CIVIL WEDDING
22.06.2024
Saturday June 22nd we tied the knot at the city hall & celebrated by getting some bubble tea and coffee in the city with our family!
TRADITIONAL EDO WEDDING
22.06.2024
Later that same day, we went to Sofie’s family home and had our traditional ceremony.
Following Edo tradition, Endurance was presented a couple of young ladies covered in cloth as a test to see if he recognised his fiancee. He passed!
After 4 hours of putting on native beads, each applied with a prayer, Sofie made her way downstairs. Aunties, young women and children alike sang their way through the house and into the living room. Endurance identified Sofie as his bride and lifted her red veil.
After that, the bride price was paid and Sofie’s dad sat her on Endurance’s lap 7 times, officially giving her over to him. This was especially emotional since Sofie’s dad had done a lot of effort to come despite his illness.
What has supposed to be a small ceremony, turned into a full living room of elders, ministers, aunties and uncles excited to bless our union. It was truly a blessing!
CHURCH WEDDING
31.08.2024
Saturday August 31st our marriage was blessed in St.Jozef church in Kapellen, by Reverend Blessing and Pastor Koen.
The ceremony was of both Protestant and Catholic character, symbolising our ecumenical upbringing and non-denominational love for Christ. It was such a full circle moment for our marriage to be blessed by the same pastor who has known Endurance since he was a baby, and who happens to be the father of the person who matched us (shout out to Praise)!
We felt so incredibly grateful to be surrounded by all our loved ones, who have supported our relationship through the years with kindness, goodwill, and most importantly - Christ-like love.
WEDDING RECEPTION
31.08.2024
Later that day we made our way to the beautiful Domein Byckhove. It was Sofie’s dream to get married at a magical venue like this, so a big thank you to our parents for making it happen!
After Rosetta graced us all with her beautiful voice to praise God, crying to speeches that came straight from the heart, having our first dance to Yebba’s Heartbreak, and cutting the cake, we changed into our Aso Oke and the party started!
We were escorted by our incredible bridesmaids and groomsmen to Aye by Davido, which was iconic in every way. We danced with everyone that has ever made our lives special. Childhood friends, high school friends, uni friends, you name it. When the traditional live band started playing, our families, aunties and uncles, even elders joined us. But we think it’s safe to say the ones who truly stole the show were those who weren’t even part of our culture but completely embraced it anyway and let loose!
And just when we thought everyone had given it their all, we were proven completely wrong at the afterparty.
Well, of course… except for the groom. He was knocked out on the couch the whole time. Literally, iconic.
THANK YOU
We don’t even know where to begin with saying thank you.
Thank you to all the people who came, especially those who traveled from far. UK, Germany, France, Italy, the list goes on!
Special thanks to our parents for supporting us in literally every way possible.
It was a blessing to see you reap all that you have sown over the years and to celebrate how your labour was not in vain.
Special thanks to our bridesmaids and groomsmen, Eve, Nicky, Praise, Joshua, Vicky, Jah Rich, Sylvia, Gavin, Jesfred, Sam, Layla & Brent. You showed us the definition of true friendship, which reminds us of Kings 2:2 “Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.”
You stuck with us through it all, gave us so much of your time and effort, and supported us to the last second without any complaint. We are forever grateful and secretly counting the days until we get to return the favour ;)
Our ultimate thanks and praises go to God, who used this wedding for His glory in every way possible. We learned so much during this season, but the recurring theme was the continuous Joy that God gave us through it all.
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.