Love from the First Date! #BBNWonderland Bride Antoinette and Christopher’s Amazing Wedding & Love Story

Antoinette met Christopher on October 1st 2015, and exactly one year later, she was a bride-to-be at Wonderland!

The memories of #BBNWonderland – Baileys Nigeria and BellaNaija Weddings’ enchanted event on October 1, 2016 still have us smiling from ear to ear, and we smile even harder when we see the brides-to-be are now married.

We loved meeting the 30-plus beautiful, accomplished and unique #BBNWonderland brides from all over Nigeria, and we are happy to celebrate with them on their weddings.

#TheQueenAndTheCaptain are both from Etsako in Edo State. Here’s their love story and beautiful wedding and amazing love story.

Baileys Nigeria and BellaNaija Weddings wishes Antoinette and Chris a beautiful and blessed life as One.

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~ Photography: B.lawz StudiosOur Love Story
from Antoinette
Where do I start really? How about the day we spoke. October 1st, 2015. I had received a call from a friend asking me if I had a boyfriend and telling me one of his friends wanted my number. Initially, I was like “Gosh. These boys have come again”. I had been single for 4 years – I knew what I wanted from God, I was sure of his promises for me and I wasn’t going to settle for anything less. So I asked the basics –

What’s his name? Surname?

Where did he see me?

What exactly does he want?

Is he a Christian and I don’t mean church-goer?

What does he do?

Is he fine?

Lol! I was a bit skeptical but I gave my friend the permission to give this “new guy” called Chris my number. After the phone call, I proceeded to wear my Detective Cap immediately. Google to the rescue! I didn’t find much except for his LinkedIn profile. Bummer.

I had thought Chris would act like the typical boy who would take ages to call (after begging for your number o! Forming will now start. Idongerrit) but he called me almost immediately. We clicked. Which is something rare for me especially with “prospective toasters”. Maybe it was due to the fact that he asked if he could take me out for a “meal” and I was like, what age are you from please? Who still uses the word “meal”? Are you a vampire? Lol. He called me razz and said it was Jand (England) English. Right.

Wow, I’m only on the day we spoke still? Okay, let me speed this up a little…
So I agreed to going out for a meal with Chris and we set a date. He came to pick me up and the first thing I noticed was his very “yellow” hand. Then my eyes travelled up to his face. Niiiice. I liked what I saw. Totally different from his LinkedIn profile photo (Thank goodness, he has changed it now. I made sure of it). Talking to Chris felt… natural. We were so real around each other and it really was the best date I had ever been on. Chris went straight to the point about his intentions and I was attracted to his boldness. I felt at peace about this guy, something I had never felt before. By the time he dropped me home, we both didn’t want to leave each other’s sight.The next couple of weeks was like a whirlwind. We spoke on the phone A LOT! (Gosh, I wonder how we did it then) mainly because our relationship was pretty much “long distance” – he lived on the mainland part of Lagos while I lived on the island. If you live in Lagos, you know that’s long distance. But that helped our relationship. We made sure to spend time on weekends. I was attracted to his personality – especially his love for God which showed in his actions. I always prayed for an honest man with integrity that would not only respect my purity but protect it. I knew he was the One, and I knew he knew I was the One. Haha. Our love grew deeper and 3 weeks later, he officially asked me to be his girlfriend.Chris and I both knew we were going to get married afterwards. There’s no way in the world I would have said yes to being his girlfriend if I wasn’t sure he was going to be my husband. He asked me to marry him on the 8th of May, 2016. I was having the worst day and he asked to take me out so I could clear my head. I should have figured out what was about to happen because he was acting so weird. We were done eating and about leaving when my friend walked in. Immediately, it dawned on me and I started screaming. HAHAHA. He got down on one knee and I honestly don’t remember anything he said. Scratch that. I didn’t hear anything he said. Till he asked if I would marry him and I screamed, “Yes of course!”.

We said “Yes” to forever traditionally in November and in church on the 27th of December. I am certain our marriage will stand regardless of what may come because our foundation is sure and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life walking purposefully in the plans God has for us both.Our Love Story
from Christopher
It was September 2015 and I was single and searching (not even going to front. Lol). I had just gotten off the phone with my mom asking me when I would bring a lady home for marriage and I had said a prayer to Baba God to pick up my call, when I opened my Instagram. I saw this very interesting picture appear on my Explore page. I decided to click on the picture and found myself on Antoinette’s page. With every other click through more of her pictures, I became more curious to find out who she really was. Her posts were not typical and for someone who had so many “followers”, it didn’t seem like she was selling something.Already being very curious, I was faced with a dilemma. Should I DM her? Will that really be the best approach? Then through a stroke of luck (well, hard work actually because I went through virtually all her pictures), I saw a comment by a friend on one of her pictures. They seemed to be cordial, so I knew that was my inroad. (Meanwhile, she later told me that if I had gone through the DM approach, it would have been a NO NO. Thank God for saving me.)

Days later, I was having a telephone conversation with her and asking her out for a ‘meal’. Our first meal/date went very well and I hadn’t felt so comfortable with anyone on the first date. That’s when I started to have the feeling that something special could be brewing. I did my background check (you can’t blame me, this is Lagos) and I was very happy with the feedback. Antoinette ticked all the boxes for me.Few weeks later (including many hours spent on the telephone), we started dating officially. I genuinely believe it was the best thing that had happened to me and God caused our paths to cross that fateful morning I saw her picture on my Explore page. By the time I proposed in May, I had long known that Antoinette was the love of my life and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Fast forward to December and that journey began with me promising to always do right by my Queen (So help me, God). Cheers to a great future to us!White Wedding Traditional Wedding

My BBN Wonderland Experience
#BBNWonderland was such an amazing experience! I had gotten a couple of tags from some friends on Instagram and after putting it off for so long, I finally applied on one of those nights when sleep chose not to be my friend. Boy, am I glad I did. I had been through a lot of stress from planning my wedding myself and I sure was in need of some pampering. And pampering I got!

Baileys and BellaNaija went all out. From the invites to our stay at Intercontinental Hotel, everything was top notch. Reception, slumber party, fooooood, free makeup and hair by BM|Pro, lots and lots of goodies! Oh my. I felt like Royalty. Best part? I got to meet 30 beautiful ladies who were all so friendly and we’ve grown to all be supportive of each other. BBNWonderland is definitely one experience I would not be forgetting in a hurry.

Thank you so much Baileys Nigeria and BellaNaija.

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Pre-wedding, Traditional and Wedding Photography: B.lawz Studios | @blawz_

Additional Bridal Portraits: Oshewa Beauty | @oshewabeauty

Traditional Wedding Vendors
Videography: WJGB Weddings & Events | @wejustgotback
Makeup Artist: Oshewa Beauty | @oshewabeauty

White Wedding Vendors
Wedding Coordinator: Trendy BEEvents | @bisolatrendybee
Makeup Artist: Faces By Labisi | @facesbylabisi
Hair Extensions: Beesroots | @hairbybeesroots
Hair Styling: Tasala HQ | @tasalahq
Reception Dress: Purple Lagos | @purplelagos
2nd Reception Dress and Bridesmaids Dresses: Bee Creationz | @beecreationz