The Glam Miniature Wedding of Every Doll’s Dream! All You Need to Know about Obi Nwokedi’s Black Barbie & Ken Nigerian Traditional Wedding Shoot
Posted on Friday, June 22nd, 2012 at 11:00 AMBy Damilare Aiki
Ok, I have already confessed my love for weddings on the Funke Akindele wedding post and I am sorry to bore you on how much I love and can’t stop talking about it but I just have to. Apart from the couple’s first dance, the first kiss, the food (Yes, ke, a wedding has to have good food), I also love a wedding that has a good photographer. A friend and I were talking the other day about wedding photographers that truly know how to capture the most memorable moments couples would like to see on their wedding albums and the name Obi Nwokedi came up.
After surfing through his website, I found a one of a kind wedding shoot the London based photographer had for the black barbie and ken dolls. Short of words and truly impressed by the attention to detail by the photographer, I knew that I had to catch up with the brain behind this spectacular shoot that has gone viral and ask him a few questions.
Obi Nwokedi told us that the inspiration for the shoot came from Vogue Italia‘s Black Barbie shoot as well as some French photographer’s barbie based wedding shoot. Let’s not bore you with talk, see for yourself Obi Nwokedi’s glam miniature wedding shoot.
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The Traditional Wedding
More Questions for Obi Nwokedi
How long did it take you to finish the shoot?
The whole shoot took about 5 months, basically because of the sewing and difficulty finding the little accessories.
I must say the clothing and accessories used for the shoot are simply impeccable, who designed them and the set of the shoot?
I designed the set and built a mini stage. My wife, Olachi made the outfits
And I humbly speak for all wedding lovers out there, when should we expect Ken & Barbie’s white wedding shoot?
Ken and Barbies white wedding .. er… I rather doubt that
Let’s Imagine black Barbie and Ken are real human beings, can you tell us how they met and how Ken proposed to her?
They met through a mutual friend Jennifer, who set them up on a blind date and funny as it may seem they clicked and became an item. For the proposal, Ken took Barbie to Eiffel Tower in Paris and when the moon was about to set, he knelt down and said “I know I am not the best looking guy, I don’t have all the money in the world, but what I do know is that I can’t live without you, will you please marry me and be the mother of my children?”, with tears in her eyes, she screamed Yes!
How much did you spend in creating this shoot?
A couple hundred pounds I guess, I sort of lost track because the dolls and accessories were bought in bits over a 5 month period.
As an experienced photographer, what to you are some of the most memorable moments every photographer must capture when shooting a wedding?
For me, its the emotional shots. They could happen anytime, bride looking into husbands eyes during the vows, parents faces and vows are read or during the first kiss, dad’s face when he first sees the bride all dressed up and more.
Obi Nwokedi
Just for Fun
Your favorite color is? I like to think its White but my wardrobe is a sea of blues.
On a hot day, you will caught eating what? Nothing, drinking is more like it.
Your best form of relaxation is? Legs up, drinks, movies and someone I love (or at least I like)
What’s on your i-pod? Loads, but now currently listening to oldies from the early 90s
Your favorite reality show is? Really don’t watch much of those, I’m more of a movie addict
Vendors (Lol!)
Photography: Obi Nwokedi (www.PhotographyByObi.co.uk)
Bride’s Shoes: Christian Louboutin
Make-Up Artist: Barbie’s Best Friend Jennifer
Tags: barbie, BN weddings, Ken, Obi Nwokedi
Awww…….so cute!
So Ken is taken.
This is so beautiful
omg!!!! dis is super cool…i luv it!
funny pics
Simply Gorgeous and Interesting……Dis is Creativity at its Best!
awwwww me likey sorry i looooooooooooove dis.
Whaooooo! good job
beautiful….
WOW!!!!! Awesome
seriously? ………………………………….*lips sealed*
Wow, creative, lovely, beautiful and impressive..God bless your handiwork
Saw this sme days ago nd i was amazed!!! Indeed veryyyy creative. Plus ken is fine too
awesome!
hilarious!!!
Ken is handsome…
creativity at its best… these photos are just beautiful
I cant wait for barbies white wedding, hehe
Fantastic……..kudos
Best photo shoot I’v ever seen ever since I discovered my luv for photography….. Pls we want the white wedding…. U need to complete the story nau….being creative is an understatement for dis shoot
Cant stop smiling, he did a nice job buh dem dolls,looooool,cute dou
the last pix is so hilarious. well done!
yeah i love all thiings wedding & this is really creative. but Dear Bella, can we have a real wedding post? it will make my weekend……………..Thank You!
I love, love looooove this… its creativity at its best! wow I had a smile on my face throughout and especially at the last pic where they were wasted after partying lol. The photog has a good sense of humor… good job!
OMG….m al ssmiles! i never comment on here! i just have to give it up to u! LOL!! Welldone man!
And the barbies all have Brazilian weave:)
http://tobechidaniel.blogspot.com/
I think we should just leave the blame squarely on Mattel for that one, don’t you?
Well ofcourse TobechiDaniel., how else could the identify as naija. Shay you know 99% of naija babes are bald – so a Brazilian is necessary. LOL
If that ratchet straw looking hair is Brazilian hair to you, it is well.
The dolls have always had this type of hair. Now if if it looked like remy and they were sporting the Kim K look then ehen, maybe your point would fly. Alas, this is not the case.
creativity no doubt but a way to keep us busy since we av no wedding post….lol
l love dis
I LOVE it..Very creative. Made me smile. NExt time though, the dolls should have more African features.Right now, the look like white dolls dipped in chocolate….None the less, i love the concept…;-)
Have you tried looking for an ‘African looking’ doll? Lol; They look like ‘shigidi’. These are really good looking African dolls sans the hair which the photographer has no control over.
@Bola is that not what we naija babes look like with all the brazilian , peruvian and all what not hairs. SMH
nice concept
Love it!!
i actually adore the picture where they’re dancing and the guest is getting down with her white canvass shoe!!!!! hahahahahahaha
wowzer….this is amazing…….
very creative piece………………thumbs up!!!
This is Art!!! Simply gorgeous
Awwwwww. so creative, Couldnt help but smile while scrolling through the pictures…Thumbs up!
wooooooowwww!!!!!! im scraming inside cos im @ work…this is awesome. Look at all the details. me likey
err sorry “screaming inside”
Brazillia hair oooo. I like the photographer’s inspiration but you also know that oyibo can stare at a mosquito to earn a living, if oyibo is snapping doll baby, we need not follow them o. Just my 2 cents.
Funny pics tho
niceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee………….. totally love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
really creative and his wife did an amazing job with the outfits. <3
beautiful!!!!!!!
Lol@oyibo can stare at a mosquito to earn a living.is he begging you to earn any living from you? Haba naija,perhap you should also knw dat western education were also a white man invention,even d so called christianity that seem to have litter all over the street,yet the most insincere,corrupt and d most backward pple n d world.why did we claim to knw so much,wen all we could do is to study wat the white man has already written
I agree with what you’re saying, but please do note that Christianity was not invented by the white man or westerners for that matter, just ask the Copts in Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea etc and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. I think that false knowledge needs to fly somewhere. Thanks.
Was not invented by the whites but eho brought it to you africans?..Stop being a know too well when you dont!
wow!!! brilliant. welldone sir
too cute! lets know when they have babies…..
Wooow! Simply ingenuous.
LOVE TIMES INFINITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
very cute and i like it
good job and thank you
Very interesting and creative concept I must say only thing is either Ken forgot to bleach his neck area to match the rest of his body or maybe ken has the wrong head attached to his body
Haha. I noticed that too.
First thing I thought was: “That hair needs some serious taming”. Cool Idea.
This is amazing, can I work with you?
@milk chocolate..hahahahahahahahaha. you are soo correct! my friend and i had to scroll up to catch that detail. hahaha!!!
very creative!
See all the ladies falling for Ken… Dont forget that Ken is a doll!!! hahahaha
One Word…..SPEECHLESS
Waoooooo! Creativity @ its peak. Luv d detailing in all d pics. Thumbs up!
AMAZINGGGG…..That is such hard work to pull off n d work’s all paid off…such attention to detail… well done.
COMPLETELY SPEECHLESS! A WONDERFUL IDEA THOUGH.
Tooooooo cute
I have no words to describe this guy!!! I pray this hard work of yours pay off a million times!!! Welll Done!!!! Excellent job!!
I loved the last picture best!! Really cracked me up! Beautiful shots
this is thinking out of the box. it felt so real. this is wonderful.
Simply Put Lovely… Yes to a white wedding tho Lol!
Awesome, so creative and interesting
Amazing! Only one almost hate comment, hmm,good. Bellanaija pls when are we goin to see ur wedding pix naaa? Can’t wait anymore oo
Umm, did anybody see the minature Ipad, lol, hilarious. Very lovely and inspiring… beautiful
This is so AMAZINGLY CUTE. love love love it!
BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART WORK.
I”ve never commented on BN before but I couldn’t just stay quiet after seeing this piece. This is just AWESOME!!! That’s the word. Awesome it is cuz I am awed…
i saw this on facebook first..very well done simply beautiful i wonder how long it took them to sew the clothes though so cute…
Love, love, love, loveeeeeeee this.
wow! dis is so beautiful
This is beautiful and entertaining. Meanwhile o, their names should be Bambi (Yoruba name) and Kene (igbo name)…. Barbie and Ken could never can’t rock it like these guys can!
This is so nice and creative. I like it…buhh the last pics…are they drunk
duh!!
Wow!!!!!!! I haven’t seen anything more beautiful!!!!! So creative! What made u think of such a wonderful idea! I’m overwhelmed!!! God bless U!
Wow.. this is so creative
I’ m just short of words,Keep it up.
lolll@ the love story soo cute…
well done bro and well done to ur wify. nice concept.
http://lifeinstagesdoz.blogspot.co.uk/
really creative, love love love, totally want to see the whit wedding, she should arrive in a really cool car
i enjoyed evry photo…so beautiful n funny at d end…still smiling
awwww. Very creative. Alot of work was obviously put into this!
this is beautiful, wooooooooow i love
Love it!!
Awesome, and good job Olachi!!!!!
i simply luv dis,my mum also is laffing her head off here.
This is the best thing I’ve seen in a while. I can’t stop smiling, really captured a true Naija wedding. Naija women and their obsession with Brazilian weave. The doll with the curly hair is really cute.
definitely d best n most creative piece av seen in recent times.. am still in dat state of bewildermnt.. somborry pinch me!!!!!!
This is soooooooooooooo lovely, it reminds me of my childhood. So creative and depicts the typical Nigerian wedding ceremony. Keep it up……
Amazing!! and proposal too was touchy…lol. thumbs up
Just couldn’t stop smiling at all the pictures,this is indeed creativity at work.Thumps up
yea reminds me of my childhood.so so creative
one word….genius!!
EVEN the BARBIES have BAD WEAVS
lol
Absolutely love itttt…made me laugh as well. A very well done job to you!
wonderful pictures and the creativity was just too much. the setting was very beautiful too. keep it up waiting for the white wedding please upload or work on it soon.
This is outstanding!
My gosh,too cute..very well done with amazing details.They had a blast from what i see.lol.God bless the mans work..im waiting for the white wedding too..loving the black ken and barbie.
As a Nigerian, I’m proud of this and he did a great job. But as an Igbo, I am disappointed by the mere fact that Obi Nwokedi clearly an Igbo man used Yoruba wedding to portray his ideas instead of Igbo wedding. What a shame that our men embrace other cultures/customs instead of their own. A Yoruba man would never have used an Igbo wedding.
Please carry this tribalism stuff to Nairaland, what does it matter? Maybe he is bigger person and chooses to embrace all tribes instead of tit for tat, there is nothing wrong with that…
Seriously? Sweetheart, this is the 21st century; feel free to go back in time if you’re uncomfortable or disappointed with this.
I agree – wish I’d seen some traditional beads Igbo style…lol
loool very cute and creative
Is ken’s brova single and i dint know barbie has ipad,she is ballin’ ooo
madam zara take am easy o. u dont need to be unnecessarily tribalistic. wetin dey always do una sef? i dislike poeple who are so short sighted dey cant even see beyond their cultures.
Dont igbo women marry roruba men & vice versa?
Dont yourubas employ igbos and vice versa?
abeg sharp make we hear word jur. mtchiewwwww ( u can spell it in igbo if u like)
by d way – since you are so tribalistic, u had better be living and working in ur vilaage o, marry from ur side of d country.
if i see ur leg in lagos ehn! nonsense
My post must have touched a nerve, ehn? You had to post multiple times. Smh! You can cry all you want and post as many times as you want my post still stands. Now go hug a transformer!
LOVELY CREATIVE PICTURE JARE! TRES FAB. HATERS GO HUG TRANSFORMER.
This is really creative!!!lovely concept,kudos to a job well done
Almost cried with pure joy as I moved from one picture to the next, the child in me wanting to jump out and join the party!! Great storytelling. Awesome attention to detail. A work of art. Well done.
why are they all looking like dolls…im confused.
Cos they are dolls …Duuuuh!
Bwahahaaaa! Your comment just made my freaking day! You can’t possibly be serious..? LWKMD! “Why are they looking like dolls”? Hahaaa…what won’t I see on this BN?
I will assume that this is a trick question or perhaps you are being funny because I cannot and do not want to believe you are seriously asking that kwesion! As in really?
awwwwww……i love dis…. creative *big smile*
very very creative.. i love
visit http://www.cakesbymizvuitton.blogspot.com for wedding ideas
This is called art. Fantastic idea. Good Job.
wow!!!! this is amazing. a very nice one from the photographer. may God continue @ giv u more creative ideas
the cutest thing i’ve ever seen..so close to reality,meeeen,a big thumbs up to you.you are such a genius.keep it up,that child in me almost jumped out..we hope to see their white wedding pix soon…so so nice
lol, all dis comments are so hilarious, by the way Ken is really cute oh how come i dint meet him first, kai Barbie is one hell of a lucky babe.
still rolling on the floor ………………..lwklmddddddddddddd
Me likey! likey!
SIMPLY STUNNING!
this is beyond amazing. pure talent. keep it up. meanwhile plsssss we want u to do a photo shoot for the white wedding too. many thanks.
Glad to see that black barbies are being produced. However, at the risk of sounding a little pedantic, there is something a little disturbing (if not very disappointing) about having black barbies that are essentially white barbies dipped in chocolate. I can’t say I have ever seen that many Nigerian women (without the famous brazilian weave of course), that naturally grow straight hair down to their bottoms. Nor have I ever seen that many Nigerian women with clear eyes. Just saying, if you’re going to start revolutionising the whole barbie industry and introducing black barbies, may as well do the job properly. My 2 cents.
I agree – it’s important to show the diversity of black culture, skin tones, and hair
This is nice, looking it.
The last picture is hilarious
what this is just creepy. He obviously needs friends
I like his interpretation. I like that it tells a story that is uniquely African. I hope it brings him the opportunity to exhibit in fabulous places.
OU EMMM GEEEE!!! absolutely stunning!!! the details are flawless. “kiss me you know what” you are just a hater n dont know jack about artistic creativity. kudos to Obi and like Bella said we need the white wedding version.
Wow…very creative indeed.
All the ladies asking for wedding pictures, God go answer una, make una do marry too so bella go get plenty wedding pictures…No offence meant ooo.
Unique
simply lovely
OMG! I saw this the other day!!! It’s absolutely amazing!!! Especially the attention to detail!
Wow!! Barbie Dude is hot o..beautiful concept
I love it. Pure talent
this is creativity at its peak.
you actually deserve an award for this..
okk…now am sittin in front of my computer and am supposedly doin my prioject work 4 skul….i jst cant help but smile at dese pix…:D
I had a ton of barbies growing up from “Barbie and the Rockers” set to the entire barbie house, car, Skipper, you name it. I really enjoyed the pics! It was fun.
On another note, some of you really need to chill out with the comments about weave, skin color, or what you think is supposed to be the phenotype of Black people. Live and let live. No Black person should dictate to another about how they should present themselves to the world. Yes, we are all entitled to our opinions, but when one wants to ram their opinion down everyone’s throat, it is simply suffocating.
this is simply pretty…nice work
beautiful,extreme creativity…..well done guys
omg i’m so loving it…haven’t seen something this cool in a awhile plus Ken is so… HAUTE, wish i was invited *in my mind* : D
This is Wonderful!!! It takes me back to my childhood when I used to visit the tailor shop across the street and use his scraps to make clothes for my Barbies!
That last picture is hilarious!!
(I also now feel like rocking my shoes that I covered in that green and brown fabric!!)
While i was going through the pictures,I found myself smiling all through. Great work.
this is really unique and i love it. not an easy job though!
I don’t think he needs to do the white wedding because there’s something similar already done out there. The tradition wedding gave it a unique beauty and appeal. I can’t stop looking at it over and over again, love it. Excellent job!!!
this is so nyc,beautiful but absurd,weird n creepy.
go and sit down somewhere jare nobody forced u to look o before u concluded it was creepy …What have u made in ur somethin something years on earth except food?
awwwwwwwwww niceeeeeeeeeeeee; was smiling t the screen through out
@francisca
You must not be familiar with Nigerian weddings. Are you creeped by the dolls or just the display of creativity? There’s nothing absurd or creepy about this. You should have left it at the first sentence about it been nice and beautiful.
Amazing! I absolutely love this! Kudos to you and your wife!
nice work!
creative!
Dis is so nice, i cant stop looking @ dem again ad again
Awesome!!!! I actually cried cos it seemed so real. Loved the spraying money part!
http://www.bexluvs2dress.blogspot.com
This is an amazing shoot and let me address those negative comments first. y’all must be real sick and sorry shallow minded people to say anything negative about such an uncommon effort!
I do appreciate the details, story behind it, and precision (by the way, his wife is amazing)! it’s most difficult sewing such little things.
I laughed so hard many times and smiled throughout. Thumbs up!!!
loving it like mc.donalds…i loved barbie dolls a lot!!! was so obssesed with the till i turned 13 ………………i still love them jo!!
you da bomb man
can u nwa c dat 9ja us ful of talents
really cute and creative. I can’t believe i atually looked at all of the pictures! Well done but Ken kinda looks gay! too much power/makeup/fine boyness. He needs to look more rugged! lol!
i love it love the story telling-typical Nigerian traditional wedding, i love the attention paid to the glamour the brides depict on their weddings.
to the one who said the dolls look like white barbies dipped in chocolate…. do you know how beautiful we are in Nigeria? pls take a look at previous wedding posts and you ll see what i am talking about.
my favorite has to be the second to the last one…..owambe toh crazy
it only shows that photography is serious business now in Nigeria…people now make money and comfortably live from non-white collar jobs. i once again love and appreciate this. well done obi
OMG….this is so beautiful….
This is the most beautiful wedding I’ve ever seen! Even better than my own (lol).
Great work, Obi. Looking forward to discovering more of your creative, thoughtful, incredibly fine and sensitive work.
One Word – “WOW”!
This is very creative. His wife has some talent up her sleeves, to design the outfits in that much detail is not easy. I love Nigerian weddings, no other culture does it like we do it. The outfits are great, the bridesmaid, the groom, just awesome. Obi, you better get ready, you will have more great offers now.
Absolutely Brilliant!!!!……Captured every moment of a real wedding…..Brilliant!!!!! Very Creative and innovative….love it!
am sooo in love with this photo shoot. its breathtakingly beautiful and creative.
just got my heart melting. the only thing i’d replace thoough, is the money, for naira notes> well done!
awwwwwwww dis is really cute
cutest thing ever. very well done obi
http://www.sweetmothermag.com/
haaahhahahaha i love this!!! this is cute!!
I love this post its one of the cutest things I’v seen on bella
Hmm, no wonder I don’t care for such…never had dolls growing up. Really sappy tradition.
Hahaha, it makes nice photographs though. Nice. Hey DJ!
i am completely blown away…. i can really feel the passion in his work…one word… AMAZING!!!!
This is so creative! Would love to see a white wedding version
Oh WOW! Obi well done! I’m simply speechless! This is absolutely amazing work… Sooo creative! You have so much talent. It struck me as if I was at a real wedding…. Simply Beautiful! I’m campaigning for Hausa, Edo, Delta, Cross River and Igbo traditional weddings!
God bless the works of your hands!
really cool
Absolutely amazing. such creativity and good representation of Nigerian weddings.
This is so creative! I love it
I am so in love with this creation!
wow so beautiful nige you people are awesome