When it comes to love, timing is everything. Bankole Akinmola (Bank) admired Juliet Atsegbua from afar in their church for years. He recalls, “We’d known of each other for a few years and only spoke in passing. I’d always thought there was an exotic beauty about Juliet, and she caught my eye each Sunday at church; however, it was the way she carried herself that truly intrigued me.” While Bank was captivated by Juliet’s inner and outer beauty, he remained patient hoping they would fall in love when the time was right. He reminisces, “It didn’t take long for me to see Juliet as an answered prayer… I fell for her fast. Very quickly, Juliet became someone that I wanted to spend all of my time with.”
After dating, Juliet also realized that she had found the love of her life, and the couple soon began talking about marriage and looking for rings. Juliet shares, “I knew a proposal was around the way. I was left with playing the guessing game of when, so every time a special occasion or event was approaching, I was on pins and needles.” Banks decided to propose during a group trip to St. Simons Island in Georgia. After a day of horseback riding and picnicking, Banks romantically proposed to Juliet on the beach.
These love birds wanted their wedding to be an affair that was timeless and elegant. A clean color scheme of white, silver and touches of blush helped achieve a classic ambiance. To celebrate their Nigerian roots, the couple changed into traditional Yoruba attire, served an all Nigerian menu, and danced the night away to their favorite Nigerian songs. Fotos by Fola beautifully photographed their gorgeous wedding!
- Wedding Date: 06/14/2014
- Wedding Location: Atlanta Marriott Alpharetta – Atlanta, Georgia
- Wedding Flowers: My boutique included a nosegay of blush pink peonies and white “O’Hara” English garden roses with touches of white wax flower used to give definition to the blooms. Dusty Miller was used as the foliage underneath and was finished with an ivory satin wrap with a rhinestone button look.
- First Dance Song: ”A Couple of Forevers” – by Chrisette Michele
- Wedding Cake Flavors: The first and second tier were almond flavored and the third tier coconut flavored.
- Wedding Menu Favorite: I was too excited to really eat so I don’t remember how anything tasted. All I can say is the slice of cake he fed me was scrumptious.
- Bridesmaids Gifts: Bridesmaids gifts included sleep shirts with their initials, earrings, body spray and hand lotion.
The Proposal
We headed out on Friday Sept 20th to St. Simons Island and it was a fun drive down south. Bank had this fun weekend planned and I was super excited about the fishing and horseback riding, two things I had never done before. The entire ride down there Bank was acting a bit funny and he seemed ‘ALL OVER THE PLACE’ very unlike the cool and collected Bank. I thought in a slight moment he could be proposing because everything just seemed off but then again when we talked in the past, he was going to be dressed in a fancy suite and all that jazz so I scratched the idea and decided to have a good weekend.
We got up early Saturday and headed to the pier. We had a good time and caught a couple of sharks and then it was back to the hotel to catch a break before horseback riding. We headed out again, but this time it was just Bank and I. We went horseback riding on the beach in Jekyll Island and afterwards we found a spot at the picnic area to settle down and have a picnic that Bank had put together. He had sandwiches, grapes, strawberries and chocolate dip but no water. After eating my sandwich, I asked for something to drink to which he answered he didn’t have water but a bottle of champagne. If you know me well, I say what I’m thinking most times… so I asked why we had champagne and if we were celebrating fishing and horseback riding to which he answered ‘yes.’ At this point I just wanted to drink something, so I was okay with the champagne but he had no glasses! I asked for us to head out but he said to hold on because he had something else. He asked if I had a good weekend so far and how I felt and I responded yes. I was clearly really happy and then it hit me…Bank had gotten off the bench and was digging in his pocket and mumbling something about making me as happy as I’ve made him for the rest of my life and then he got on one knee. I think he was so nervous that the ring fell out the box at some point. He finally got it together and I remember hearing very clearly ‘would you do me the honor of being my wife,’ to which I nodded yes through my tears.
Later that evening, when we were heading to dinner, he told me I never really answered and so I yelled “YES!” and that as we both know and agree was the beginning of our journey to forever!
Wedding Theme
The theme of our wedding was Classic Romance. We wanted a look that wouldn’t be considered dated years from now. We had everything white and silver with a little blush for the romance effect but overall, we wanted to have that very clean finish. I’ve always been drawn to a more classic yet romantic feel for a wedding and after finding a venue it was easy to decide to go with the classic romance theme.
Wedding Style
My Wedding dress was an Essence of Australia all tulle, ivory and blush dress with a blush belt that had rhinestones and flowers made out of tulle and went beautifully with my all tulle veil.
Incorporation of Culture
Incorporating culture into our wedding was probably the easiest planning decision. We had an all Nigerian food menu, changed into traditional Nigerian(Yoruba) attire at some point during the reception and we had a lot of Nigerian songs in our music selection to dance the night away.
Most Memorable Moment
Walking down the aisle and seeing the look on my grooms face. He had a big smile on his face, it was priceless!
Wedding Advice
Enjoy the planning process and most especially, enjoy the day.
Vendors
- Photographer – Fotos by Fola
- Videographer – Tucker Racine
- Cake: Cake Envy
- Flowers: Laurens Floral
- Decorator: Josette’s Drapery
- DJ: Olamide “Majesty” Pearse
- Wedding Planner – Khamisa – TruLife Productions & Event Services – 4042209551
Beautiful!
I always love your Nigerian wedding posts. :) Very pretty wedding. Thanks for sharing.