As soon as I arrived on day one of Liz and Femi’s two day Nigerian and American wedding, I knew I was in for a wedding experience like no other! Day one was the first part of the two day celebration starting with their Nigerian wedding in Las Vegas at Adorn Events. Day two was their American wedding at The Lotus House.
On day one at Adorn Events I started with taking detail photos of the ceremony space. Next, we did Liz and Femi’s first look. It was lightly raining in Vegas this day, but the rain stopped in time for us to get in some portraits and do wedding party photos. Honestly, the cloudy weather really made the vibrant colors in their outfits POP!
Then it was time for their Nigerian wedding ceremony. Getting to photograph this ceremony was amazing because of all the special moments and traditions. I had a blast photographing all 90 minutes of it (you read that right), and since the whole thing felt like a party, it flew by!
Throughout the ceremony they did several Nigerian weddings traditions. One of those was the prostration. According an interview on The Knot, “Prostrating in Nigeria is often done during the traditional wedding, to show respect and reverence to older family members, normally to the bride’s family. . . . Usually, the groom and his male entourage are the ones who pull this off . . . While prostrating on the floor, the bride’s family would then pray for the success of the newly married couple.”
Another tradition that happened on both days was money spraying (money being thrown around during ceremony/receptions). According to the same article on The Knot, “money spraying is something done to show love to the newly married couple and to wish them wealth, prosperity and abundance. Oftentimes, guests will forgo wedding gifts and consider spraying their contribution to the couple.” There were also kids/teens who were nominated as “money pickers” and their job was to pick up the money and return it to the family member in charge of managing the cash.
Instead of kissing to declare that they’re married, at a Nigerian ceremony the bride places the groom’s hat on his head. This moment is when Liz and Femi are officially married!
After the ceremony, we did a few sunset portraits before going into the reception. Liz and Femi did their first outfit change of the weekend for the first part of the reception! More money was sprayed, speeches were given, and the cake was cut.
For the dancing part of the reception they did a THIRD outfit change! I can’t even decide which outfit combo I liked the most! Every outfit was so vibrant with intricate details!
The next day we woke up and did it all again! This time was an American style wedding at The Lotus House! You can see part two of their wedding at the Lotus House here!
Photography: Katelyn Faye | Venue: Adorn Events | Wedding Planner & Florals: Weddings By Leigh | Videographer: Lomax Wedding Films | Hair & Makeup: Glammed Up Vegas | Catering: Calabash African Kitchen | Event Installs: Byanca’s Event & Decor | Decor Rentals: RSVP Party Rentals | DJ: DJ Mo Blvd | Cake: Las Vegas Custom Cakes
I’m a local Las Vegas wedding and elopement photographer and I would love to be a part of your dream day! Head over to my contact page to get in touch!
After checking out their Nigerian wedding, head over to see day two of their wedding at the Lotus House here!
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