This summer I had the pleasure of being a guest at a beautiful wedding between Odi and Jennifer. The venue was breathtaking. The bride glowed from head to toe. My favorite thing about the occasion was how the events represented the couple's personality. The joy that they felt was obvious and contagious. Thank you Jennifer for being kind and open to sharing your #joyseries with us.
Briefly introduce yourself to our readers My name is Jennifer Ighene Agenmonmen, I recently moved to the United States after my wedding in August , settling into my new home and it has been bliss.
How long was it between your engagement and your wedding? About 2 – 3 months. The engagement was in February, the Traditional was in April, and the white wedding in August.
You had a destination wedding, how stressful was it to plan from a distance? So, for the traditional wedding I wasn’t stressed at all; my sister has an event planning company, The Yvents company, and she did literally everything. All I did was pick out what my hubby and I were going to wear, and didn’t really get involved in any serious planning and preparation until like a week till the traditional wedding date. For the white wedding, my husband, his family and friends live in Austin,Texas and they all helped in planning that. So even though I was a lot more involved in the planning of the white wedding, the planning was made easier with their help because I didn’t know where anything in Austin was located so I was able to get recommendations from google, theknot.com and referrals from his family and friends. If I didn’t have their help I may have just said “you know what, I really cannot do this, let’s just go to a court house, I’m done!” (Laughs)
What was your skincare routine before engagement? Did you change your skincare routine before your wedding? Yes, I’m typically low maintenance about my skincare, but after my traditional wedding I started paying more attention. I started using lotions that had SPF. I started using moisturizers at night before going to bed, instead of just showering and going to bed like I normally do. I actually started doing facials, and moisturizing a lot. I also drank a lot of water. My husband and I actually had a daily competition to see who could drink the most water. It was all part of ensuring that my skin was glowing on the day of the white wedding. I think that was the best my skin has ever looked.
Breakdown of skincare routine I have combination skin and I tend to get dry so I use mild cleansers on my skin. I use scrubs once a week, and moisturize regularly. During the day I use a moisturizing cleanser and a moisturizer with SPF, and at night I use a moisturizer without SPF in it.
Who designed your wedding gown? It was designed by Purple Lagos. I got my dress done in 6 weeks (laughs). Purple Lagos even said, “I don’t know how you’re going to do this oh! We’ll be praying for you.” (Laughs) But she came through.
Besides your dress, the exchanging of vows, which were all beautiful, you had a flash mob. That was so cool! Why did you guys decide to do that? That was all my husband. He loves that song (Bank Alert – PSquare). There’s a dance routine on YouTube. He would always play it and dance with his nieces, and one day he said, “you know, we should do this at the wedding.” So, he sent the video to family and friends. Practicing the dance routine was actually a way for us to destress during the wedding planning.
Most memorable moment of your day Don’t want to sound cliché, but I’ll have to say it was walking down the aisle. It almost felt like an out-of-body experience. I was like, this is really happening (laughs). Also, the balloon release was another great moment, the dancing, my brother-in-law sang… there were so many great moments, but walking down the aisle was definitely the most memorable.
What song did you have your first dance to, and why did you choose that song? Well one day we were going through songs, and that song (Religious – Neyo) was everything we wanted in a song. Then we danced to it and we knew we had found “our” song.
Where did you go on your honeymoon? We went on a cruise and we to Cozumel, Mexico. My favorite day was our trip to Passion Island. It was so beautiful. The water and sand were so beautiful. We even had a couple’s massage while we were there. I believe my husband even slept through it (laughs)
Being a recent bride, what skincare tips can you share to the newly engaged or brides-to-be? It’s a myth that only people with dry skin should moisturize. Everybody should moisturize! Also, SPF is very important, no matter where you live. The difference was clear after I started moisturizing regularly and using SPF. Finally, drink water!
Looking back now, could you share wedding day advice to our soon to be brides Have a team! I tend to do things last minute, but I was able to do that because I had a really good team. Also find good vendors. Find vendors that will help you, make life easy for you, and make your wedding memorable. Finally budget wisely. Don’t blow your entire budget early on big ticket items, because you will definitely need money to deal with last minute items.
Special thanks to all the vendors who made our day exceptional
#theJOYseries
Couple - @ourjoyseries
*Traditional wedding* Event Planner - @theyventscompany Photo Booth and Entertainment services - @photogenic_photobooth Décor - @524events Make up - @beautycookstudio Hair - @dbeautylounge2 Green dress - @stylistabymaureen Aso-oke - @bimmms24 Venue - @randekhigold
*White wedding* Dress - @purplelagos Hair & Make up - @ebbysbeautyempire Flowers - @pearlsandsapphire Photo Booth and Entertainment services - @photogenic_photobooth MC - @fantertainmentng Marquee lights - @marqueehouseofletters Cake - @sweettreatsbakery Venue - @vintagevillas
