Danielle and Ademola dated for four years, long-distance, before coming together in her hometown of Mobile, Alabama to be married. On the eve of their wedding, they gathered with family and friends for a Traditional Yoruba Engagement Ceremony, to honor Ademola’s Nigerian culture. 
Mrs. Grace, their Alaga, narrated the evening and did a wonderful job explaining the customs and every step of their ceremony to Danielle and Ademola’s guests.  Recognizing that their marriage is as much a union of cultures as it is of two people, respecting his Nigerian background was important to Danielle and Ademola; they wanted to keep the as authentic as possible, from the catering to the Nigerian seamstress who constructed the wedding party’s attire.

The evening began with the groom’s family entering, with a member of his family formally greeting the bride’s family. After, the groom entered with dancing, along-side his groomsmen and closest friends.

It’s not often that I don’t meet the bride and groom before their wedding day, but it happens from time-to-time with destination weddings. Fortunately, Danielle and I had Skyped and exchanged emails… the engagement ceremony was my first time meeting Ademola, though. As he danced into the room, it was pretty obvious how excited he was about the weekend. It was literally written all over his face.

After the bride’s family formally accepted the groom’s family’s offer of marriage, it was finally time for Danielle and her girls to enter. She describes feeling anxious in the moments before. “I could hear the music thumping, people laughing, and the Alaga narrating, but had to wait until I was summoned to enter… My heart was beating so fast in anticipation of seeing him all dressed up in his Nigerian attire.”

The dollar or money dance was next, which is always a lot of fun to watch.

After prayer over both Danielle and Ademola, he finally asked her to marry him (again) and of course, she said “yes!” The Alaga then led the now-joined family in prayer, and then invited everyone to eat and dance the night away.

Danielle and Ademola’s Engagement Ceremony was a beautiful start to a beautiful wedding weekend. Check back later today to see their Catholic ceremony at Springhill College.