BN Weddings: Annie Otum & Tosin Ogunyinka

Mr & Mrs T! – Annie Otum & Tosin Ogunyinka met in Nigeria before she started university. They had no idea they would meet again, this time at the famous Notting Hill Carnival.

They soon became friends, and at her prompting, an official couple. Time spent together evolved into something special and the couple tied the knot this year.

Enjoy their lovely wedding story and pictures below – the bride planned their wedding with her mum!

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How We Met
by Annie
Tosin would say I jumped into his car…haha…which is not entirely false. We met through a mutual friend.

It was after secondary school and a friend invited me for his house party as he was leaving for the UK to study. He came by my house briefly to tell me about it and that’s when Tosin saw me. Tosin was driving while my friend was sitting at the back. I thought Tosin was the driver so I hopped into the back, hugged my friend and chatted for a little while. This only took about 5 mins so I didn’t really take a good look at Tosin’s face.

We eventually met at my friend’s house party. I remember going into the kitchen to get a drink and he followed me. I turned back and saw this tall guy with a fro looking all fishy and dodgy…but cute. Our mutual friend introduced us and we had a really good chat. He didn’t ask me for my number or anything so when I left I thought that was it.

A couple of months after I moved to the UK and went to the Notting Hill carnival with my cousin. We were looking for some of my friends when I bumped into him. I knew he looked familiar but I couldn’t remember. He said he knew me and that we’ve met before and I was like “no we haven’t” – my auto response to lines like that. Lol Then he mentioned our mutual friend and the house party and it all came back. It was like déjà vu we just picked up from where we left off. Neither of us knew we were coming to the UK or to Notting Hill carnival so it was really random. He finally asked me for my number and I gave with pleasure of course. He called my twice everyday for like a year before he asked me out after I told him to ask me out 😀 It’s been 7 years since and I am really glad I told him to.

The Proposal
It happened on the 15th of December 2012.

Tosin said he wanted to treat me that weekend which he usually does so I didn’t really think anything of it. He is always taking me to new places and restaurants because he knows I like to eat, lol He booked the Four Seasons Hotel Canary Wharf London for the weekend and booked my spa treatments. When we arrived at the hotel I noticed everyone was super nice from dropping off my car to showing us our room – which was absolutely beautiful. He got one of the executive suites with a view of the River Thames and London skyline. When we got into the room there was a special note from the manager a bottle of champagne and strawberry in chocolate. Tosin told me he had made reservations at the Waldorf Hilton and I needed to get ready so I did.

Again when we got to the restaurant everyone was so nice. I remember the manager looking very pleased almost like he wanted to cry which was weird to me. We were escorted to our seats and ordered our food. Throughout our meal Tosin got up like 5 times. He kept on saying he was going to the men’s room and he looked so uncomfortable. I thought it was the food and told him to try my food instead but of course that didn’t help. It was finally time for dessert and I didn’t know what to order. So Tosin said “don’t worry I’ll order you something special”. He got up and went to the manager whispered something and then came back.

Next thing I saw the manager with this plate of dessert. Something was written on it, and there was a little box in the middle. The manager began to walk towards me. When he got close to our table, Tosin got up and knelt down beside me and that was it – I was seeing colours! I heard Tosin start to speak but the only things I heard was “I can not imagine my life without you in it, would you be my wife” I replied “Yes of course”.

When we got back to hotel there were rose petals everywhere it was so romantic. He did well.

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Annie planned her gorgeous wedding with her mum, so she has great tips for intending couples!

Spiritual – Be very Prayerful. Planning is a wedding is a beautiful process but can be very straining especially in your relationship. Just know you’re not in it alone and prayer together always. It really helps.

Financial/Management Advice – It’s always a good idea to have a specific bank account where money gets paid in e.g. contribution from friends and family so you can manage your wedding payments etc easily. Also you can do Excel documents or in my case the “bride & groom app” to budget and for countdowns.

BellaNaija Weddings wishes Mr & Mrs T a lovely home.

~ Photography: Jeff Langhorne Weddings

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The Dress! After 3 months of trying on so many bridal gowns and decided to go online and look at designer websites. I fell in love with Justin Alexander Signature dresses as they were simple and elegant. The first time I saw the dress was actually on the website and I called various bridal stockists to see if they had it. But none did because it was a 2014 design. I however got a call back from one the bridal shops and the lady I spoke to said she could call the designer and ask for it to be delivered. Which she did and once I tried it on I knew the search was over.

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Photography: Jeff Langhorne Weddings | enquires (at) jefflanghornephotography.com | (+44) 07970866134

Wedding Info
Wedding Date: 29th of March 2014

Church: The Leicester Cathedral
Reception: The Athena, Leicester, UK

Wedding Colours: Lilac, White, Silver, Black

Wedding Attire
Bridal Dress: Justin Alexander
Reception Dress: Jovani
Bride’s Shoes: Nicholas Kirk
Groom’s Attire – Suit, Tie, Shoes: Hugo Boss
Groomsmen Suits: Next

Vendors
Planner: Bride & bride’s mother
Cake: Sharons Sugarcraft
Flowers: Flower Fusion
Stage: Moshaz Stages
Other Decor: Athena Services
Food: Precious Catering
Drinks: Free Bar at the Athena
Sweet Cart: One Stop Wedding Shop
Photobooth: Jackstar Photobooth
Cars: 2 Rolls Royce Phantoms: Elegance & Prestige | Limo: Starcity Limousines
Gift bags: Shopping Bags Direct
Couple’s Monogram: Samson Mshelia
DJ: DJ Excell
Wedding Band: Frog Island Band
MC: Laolu Osinbanjo – @kidlucomedian
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