THE Youth President, Olarokun Community Abule-Egba, Lukman Adebayo, recently hooked his long-time heartthrob, Oluwatoyin Rashidat, in an elaborate Nikkah ceremony at Solam Events Centre, Oluyole, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Lukman, an accountant at Doris Construction and Engineering Nigeria Limited, attracted a rousing crowd with some Lagos State government officials in attendance.
Chiffon is most commonly used in evening wear, especially as an overlay, for giving an elegant and floating appearance to the gowns. Yetunde Oladeinde looks at the effect when it is used as the bridal gown and other accessories required.
THE fabric, design and finishing of the bridal gown can make or mar that special day. It is therefore very important to choose something that you would feel comfortable and glamorous in to make it a memorable experience.
Interestingly, there are a number of bridal outfits that are made totally with the chiffon fabric that are simply irresistible. It usually connotes elegance and makes the bride look uniquely different. Alternatively, you can opt for a design that makes use of the chiffon and one or two other fabrics depending on your taste and what you set out to achieve on your special day.
The word Chiffon is the French word for a cloth or rag that is lightweight, balanced woven of alternate S- and Z crepe yarns. The twist in the crepe yarns puckers the fabric slightly in both directions after weaving, giving it some stretch and a slightly rough feel.
It is dynamic because it can be dyed to almost any shade, however, chiffon made from polyester can be difficult to dye. Under a magnifying glass, it resembles a fine net or mesh which gives chiffon some see-through properties. One other advantage of this lightweight, sheer fabric is that it is most commonly used in evening or formal wear.
To get the best from the chiffon ensemble, proper attention must be given because it frays easily and can be difficult to work with. When sewing chiffon, many crafters layer tissue paper in between the two pieces being sewn together. The tissue paper helps keep the fabric together, with the rough surface of the tissue holding the chiffon in place while it is handled. After sewing, the tissue paper can be carefully ripped out.
ON Saturday 21st December, 2013, Patricia Funmilola and Stephen Bankole tied the knot at the RCG Glory Tabernacle Ijapo-Estate, Akure, Ondo State. Reception was held at the Reverend Gbonigi Hall, Winnerss’ Guest Garden and Resort Centre, Henry Fajemirokun Street, Ijapo Estate, Akure, which started with songs of praise and ended with dancing.
The programme which started at 11:30am was attended by friends, families and dignitaries. The officiating officers at the reception were Engineer Akin Aragbaiye, who was the Father of the Day, while Dr.(Mrs)Esther Funmilayo Lambo was the Mother of the Day. The chairman of the occasion was Dr. Korede Christopher Aruwajoye (KC).
Do you want to be a blushing bride? If your answer is yes, then it means you must look so good to get a number of compliments that would make it a day to remember. Yetunde Oladeinde looks out for ways to be radiant on your wedding day.
EVERY bride wants to glow with elegance on her day. You can either achieve a wonderful effect on your own or make use of the services of a professional makeup artist to get the required transformation.
For a wedding makeup to last all day, you can brush a light translucent powder on areas of the face susceptible to shine. Today’s bride wants to show her beauty in a natural, sensual way. The makeup artist should therefore provide the bride with confidence and easy elegance that will be reminisced often.
A bride must have a natural shine that revolves on everything that she does on her day. Interestingly, recent trends in bridal makeup and hair show a preference for combinations that are soft and restrained.
The effect is sexier, romantic and less harsh.
No longer do the lips have to be lined heavily and matte foundation with loose powder applied. While this is traditional, today’s bridal makeup is more radiant and natural.
Here, it is better to wear a flawless foundation as a basis. This is so important, so that you get the picture perfect outlook in your wedding photos. It gives you a good foundation and even colour. You can choose from liquid foundations or cream-based compacts. Even mineral powder makeup is great for wedding make-up because it takes all day!
Eyes also need to look beautiful. Here you can make use of false eyelashes as part of your wedding makeup look. This will be your lashes, so they look nice and long. You also need to give your lips a hint of shine or light colour for a pretty pout. You need to remember that kissing lips will naturally lead to breathtaking beauty for your wedding makeup.
Turning out in a fantastic outfit with matching accessories can be a delight. Naturally, you feel grand and become the cynosure of all eyes. Yetunde Oladeinde takes a look at how you can make the bridal train your selling point.
A lot of ladies actually take the veil for granted. It is actually something you need to give attention too because it is the first thing anyone would notice as you step out in style.
Interestingly, it is something you can also make yourself, if you are the creative type. For the veil, you can make use of the tuile which is the most expensive choice in English netting .This netting is soft and silky and clings to the wearer. Regular tuile is stiffer than and holds its own shape.
Here, you need to be careful and choose finer weave tuile, not the large weave extra stiff version .You can also use any lace you like and you must make sure that the tuile is trimmed to the shape of the lace.
It is also very important to take care of what every other person in the bridal train would be wearing to get a total package that is worthwhile. One group you just cannot ignore is your bridesmaid. This season, you can make it a splash of bright colours.
Here you can make use of outfits in bold and bright colours like turquoise blue, purple, orange, fuchsia pink, yellow or red. Your chief bridesmaid can have a combination of more than one of the colours or she can opt for something unique and different. Proper planning as well as putting your overall budget into consideration helps you determine your options easily.
Mr. Vitus Nwanya, a manager with Elegant Strides Ltd, Lagos, recently took former Miss Veronica Ivoke of the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) to the altar at the Assemblies of God Church, Ikeja, Lagos.
When it comes to the economy, you find women doing well in small and big businesses. From the market to the board rooms, you find them carving a niche for themselves. Unfortunately, however, a number of these businesses only thrive for a short period of time, leading to the death of great dreams and discouraging budding women entrepreneurs. Yetunde Oladeinde got some women in business to talk about the problems, prospects and how women can build successful business.
TO be successful in all spheres of life requires hard work, dedication and understanding the rules. Many have achieved great heights in their businesses but there appears to be a number of odds facing female entrepreneurs in different parts of the country. The question on the lips of many is how they can they overcome the odds and what new skills needs to be learnt.
Folakemi Fatope, Director, Risk Management of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, believes that female entrepreneurs are dedicated but all that is required is support from necessary agencies locally and internationally. She also stressed that her boss, the Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido, is very passionate about female entrepreneurs who have proved themselves. “Encouraging the advancement of women is something that he is passionate about. In our institution, seven women currently serve as directors as opposed to one when he joined. So as the first Risk Management Director, this department actually came up as a result of the challenges faced recently in the banking sector.”
She recalled that it wasn’t quite easy stepping into a field that was considered a male area but she was determined to put in her best. “We also have other women as the director of branch operations, director in charge of medicals. During this period, we also established a Consumer Protection Department which takes care of literacy and complaints. In addition, we also have the Audit Department which is also new headed by another female director. “
Fotope discloses that “We found that there was no female representative on the board and this was not acceptable. Apart from this the Central Bank under Sanusi has been advocating for gender-friendly banking facility. So we launched this in August considering the peculiarities of the economy and the challenges. We have therefore insisted that the procedures should be gender-friendly as well as ensure that women’s access to finance is increased to around the N220 billion set aside by the Central Bank. Of this figure, 60 per cent has been earmarked for women and this comes to about 132 billion naira.”
On her part, Aisha Atta, Executive Director, Swan Elite, it is important to develop what she calls personal effectiveness skills. “This is needed to take responsibility for developing and managing yourself and the business. Here we are talking about your time, your relationships and support system. Other things you need to develop from time to time are your finance, your skills and other passions. This should be the concerns of the 21st century woman. Managing all this happily and hoping not to drop. You need to do a check list which would tell you how you are faring. You also need to ask yourself questions like how many appointments did you miss, do you spend time with your friend and if you spend quality time with your family.”
Atta notes that women must know how to manage their time to get result: “Most times, we invest all the time in everything and not ourselves. The result is frustration and feeling that the family and people around us are ungrateful. We need to be self-full, proactive and not wait for others. Highly proactive people rise above the circumstance. When you are relaxed, you think properly. You also need to manage your time properly and focus on the important task. There are a number of things that are unique but not important. Sometimes, what you need to do is to delegate the chores and take a break. It is also important to know how to manage the people in our lives. You can even rate them as most tasking, most draining and most fulfilling.”
Atta continues: “The people around you are your team. Find out what their skills and talent are, set effective goals and targets. Also, you need to find out what you need to do to get them to do what you want. You should also learn how to manage poor performance and not overload those who are performing. You also need to find out what motivates them because some people thrive on competition, or money and other incentives.”
For Angela Ajala, the National President of Business and Professional Women in Nigeria, proper planning, networking and mentoring can make a difference. “Our organisation believes in supporting women to grow their businesses at all different levels as vital to their empowerment. BPW partners with the International Trade Centre (ITC), Commonwealth Business women, International Organisation of Employers (IOE) to increase the share of procurement secured by women vendors from 2011 to 2020 and bring greater economic benefit to women and their communities.
“We encourage more women on boards and in senior decision-making roles. We are also part of the development of gender-based procurement programmes with the aim to increase participation on the ITC Global Platform for Action. Our core initiatives are the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPS) Equal Pay Day and Women Trade and Entrepreneurs. The WEPS is a joint initiative of The UN Women and the UN Global pact. We promote these principles through BPW’s large network of affiliates in more than 100 countries across the world. The WEPS provide a seven-point blueprint to empower women as well as offer a practical approach to advance women and point to a positive future for all.”
Living a balanced life, keeping mind and body in good state, she advised, is also very important. “It is important to think about a good night’s sleep as more of an investment and not an expense. There is some research that says if you get a good night’s sleep that is what helps your brain encode and retain all the things you learn the day before. More work gets done with a solid night’s sleep.”
Hajia Amina Ahmed, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) advises women to carve a niche for themselves and be credible in whatever area they find themselves. “NEITI is an agency enacted by law to ensure transparency in the oil and gas sector. We started operations in 2004 and in 2007 a law was established to make it legal. We strongly believe that the national resources from the sector should be used positively. At the moment, Nigeria is on the course to fight the resource cause and we need reforms in the oil and gas sector to ensure that the revenue accrued is used and not wasted. This way we can provide a better future for the younger generation.”
ADEFOLAKEMI Adeniyi has won the 2013 Austin Adeusi Adesuyi’s Award for Entrepreneurial Leadership organised by Take Risk Initiative in Lagos.
Adeniyi, a career pharmacist at a Primary Health Care Centre in Alimosho helped in the rehabilitation of the centre, restoring a local council pharmaceutical department and got companies to donate drugs to cater for the less privileged patients.
She emerged winner among the three finalists.
“I have resolved to always make a difference anywhere I find myself so that Nigeria will truly become a great and prosperous nation,” she said, “I am happy with this award because I never knew that I would be honoured for this gesture as I did it to bring smiles to the downtrodden in the society. Everday, I see patients coming to the centre and they could not afford to take their medications because of their financial status and there = was a burden in my heart to help”.
Adefolakemi noted that private participation in the development of the primary health centers across the country is key and very germane in responding to the public health crises of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other ailments.
Earlier in his presentation, the Vice President of the TakeRisk Initiative, Praise Nkor said that the challenges around us are opportunities for young people to look inward and proffer workable solution that are safe for today and suitable for tomorrow’s world.
Nkor noted that Nigeria is faced with infrastructural challenges, insecurity, and inadequate finance for youths to grow their business. He, however, noted that: “There is hope for young minds with requisite skills and godly character.These people consciously or unconsciously take bulls by the horn and believe that the policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.”
Are you looking forward to a fantastic Christmas wedding with all the trimmings? If you are, then there is no need to hesitate because this is the most wonderful time of the year. Yetunde Oladeinde looks at how you can bask in the euphoria as a Christmas bride.
A time when you can be sure that your family is gathered around you and the church is already decorated? Many would be drawn to its technicolour lights, grand sense of tradition and elaborate ornamentation. Above all, the spirit of togetherness magnifies what’s already supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life. Red and green are natural colours for a Christmas wedding. It is likely that your church or reception site will already be decorated in red and green for other events and parties.
You can actually explore other possibilities instead of limiting your choice to this palate. Other possibilities, which will work with existing decorations, include:
Your bridesmaid and bridal train: it would be great to dress them in your wedding colours, give them long wraps or sparkly accessories, all of which will help evoke your theme.
For the wedding cake, having each tier look like an individually wrapped package is a popular look that is perfect for a Christmas wedding. You might also do a take on a buche noel or yule log, with a tiered chocolate cake. The wedding invitation cards should also reflect the season and your theme.
A Christmas wedding dress may not be different from any other kind. The most important thing is to wear an outfit that flatters you most, and top it off with a long red velvet cape. You can also embrace the trend of colour in wedding dresses by adding a beautiful red silk sash to the waist of your gown, a dress with lots of sparkly beads and sequins, cluster of crystals or a chic floral sash to evoke the power of the season.
Apart from the wedding day, you can also reflect Christmas in the planning of the engagement and introduction ceremonies.
Since people make plans for the holidays early and often have many parties and events to attend at this time of year, you’ll want to send your invitations a little bit early. You might also consider “save the date” cards in addition to the invitation cards, which will ensure that those most important to you will be able to attend.
EUNICE Temilade Akande recently got married to her heartthrob, Fredrick Ayodeji Richard. The glamorous wedding took place at the First Baptist Church Ifosan, Ilesa, Osun State while the reception was at Highway Hotel Hall, Imo, Ilesa.
Dignitaries and families who attended the wedding were Rev Amos Fenwa, Mr. Femi Kolade, Deacon A.A Kadewole, Deacon P.A Agberomade, Dr .M.A Olusina , Dr. Femi Adeyemi, Reverends E.O Dada, I.B.A Awokojo, Pastor(Mrs.) Oyegoke, among others.