I discovered The Wedding Present Company through The Wedding Edition, and I trust their recommendation! We wanted something easy to use and something that our guests could use easily - The Wedding Present Company was exactly that.

We've had presents delivered by The Wedding Present Company already, and it's been such fun receiving them! It's amazing to see all the wonderful things people have chosen for us.

Amanosi and I met at Leeds University through a mutual friend, we married 3 days after our 10 year anniversary - so it was a very special year for us! We got engaged 2 days before my birthday in 2022, and I thought all of the special treatment I was receiving was for my birthday. Little did I know Amanosi had been secretly planning a proposal for months.

We got engaged at home, after a very special dinner at the top of the OXO tower - it was completely magical! The ring is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I hadn’t given Amanosi much direction and  only mentioned wanting something unique with multiple stones. Amanosi completely surpassed my expectations. It's a stunning 3-carat, 5-stone emerald cut ring – beyond anything I could have ever imagined!

Amanosi is Nigerian, and I am British, so we had a real fusion wedding, embracing both Nigerian and British elements. We really wanted all of our guests to feel very comfortable, but that was also something very us. We didn't have a specific theme, but we knew we wanted it to be full of colour and fun.

Owning a PR agency for a decade, I already knew a fair few wedding suppliers. For those I wasn't familiar with, Instagram and blogs like The Wedding Edition and Love My Dress were invaluable resources. My wedding planner also provided fantastic recommendations, which proved very helpful.

We married in a quaint countryside church within my parents' parish in West Sussex. The reception followed just down the road at my aunt's beautiful house, making it incredibly sentimental to celebrate somewhere I’ve spent my life visiting!

On Friday, we held an intimate Nigerian ceremony with just Amanosi's family and my closest relatives - this was incredibly special and something which we will treasure for many years to come. The following Saturday, our British wedding celebration unfolded, surrounded by loved ones. It was the most magical event surrounded by family and friends.

We were lucky to find a fantastic tent company called Tents'N'Events. They provided a beautiful traditional sail tent adorned with fairy lights, which was perfect in the backdrop of my aunt’s garden! Because the garden itself was so stunning, our goal with the tent was to enhance its natural beauty, not overshadow it.

Our wedding décor was coordinated by Maison de Fleurs. We opted for a neutral colour palette for the tableware, rented from a local hire company, and added pops of colour with the glassware. We didn’t have candles as we had a sharing-style food and didn’t want everyone to have to move too much around to accommodate the food!

Speaking of adding personal touches, we incorporated Amanosi's love for hot sauce into our wedding favours. He's a big fan, so we surprised guests with a small bottle of different flavours. They could take them home or enjoy them with the shared food on the day! These fun favours also doubled as name places; we simply attached brown luggage tags to each bottle and wrote everyone's names on them.

My florist, Maison de Fleurs, truly understood the vision for our wedding. They created stunning floral arches at both the church and the entrance to the wedding marquee, welcoming guests in style. The pièce de résistance was a breathtaking six-meter hanging cloud of flowers suspended directly above the tables, adding a touch of magic to the entire space. They also placed delicate single stems of blush pink roses and deep red dahlias on the tables, completing the romantic atmosphere.

My white wedding dress was the Hailey dress (with a few bespoke edits) from Suzanne Neville. It was the most beautiful dress I’ve ever worn, it was made so perfectly and fitted me like a glove. I can’t recommend Suzanne Neville more - all of the team were amazing!

My Nigerian ceremony dress was made for me in Nigeria, the same as Amanosi’s traditional suit. On Saturday evening, Amanosi and I changed into different traditional Nigerian outfits, these were stunning red, gold and sparkly, again made for us in Nigeria! We really stood out from the crowd in the best way.

For wedding shoes, I wore a pair of Silvia Lagoa bespoke gold shoes which were the perfect shade to go with both my white dress and my Nigerian outfit. When we got engaged my paternal aunt also gifted me 2 stunning family brooches one of which had a sapphire in the middle and worked perfectly as a hair grip - so I wore this in my hair on the day - this was also my something blue and technically my something borrowed! The other brooch I had made into an incredible pair of earrings by a very talented family friend - Gillian Gee. She managed to keep the integrity of the brooch design and make a pair of stunning antique yet modern earrings. That was all I wore on the day; I kept it quite simple and let the elegance of the single pieces speak!

For the Saturday wedding, Amanosi wore a bespoke midnight blue suit made in Nigeria.  On Saturday evening, he changed into different traditional Nigerian outfit in stunning red, with gold and sparkly detail.

I worked with Secret Spa many years ago, and have always gone to them for any make-up needs. Their make-up artists are the best. I don’t wear much make-up so it was important to me that I looked like myself! Mara who created my wedding make-up was incredible - she listened to exactly what I wanted and made me look like me on a good day. My bridesmaids were the same, they all wanted to just glow but look natural, and Mara got that on the button.

My hair was done by Louise Foard and her sister Jess - they’ve done my hair for years and I don’t trust anyone else with it. They styled me the most gorgeous Hollywood waves which lasted all day, and made me feel like a million dollars. They went above and beyond on the day and worked so hard to make sure we all looked amazing, including my dad!

I had 3 incredible bridesmaids and 2 gorgeous flower girls, and Amanosi had 3 groomsmen - so we were very equally balanced! My bridesmaids wore the Tilly dress from Maids to Measure in champagne. My wedding dress was bright white, so the Champagne colour was the perfect complimentary colour! Maids to Measure dresses were also a brilliant style for all the girls - they all loved them! My adorable flower girls wore charming tulle dresses from Monsoon, mirroring my gown in miniature form. They looked so sweet.

Being a cornerstone of Nigerian celebrations, food played a particularly important role in our wedding. We opted to hire two different caterers. Hannah, the owner of Bakestone, took care of the British-Nigerian fusion elements, while a separate Nigerian caterer provided the traditional staples like Jollof rice, egusi, and pounded yam.

Hannah masterfully weaved delicious chicken, salads, and sides infused with wonderful Nigerian flavours, creating a truly unique menu. Our guests were thoroughly impressed by the eight incredible canapé options she created, all bursting with vibrant Nigerian flavours. To encourage a festive atmosphere, we also opted for a sharing-style service, allowing everyone to indulge in their favourites.

Canapes:

• Slow braised beef blue corn tostada with pickled radish
• Bakestone Fried Chicken bites with aioli
• Gin and Dill cured Arundel stream trout with lime creme fraiche on rye, charred tomato toasts with ricotta and basil
• Roasted sable grape with goat cheese and lemon thyme, spiced cornbread muffin with roast pepper and chilli.
   

Starter: Salt cod fritters with tomato and scotch bonnet jam, suya spiced beef fillet tomato and red onion skewers, spiced heritage tomato dip with bread and seasonal crudités,

Main: Jollof rice, sumac and pomegranate chicken, creamy red cabbage, beetroot and dill slaw, corn with honey butter and lime, roasted cauliflower with shallot and one nut,

Dessert: Apple tart with cream

Wedding cake

For our wedding reception, to accommodate our sizable guest list of over 150, we opted for the Guv'nor sparkling wine, which was met with great approval from everyone. For a special toast, we raised a glass of Wiston sparkling wine, a nod to the vineyard near the house in Sussex – a lovely touch that added a personal connection to the location.

As the evening progressed, The Miami Cocktail Company provided a selection of enticing cocktails served over ice in festive red cups, ensuring a lively and celebratory atmosphere.

The Miami Cocktail Company took care of the cocktails for the rest of the evening. These were served over ice in red cups to make it feel like a party!

Our band was the first thing we booked when planning our wedding, we first booked our band. We knew we wanted someone who could get the party started, read the room, and also play lots of different genres of music! The SoundHouse Band delivered above and beyond on every element of this. Otty, who runs the band, brought an incredible group of musicians, and the dance floor was full from the moment they started playing Afrobeat, Motown, Pop, and R&B, right the way through to when we ended. Even then, people were begging for more!

Our first dance was a Nigerian love song called By You by Simi. It’s a gorgeous song, perfect for a first dance, and one that Nosi and I have listened to many, many times over our decade together. For our ceremony, we have a close family friend who is a professional pianist, so he kindly played the organ at our church. We had Pomp and Circumstance for my entrance, and then Queen of Sheba as we exited.

We had fireworks towards the end of the evening, which was incredibly special and a real highlight of the evening. All of our guests were really surprised as we hadn’t told them about these, so everyone gathered on the back terrace and watched a 5-minute fireworks show. It was the pièce de résistance to our evening. Our guests are still messaging us about the entertainment, saying it was the best they’d seen at a wedding!

Our biggest advice would be to hire a wedding planner. We hired Rebecca from Get Wed quite late in the game, but she was incredible—she settled all of our and our family's nerves, and our day ran like clockwork. Amanosi and I didn’t need to worry about a thing with Rebecca there; I really can’t recommend getting someone to help enough!

Try not to spend too much time looking for things; once you’ve made your decision, try to stick to it. There is SO much choice out there when it comes to suppliers, colours, and design; for every element, there is a possibility, so try not to second-guess yourself. Trust your gut and your wedding planner if you have one, and then try not to look at other options once you’ve decided—it'll only confuse you!

Have a small slush fund put aside for the last 2 weeks before the wedding—we didn’t do this and wish we had! We had some last-minute bills for things that we had to be flexible on (waiter numbers, transport for some family, etc.), and it would have been great to have a small fund set aside just for those last-minute things! So if you can, put aside a bit of money that’s not budgeted for anything else so you can cover those costs, and if you don’t use it, then you can always splash out on your honeymoon!

Last piece of advice: spend as much time together on your day as you can; it absolutely flies by, so make sure you’re always at least within eyesight of each other and keep going back to one another whenever you can!

Gift List: The Wedding Present Company , Photography: Michael Newington Gray, Videography: Chloe Rose,  Venue: Family Home, Tent - Tents N Events, Wedding Planner: Rebecca Brenan Brown, Tableware: Place Settings Hire, Bridal Fashion: Suzanne Neville, Groom's Fashion: Edit Suits, Bridesmaids: Maids to Measure, Flowers & Floral Decoration: Maison de Fleurs, Drinks: The Miami Cocktail Company, Caterer: Bakestone, Hair: Louise Foard, Makeup: Secret Spa / Mara, Stationery: Leeming Brothers, Music: The SoundHouse, Wedding rings: Westnedge London, Honeymoon: En Vogue travel, Bridesmaid gifts: Gillian Gee, Wedding Fireworks: Frontier Fireworks