The Road To The Altar: You Can Call Me Mrs. Oluloye

“I love the way he looks at you.”

That’s what my mom said this morning after I sent her a few of my favorite images from our wedding pictures. I would have to agree: I love the way my husband looks at me, too. I’ve officially been married for three weeks, as I tied the knot on Friday, October 21 in Chicago. Since then, I’ve traveled to Paris for my honeymoon and returned to our home to start our new life as a married couple. Important married tasks include buying a new bed and some curtains. How exciting!

But in all seriousness, three weeks after saying “I do” and I’m still smiling. That day was indeed, the very best day of my life. I felt a wealth of love from all of my friends and my family. And I also was blessed with the help of some amazing people. That includes Toyota, who allowed me to drive the 2016 Lexus NX200T SUV the entire time I was in town, including on my wedding day. The car is an incredibly smooth ride (with comfortable heated leather seats, a 6-speed shiftable automatic transmission, and a fuel economy of 22/28 mpg). It definitely turned heads. I also was blessed with invites by Adorn Invitations. The company recently made invitations for Vanessa Williams’s wedding this past summer and do some great work. Big thanks to our photographer, Isi Akahome, Darya’s Natural Hair Boutique for the updo, and makeup artist Nicki Rouge for the beat face. But most of all, I had the help of an amazing planner, Vanessa Wells (yes, sister to our very own Veronica Wells), who kept me sane for more than a year. She’s the reason everything turned out to be a big success.

With that being said, I just wanted to share with you images from the wedding and reception (I had a traditional Edo ceremony the night before the wedding, but those pictures weren’t ready in time). They are the culmination of all the posts I wrote about the wedding planning struggle. It was a tough year and change of getting one day to come together, but it was more than worth it. You can now call me Mrs. Victoria Oluloye, and I’m glad to answer to it.

This is my matron of honor. Her name is Phylicia. We’ve been best friends since high school, but I’ve known her since junior high school — when I played trombone and she played the flute in band. She just got married in March!

This is my husband — to the left. That’s his best friend and best man, Collins, on the right. They’ve known each other since they were young boys living in Lagos, Nigeria. These images were taken at the Congress Plaza Hotel, in downtown Chicago, where we stayed the night before and night of our wedding.

We took our wedding photos outside of McCormick Place. It’s the largest convention center in America and downtown near Lake Michigan. We were all smiles during this shoot, but because we were so close to the lake on a cold day (low 50s), we were actually freezing!

A number of people actually honked at us with a thumbs up and said congratulations from the street as we took these photos. Isn’t that sweet?

Move over Naomi Campbell and Tyson Beckford!

The cake you see above was done by one of my best friends, who is a baker: Theresa Ukpo. Her baking company, stationed in New York, is called The Batter End. Follow her and hit her up for sweet treats! No funny stuff, though.

This father-daughter dance moment was brought to you by the classic James Brown song, “Papa Don’t Take No Mess.” Being from Chicago, my father and I stepped to it.

My wedding reception took place at Kitchen Chicago, not the restaurant, but the multi-use shared kitchen that also has a space for events. It’s a lovely place on the Near West Side of Chicago And as for the picture on my bouquet, that’s my late brother Ben, who I’ve written about in the past. That image of him was taken during our first trip to Nigeria.

Dance time! As you can see, we changed outfits. All of our outfits were handmade, including the blue necklace and earrings I wore. My colors were teal, royal blue and gold.

You know Brande and Veronica, my MN partners in crime. The chick next to me in the blue is my friend and baker, Theresa Ukpo. The lady to the far right is my friend from college, Jehan Roberson.

Dele can be seen “spraying” my mother here. At Nigerian events, people place money on individuals as they dance. It’s a lot of fun! People often spray in singles, but those singles add up. We were able to use the money received from spraying alone to buy that new bed for our home (including the frame, mattress and boxspring). Thanks, guys!

And this is me and my husband with our planner, Vanessa Wells. It was a magical day that she helped to make all the more special. Thanks for the support everyone!

All Images shot by Isi Akahome