The Nation Newspaper

Category: Bridals

  • Music label managers should be honored, says Ilabe Doro

    Music label managers should be honored, says Ilabe Doro

    Our Reporter

    Doro-music group director, Yusuf Abdou Reny, popularly known as Ilabe Doro has said that music label managers around the world should be honored by award bodies for their immense contribution to the music business.

    The music executive made this known in a recent interview, he said “Music label managers play a key role in the music industry, the structure plan and pinpoint how works should be carried out in the company. It’s either they Influence it positively or they make the investors back out. Few occasions I have met the good ones and seen a lot of looters, very few of them want the growth of the label or artiste others are there to extort the company.

    The doro-music gang has had a couple of label managers both good and bad but that’s left for another day. A lot of responsibilities and division of labor are structured around the chain of music content and artiste branding most of this work is overseen by the label manager I think it’s high time this award bodies begin to also congratulate and honor the managers and other hands of the chain to encourage and motivate their works with that we can have diligent hands that would put in more efforts to actualize this aim”, said Doro.

    READ ALSO: Record label owner urges growth in Nigerian music space

    He however noted that the music business is growing in Africa currently adding that all hands must be on deck to keep up the good work.

    Doro-Music label has managed several artist in the Nigerian music industry including popular singer, Lyta.

  • 5 ways to know she’s ready for you to propose

    Even though the old saying goes “when you know, you know,” there are certain signs that it’s time to pop the question that you should look for. Here are ways to ensure she wants you to propose.

    1. She talks about your future together: This is one of the biggest signs your girlfriend wants to take your relationship to the “next step” and get engaged. If she constantly talks about your life together, possibly including buying a house, having children, moving somewhere, etc., she can definitely see a future with you and her being so open about this probably means that she wants you to propose.

    2. She brings you to every family gathering: If you two get married, you will officially become a part of each other’s family. If your girlfriend has been thinking about getting married, she’s probably made efforts to invite you to her family get-togethers. She wants her family to get to know you and vice-versa because she knows that if you get married, you’ll be part of this family! If your girlfriend is obviously pushing to include you in her family, this could be a sign that she wants you to officially join the family, meaning she wants you to propose.

    Read More: Why Nigerian men delay marriage proposals

    3. She starts the ‘baby’ talk, even if on a lighter note: This is one topic that even some married couples struggle to address. If your girlfriend randomly drops hints about how she likes babies or shares about her ideas of motherhood, it means she is comfortable talking about children with you. Remember, motherhood is not an easy topic to talk about with anyone unless a woman is comfortable with the person.

    4. She drops hints about how her friends are getting married: Does your girl keeps reminding you about her married friends and frequently expresses how happy she is for them? This might be a good sign that she looks at marriage with a positive attitude and takes inspiration from her married friends. It’s time to fetch the ring if she is surrounded by married couples and she loves spending time with them.

    5. She tells you: If she’s ready to get engaged, not all signs your girlfriend gives you will necessarily be “indirect.” In fact, she might just be straight-forward and tell you that she really wants to get engaged to you. This “sign” is difficult to misinterpret – there’s really no denying that she wants you to propose.

  • YETUNDE WEDS SEUN

    YETUNDE WEDS SEUN

    Family and friends gathered recently at Ijero Ekiti, Ijero local government in Ekiti State to celebrate the marriage between Yetunde and Seun on July 26th, 2014.

    It was a fun-filled day with the reception decorated in the colour theme, blue and yellow.

    Seun and Yetunde first met at Holy Child Catholic Secondary School, Ado-Ekiti.

  • Lifestyle Blogger wins N15 million wedding

    Lifestyle Blogger wins N15 million wedding

    POPULAR wedding reality show, My Big Nigerian Wedding (Season 1), finally saw the lucky couple Yemisi Aiyedun and Yomi Odusanya walk down the aisle with glam and fun fair recently at a wedding event that cost N15 million to put together.

    My Big Nigerian Wedding is a reality show organised by Akin Eso, the organiser of Africa’s biggest wedding exhibition, Wed Expo. The show is for intending couples and all those who are planning their weddings.

    Popular video blogger, Yemisi Aiyedun, and her fiancé, Yomi Odusanya, however, emerged winners of the show among several hundreds submission. Yemisi Aiyedun, popularly known as Sisi Yemmie, is a photographer and a Vlogger (Videoblogging). She produces videos by herself for her YouTube channel (Sisi YemmieTV). She has a Master’s degree in International Diplomacy from the University of Birmingham and a Diploma in Internal Communications, PR Academy London.

    According to the organiser of the show, My Big Nigerian Wedding came about as a way of giving back to Nigerians. “This show is for intending couples or those who are already planning their wedding. Wed Expo is to make our wedding planning, budgeting and other aspects of the wedding a whole lot easier and that also is the idea behind My Big Nigerian Wedding, especially for the winners of the show.”

    Speaking further on My Big Nigerian Wedding, the organiser said, “Season 2 of the show is coming soon and this time there would be both a Lagos wedding and an Abuja wedding. The goal is to make the dream of a lucky couple come through each year. Registration for Season 2 will be only at WED Expo – Nigeria’s Largest Wedding Exhibition which will take place from October 10th to 12th at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos and in Abuja from October 17th to 19th at M and M Event Centre. This will enable all contestants benefit from future discounts of vendors attending the expo and will pave way for the right accreditation before the contest moves online.”

    The winners of the show were given the wedding of their dreams including a honey moon package in Dubai. Every aspect of their wedding was taken care of by the organisers of the show. The bride’s makeup was done by Banke Meshida-Lawal of BM Pro, cake was by Cakes by Tosan, the wedding attire was by Mai Atafo, pictures were taken by Kelechi Amadi Obi, decor was by Nwandos signature. The wedding which will be produced by Riverside Production into

    a reality TV series is expected to hit TV screens across the country soon.

  • Rings of love

    Rings of love

    Ring shopping with the groom to be? Adetorera Idowu takes you through  the different types of diamond rings to make the right choice.

    The most popular shape is the Round Brilliant-cut diamond. It is a classic with 57 facets which makes it sparkle brilliantly.

    The Princess-cut, is the second most popular shape. Princess cut diamonds are square or somewhat rectangular in shape with pointed corners and different facets that increase the diamond’s inherent sparkle.

    The Emerald-cut diamond has long, lean lines. The rectangular cut, has a larger top surface and fewer facets.

    The remarkable Asscher-cut, has recently become quite popular among more modern couples in Nigeria. It is often described as a square emerald.

    The Radiant-cut is relatively scarce and appeals to those seeking a unique look.

    The Cushion-cut has been popular for more than a century. Its rounded corners and larger facets increase the stone’s brilliance.

    The Marquise shaped diamond when worn, creates an elongated, slender look. Cleverly, it also maximizes carat weight, giving the appearance of a larger diamond than a round diamond of the same carat weight.

    The Pear shaped diamond resembles a teardrop that combines the soft, rounded end of an Oval shape with the sharp point of a Marquise-cut.

    Similar to a classic round diamond, Oval diamonds deliver a beautiful brilliance. The elongated shape adds an interesting twist to rings and accentuates the hand to create a slender look.

    The fancy-shaped Heart diamond is for the confident woman who is all heart. While sometimes selected for engagement rings, it makes a beautiful choice for pendants in fancy colors such as yellow, pink or red.

  • What to expect on your wedding night

    What to expect on your wedding night

    It’s been a long, tiring journey, planning for your wedding. The running around, the planning, the actual wedding day; it will all take a toll on you and your beloved mentally, emotionally and physically. By the end of your wedding day, you’ll be tired though chances are you might not even feel it.

    Our plan for the honeymoon night was dinner, lots of cuddles, massage, plenty of rest and sleep. But things didn’t’ go according to plan! The saving grace was that we’d talked about slowing down so we were able to extend a lot grace to ourselves later.

    “Slowing down” is easy to say, but not so easy to follow through when you feel like you’ve been waiting forever! So, you’ll need to discuss with your husband-to-be and be on the same page. Don’t get into intimate details but have a rough idea how the evening will play out.

    For example, a typical wedding ceremony might last the whole day. Afterwards, a couple will have a long drive or flight to their honeymoon destination. There’s only so much you can do after being awake and active for almost twenty-four hours. There’s no hard and fast rule but if you can plan to ease into intimacy, the better the evening/night will be.

    Past sexual experience will not make you a “pro” on your wedding night. If anything, you have a lot to unlearn and lots to learn. Also on this first night, you’ll want to err on the side of less “wow”. Most grooms want to wow their brides on the wedding night, many brides want the night to be memorable and intimate and scoring a 10 out of 10.

    But sometimes super high expectations can set you up for serious disappointment when things don’t go according to plan. It’s so much easier when you come to your wedding night wearing a learner’s hat because learners don’t have anything to lose but everything to gain. So, prepare to become a student of your spouse, not just on the wedding night, but for the rest of your married life.

    Begin to ask God to do a deep work in you now, to change you and transform you. It’s easy to feel clumsy and foolish, easy to begin to think that you’ll never learn anything. Actually, there’s a little truth in there; you will always be learning something  better get comfy in that student seat!

    Making love can be awkward, messy and hilarious! Doing it for the first time can be twice as awkward, twice as messy and twice as hilarious!

    There’s no other place where wives hope their husbands will read their minds the most like the marriage bed. And you’ll discover this on your wedding night where you sort-of hope he will figure out your body all by himself without a lot of input.

    The reality of the matter is that you are learning your own body too (and his), so it’s not like you are expected to deliver a whole thesis. So you’ll need to begin to learn how to communicate and engage, to let him know what’s going on with you.

    And in order to let him know what’s going on with you, you’ll need to understand what’s going on with you. Don’t fall for the lie that “he’s the man, he’ll figure it out.” He won’t figure it out because he doesn’t live in your brain. And even if he did, his brain works very differently!

    One of the things you need to begin to learn on your wedding night is to rein in your thoughts and concentrate on the moment. So you want to get a resource and learn something. Begin to unlearn untruths and learn the truth.

    The first night might be uncomfortable, but that’s all it is (or should be). The wedding night is not the end, but the start of your life together.

    You don’t have to have a perfect wedding night. In fact, most couples will tell you that they did not have a picture perfect wedding night. But they loved it anyway.

    With all the embarrassments and little issues, it was the start of their married life and they wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. There’s so much to be grateful for and so much to look forward to.

    Real intimacy in marriage is not just about sex. It’s about connecting in all areas – mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Hopefully, you’ve been connecting in all these other areas (minus the physical) before your wedding night. Work on building your friendship during engagement and courtship, because it’s connecting in these other areas that makes sex beautiful.

  • Intimacy in a unique destination

    Intimacy in a unique destination

    It’s a time for the couple to relax and spend some romantic quality and intimate time together in a very special location. Adetorera Idowu looks at the top destinations for the most memorable honeymoon.

    A honeymoon is the traditional holiday taken by newlyweds to celebrate their marriage in intimacy and seclusion. Today, preparation for the honeymoon can be simple or elaborate depending on the resources available. The basic aim, however, is to make it a destination considered to be romantic and exotic by the lovebirds.

    This is the period when newlywed couples take a break to share some private and intimate moments that help establish love in relationship. This privacy in turn is believed to ease the comfort zone towards a physical relationship, which is one of the primary means of bonding during the initial days of marriage. The earliest term for this in English was hony moone, which was recorded as early as 1546.

    In Western culture,  the custom of a newlywed couple going on a holiday together originated in early 19th century Great Britain. Upper-class couples would take a “bridal tour”, sometimes accompanied by friends or family, to visit relatives who had not been able to attend the wedding. The practice soon spread to the European continent and was known as voyage à la façon anglaise (English-style voyage) in France from the 1820s on.

    Today, a honeymoon is an opportunity for newlyweds to get away from the stress of everyday life, the stress they encountered from planning their wedding and attention they received from family and friends regarding their marriage. Below are some interesting destinations that would make your honeymoon memorable and interesting:

    1.        Bora Bora

    2.            Goa

    3.            Anguilla

    4.            Bali

    5.            Zanzibar

    6.            Seychelles

    7.            Kailua Kona, Big Island of Hawaii

    8.            Mauritius

    9.            Maldives

    10.          Fiji Island

  • Top things to do after you get engaged

    Top things to do after you get engaged

    He popped the question, you’re over the moon. Adetorera Idowu shares top 10 things to do right after he proposes.

    Spread the good news

    This is the first task; telling your parents about it, then your friends and relatives. Because no one likes to be the last to know, you have to pick up the phone to call them all one by one to share the exciting news. You do not want to let your family hear about it through an update on social media. Set aside time and money to make the call, starting from you nuclear family, of course.

     

    Insure your ring

    Some people don’t see the need for this, but if something happens to your ring, you are going to wish you had it insured. Your ring is a treasured item and although nothing can replace it’s sentimental value and you may not get the exact same type if it gets lost, but at least you can get your (or his) money back. So make a call to your insurance broker to find the right type of insurance cover for your ring.

     

    Sign up for marriage classes

    It’s important to still keep sight of the big picture (the marriage) and think beyond the wedding which is just a day. Marriage classes are usually organised by the local churches and are sometimes mandatory. Attending these classes gives the couple insight into the new institution they are entering.

     

    Have an idea of the date

    Before you announce to the world that you are finally engaged, make sure you have an idea of when the wedding will be. After “congratulations” and “let me see your ring,” here’s the first thing people will ask: “When’s the wedding?” It’ll save you a lot of headache if the two of you come up with a vague-yet-specific answer, like “Early Next Year” it will save you a lot of stress having an answer for them.

     

    Create a wedding blog

    It is also a good idea to set up a wedding website or blog to keep everyone up to date on your upcoming wedding. One the site, you can share your ‘how we met’, “how he proposed” and also post photos, write your “how we met” story, have a guestbook and interact with so many people. It will answer all the questions that people may want to ask.

     

    Start saving

    If you haven’t done so already, start saving with your significant other. Even if you might not know exactly how much your wedding will cost, it’s a pretty good bet that it will be expensive. The sooner you start saving, the smaller the amount per month you need to save. You can then make a wedding budget out of the money already saved. This is particularly helpful if your parents don’t have much to contribute to your wedding or you want to be able to afford some things yourself. Remember that even a simple, small wedding costs money (and sometimes a lot more money than you would ever imagine). A wedding savings account is an easy way to keep cash accumulating for the big day, so you don’t have to rely solely on your parents and contributions from friends.

     

    Star drawing up your guests’ list

    Ask your parents (and his) for their ideal guests’ lists. Before you start putting a number on how many guests you want, it’s time to ask both your parents about whom they’d most want to invite. Be sure to tell them this is just a preliminary list and things might change. After you have their “dream” lists, you can add and edit and trim. With this, you will have an idea of how many people may attend your wedding.

  • Marriage in Islam

    Marriage in Islam

    In Islam, marriage is considered both a social agreement and a legal contract. In modern times, the marriage contract is signed in the presence of an Islamic judge, imam, or trusted community elder who is familiar with Islamic law. The process of signing the contract is usually a private affair, involving only the immediate families of the bride and groom.

    Negotiating and signing the contract is a requirement of marriage under Islamic law, and certain conditions must be upheld in order for it to be binding and recognised. These include the following:

    •Consent  Both the groom and the bride must consent to the marriage, verbally and in writing. This is done through a formal proposal of marriage (ijab) and acceptance of the proposal (qabul). A first-time bride is usually represented in the contract negotiations by her Wali, a male guardian who looks out for her best interests. Even so, the bride must also express her willingness to enter into marriage. Consent cannot be obtained from those who are legally unable to give it, i.e. people who are incapacitated, minor children, and those who have physical or mental impairments which limit their capacity to understand and consent to a legal contract.

    •Mahr  This word is often translated as “dowry” but is better expressed as “bridal gift.” The bride has a right to receive a gift from the groom which remains her own property as security in the marriage. The gift is payable directly to the bride and remains her sole property, even in case of later divorce. The mahr can be cash, jewellery, property, or any other valuable asset. Either full payment or an agreed-upon payment schedule is required at the time of contract signature. The mahr may also be deferred until termination of the marriage through death or divorce; in such an instance the unpaid mahr becomes a debt against the husband’s estate.

    •Witnesses  Two adult witnesses are required to verify the marriage contract.

    •Prenuptial contract conditions  Either the bride or the groom may submit contract conditions which, if agreed upon, become legally-binding conditions of marriage. Often such conditions include agreements about the country of the couple’s residence, the wife’s ability to continue her education or career life, or visitation with in-laws. Any condition that is allowable in Islamic law is allowed to be entered, as long as both parties agree.

    After the contract is signed, a couple is legally married and enjoy all the rights and responsibilities of marriage. In many cultures, however, the couple do not formally share a household until after the public wedding celebration (walimah). Depending on the culture, this celebration may be held hours, days, weeks, or even months later.

  • Sandra hooks Kenneth

    Sandra hooks Kenneth

    MR. Kenneth Ebiaredo Ekiyor and former Miss Sandra Amarachukwu were recently joined together in holy matrimony at St Andrew Anglican Church, Ogudu-Lagos, in the presence of their parents; Bar. & Mrs. Godwin A. Ekiyor and Mr. & Mrs. Emmanuel Akwe. The colourful event was also witnessed by beautifully dressed family members, friends and well wishers.