning process.

Last but NOT LEAST, Give Him The Knowledge. The fact that almost every bridal magazine is directed at brides is not lost on your fiance. He may be hesitant to help with planning because he simply doesn't know what's expected of him. Give him a checklist with dates that tasks need to be accomplished. Offer suggestions for each area. Remember, he may not do things exactly the way you might, but that's okay. He's getting the job done.


Photo Courtesy of: http://www.illustrationsource.com/
I found a SUPER cool site a while ago called, GroomGrove.com, and it is like "The Knot" or "Martha Stewart Weddings" but for GUYS! It has EVERYTHING from to-do lists, engagement ring calculators, advice on how to deal with bridezillas, HOW to ask the bride's Dad for her hand, and the list goes on! It is really an amazing resource for grooms out there who WANT to be more involved and need advice on how to do it! I'm not a groom but I LOVE the site because the creator's humor actually makes it fun to read! Ladies share it with your beaus, I'm sure they'll enjoy having something to do while you are flipping through bridal mags!


Stay Beautiful My Loves,
Memi








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Ah! Mazing Vendor Feature!! African Bride Magazine

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Hello Beautiful People!!! Today we have the pleasure of introducing you to Tola Oluyemi, the Editor-in-Chief of African Bride USA Magazine. We have been sooo excited about this magazine here at BCG, we cant stop talking about it! So it was about time we sat down and talked with Tola, and found out what the motivating force is, behind the magazine that we hope to see "change the game"! I hope you enjoy reading! 


(from left to right: Editor-in-Chief, Tola Oluyemi; Executive Editor, Michelle Okolo; Creative Editor, Tope Lufadeju)

1.   BCG: How did the idea for African Brides Magazine come about? How long ago was it?
Tola: The idea came about four years ago while planning my own wedding.  I was able to easily locate mainstream wedding vendors like florists and cake chefs but when it came to locating vendors that cater specifically to African weddings like live bands, caterers, DJs, etc, it became more difficult and I basically had to make decisions based on word of mouth from their previous customers.  I discussed this with my older sister who had a similar experience while planning her own wedding.  We thought that it would be nice to have a one-stop vendor database to easily locate vendors for African weddings, hence the inspiration behind our website www.africanweddingsus.com.  So as you can see, the website was our first inspiration and the magazine idea came a little later.


BCG: What was the process of getting your magazine off the ground?

Tola: We knew that in order for the magazine to be a success, we needed to conduct an extensive market research.  The magazine industry has one of the highest failure rates; 90% of all new magazines fail within the first year.  We knew it was a huge risk so we spent the most part of the first two years studying the market and other publications.  Once we had the confidence to proceed, we started working on other major aspects of magazine production like editorial content, design and layout, printing, and circulation.


BCG: What was the hardest part of getting into the magazine business? What type of challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?


Tola: I would say one of the greatest challenges was finding time to work on the magazine; I have a full time job as a financial analyst, I also try to be a devoted wife and mother so joggling everything at the same time was quite challenging since the only time I really had to work on the magazine was at midnight on most days.  Luckily, I have a supportive husband who was understanding and helped out a lot.  Another significant challenge was breaking into an untapped market since we are basically the first publication catering to brides of African descent.


BCG: What is the MAIN purpose behind the magazine? What are your goals?

Tola: Our goal for this magazine is to be the ultimate reference-to guide for all brides of African descent when planning their weddings, not only in the USA but globally.  We want the bride-to-be to pick up a copy of this magazine and be able to pick out all her vendors and not only that but also find inspiration from our editorials, be it real weddings, color inspiration articles, or bridal fashion spreads.  We also want to learn more and share the beauty of various traditional African wedding customs and attires.







BCG: Where would you love to see African Brides Magazine in the next 5 years? What are your dreams for this magazine?

Tola: We would love to see African Bride magazine on major newsstands across the globe.  We see it being a source of inspiration to brides and wedding professionals worldwide.


BCG: What is your MAIN motivation? What keeps you going when you want to just stop and give up?

Tola: What keeps me going is the fact that I love everything about weddings; this is fun for me.  I love meeting talented wedding professionals and learning more about the wedding industry.  We are also involved in charity efforts so it feels good to know we are helping the less privileged. 




BCG: What makes you the HAPPIEST about this new venture?
Tola: I am happiest when I hear back from a vendor or bride about a good experience.  Even though we are new, we’ve gotten several emails from vendors who were found via our website and brides who located vendors on our website and it makes us happy to know that they were pleased with their experiences.










                               


Dapo and myself!
MC Francis keeping the crowd GOING!

One of the Lovely Models, Watta

Bewaji Designs

Rip the Runway contestants

Legsssss for Dayssss

Stephanie and MaryAnne of Cote Minou

Keynote Speaker, Summer Amin

Idia Fashions






There you have it!! I have posted some pics of the African Wedding Magazine Launch taken by Kirth Bobb Photography! The decor and planning was done by us here at BCG Events! I hope you enjoyed the post and getting to know the brains behind the machine! Let us know what you think!


Tola and her team are also offering a 10% discount on advertising rates to anyone who mentions they found them right here on our blog, they can email advertising@africanweddingsus.com!!!!




Stay Beautiful My Loves,
Memi 
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Beautiful Weddings: Sarah and Glenn

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

We love beautiful weddings; all the details, colors, fashion, accessories but most of all we love to see two people in love; celebrating love. 

This is the beautiful wedding of Sarah and Glenn.  When I met this couple the first thing I thought was how gorgeous they both were and then as I got to know them better I realized they were not only beautiful outside but inside too. 

They wanted a beautiful and unique wedding that would allow them celebrate their love and entertain their guests. We loved planning and creating every detail with Sarah, she was a bride who knew what she wanted but still allowed us creative liberty.  Her sense of style is evident throughout the details of their wedding, from the color choices to the stationery design. The result was a gorgeous event, infused with details to create a quintessential look. 

Here are some pictures from their beautiful event; Enjoy!!!!








































Vendors:
Planning and Coordination: BCG Events
Event Design, Decor and Floral: BCG Event Decor
Bridal Gown: Bridget Awosika Bridal
Bridesmaid Dresses: Jim Hjelm
Make Up: Z Faces
Cake: Debi's Cake Studio
Invitations and Stationery: My Creative Wedding
Event Lighting: Atmosphere Lighting
Photography and Videography: Georgetown Pics
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