- Quick Facts:
- Tell us how you met.
- Proposal:
- How did you know they were "the one"?
- Did you incorporate any culture into your wedding?
- Describe your wedding style:
- Describe your wedding dress and your favorite wedding accessory.
- What is your best memory from your wedding?
- What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples?
- Looking for more inspiration like this wedding in Santorini?
- Vendors:
Valerie and Kingsley’s gorgeous wedding in Santorini, Greece, was featured in Issue 33!
You never know where love will find you. For Valerie and Kingsley, their once-in-a-lifetime love lived 4 doors down on the same floor! The couple, who first met in November 2020, had lived in the same apartment complex for 4 years before their chance encounter in the elevator.
Valerie recalls, “It’s so strange that we were always in each other’s orbit but had not met until then… The very same day we introduced ourselves to each other and exchanged phone numbers, we went on our first date.”
That first date evolved into endless adventures, romance, and eventually an engagement! Kingsley’s surprise proposal during a private dinner with Chef T Honcho of the Hancho Club was everything Valerie could have asked for.
“There were candles everywhere, roses, and heart-shaped balloons,” Valerie recalls, blissfully. “There’s a song I love called ‘African Queen’ by Sadiki, and it was playing in the background. The chef handed me a menu that was a personalized acrylic heart, and it said ‘Will you marry me?’” It was the easiest yes of her life.
Their love for each other and shared passion for travel culminated in an intimate wedding abroad in Santorini, Greece.
“We loved that our wedding wasn’t a one-day-and-done event,” Valerie explains. “We spent the week with our closest family and friends [and] we planned excursions and activities before and after so that everyone felt bonded during the time there.”
From kicking things off with a welcome event to a pre-wedding beach day at Wet Stories Santorini and a post-wedding private sunset cruise, their wedding week was the perfect representation of their love.
Keep scrolling for more details on their love story and photos from their destination wedding.
*Pre-order a copy of Issue 33 on our Muna Shop.
** Check out Valerie and Kingsley’s engagement session, ft. in Issue 30, here!
- Full Name of Couple: Valerie Ukwubiwe & Kingsley Ukwubiwe
- Location of Wedding: Santorini, Greece
- Wedding Date: August 18, 2024
- Photographer for Wedding: DreamOdd
Quick Facts:
- Wedding flowers: Roses (white and touches of to\ee roses) and orchids
- Favorite item on the menu: Lamb Shank! We also had an octopus stifado during cocktail which was amazing. And the baklava for dessert was amazing.
- Bridesmaids/groomsmen gifts: Bridesmaids: getting ready items (slippers and pajamas), wedding day jewelry, and YSL and Dior beauty gifts. Groomsmen: Travel garment duffle bags, shoes for the wedding, bowties, and lapel pins.
- First dance song: We did a custom mash-up starting with John Legend
“Conversations in the Dark” into Sadiki “African Queen” - Advice for brides: Personalize your wedding to reflect you as a couple. Never stop dating throughout the planning process, and make sure you two are a team. Listen to each other throughout the process.
Tell us how you met.
We met in November 2020 in what we would call a chance encounter. We had lived in the same apartment complex for 4 years prior to meeting. It’s so strange that we were always in each other’s orbit but had not met until then. We lived 4 doors down from each other on the same floor! We ultimately met in the elevator one day. The very same day we introduced ourselves to each other and exchanged phone numbers, we went on our first “date”.
Proposal:
Kingsley set up a private dinner with chef T. Honcho of the Honcho Club. He told me that we were going to a dining experience (which I believed because he’s into those things). Weirdly, he canceled our date earlier that week. He told me the chef of the restaurant had COVID-19 (and I’m thinking, is that still a thing to cancel dinner?). In retrospect, the truth was that the ring was delayed! So, he ended up getting the ring the morning he had originally planned to propose. He called me and said the restaurant got a new chef and could accommodate us (now that I think back, his excuses weren’t good lol).
On the way to dinner, he was so fidgety, turning off the feature in his car that read text messages aloud (because the chef was texting him). We were greeted in the parking garage of this private building by an escort, and as soon as I walked into the penthouse, I knew. There were candles everywhere, roses, and heart-shaped balloons. There’s a song I love called “African Queen” by Sadiki, and it was playing in the background. The chef handed me a menu that was a personalized acrylic heart, and it said, “Will you marry me?”
How did you know they were “the one”?
Valerie: For me, I knew Kingsley was the one when I didn’t want to spend time apart from him. I genuinely would miss his presence. He is the true definition of my best friend. I love being around him even when we’re not doing anything special, even when we’re just silently around each other just doing our own thing. I love doing it every day with him.
Kingsley: When I realized that Val accepts the person I am and the intentions behind it. She became more than my best friend and a huge staple in my life. When I discovered and validated that we share similar hobbies, life goals, and dreams. Most importantly, I felt comfortable letting her take the lead in the areas I wasn’t as strong in and vice versa. That gave me the strength and courage to know that I could make a long-term commitment to growing with someone I love.
Did you incorporate any culture into your wedding?
We didn’t incorporate any cultural aspects into our wedding. Kingsley is from a Nigerian background, and my family is from Haiti. We could have incorporated so much, but we kept it simple.
Describe your wedding style:
Our wedding style was modern, clean, and elegant. We wanted our wedding to be memorable and to look romantic without looking gaudy.
Describe your wedding dress and your favorite wedding accessory.
My wedding dress was just spectacular. I wanted a dress that had glitz without being too heavy. And I wanted a dress that fit my figure (it was a trumpet style). I wanted to have an element of a ballgown, but I knew I didn’t want to wear a heavy gown all night. So, I had my designer customize an overskirt that I could wear for the ceremony, and it was removable. I think my favorite aspects of my dress were the romantic removable sleeves and the nude illusion. The sleeves added this element of Vogue to me. My favorite wedding accessory was my headpiece. We were in Greece, and I wanted something that looked like a crown of leaves.
What is your best memory from your wedding?
Kingsley: My favorite wedding memory was our private vows. I felt that it was the most intimate moment because we were standing on the edge of the cliff making these life commitments to each other, and it was just us.
Valerie: I have so many memories from the day. It was literally one of the best days of my life. But if I had to choose my favorite memory, it was seeing Kingsley for the first time when I walked down the aisle. I loved how he looked at me and the emotion on his face. I’ll never forget it.
What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples?
Kingsley: Weddings can be costly, and I believe they should be intimate celebrations. If you feel pressured to invite someone who is more closely connected to a friend or family member rather than to you, consider whether you would feel comfortable FaceTiming with that person. If the thought makes you uneasy, it’s likely that you don’t share a truly intimate relationship with them. In that case, it may be best to decline to invite them.
Valerie: My best wedding advice is to do what you want. Don’t feel like you must please anyone but yourselves. Also, planning can get stressful, but you and your partner should stick together and not turn on each other in a negative way during the stress. Talk things out, find solutions to problems that might arise, and try and have fun throughout the process.
Looking for more inspiration like this wedding in Santorini?
Click here.
Vendors:
- Wedding Planning: Wedding Tales Santorini
- Photography: DreamOdd
- Venue: Cavo Ventus Luxury Villa
- DJ, Lighting, Mirror Aisle: Multimedia Events
- Makeup: Renia Bledaki
- Hair: Bella Damigou
- Podium: Weddings and Whimsy
- Table Rental & Cutlery: Maison Trilogie
- Chair Rentals: Spicy Bites
- Signage (Grass Wall), Selfie Mirror: Illuminography
- Violinist: Leida Tahiraj
- Saxophonist: Christos Aggouridakis
- Catering: Mario Restaurant Catering
- Candles: Candlelight
- Florals: Bloom De Fleur
- Bride’s Dress: Sima Couture purchased from Lotus Bridal
- Groom’s Tuxedo: Garçon Couture
- Celebrant: Kosta Savva
