Pewaukee Wedding at The Ingleside Hotel

February 24, 2023

A beautiful and extravagant two-day Nigerian-American summer wedding in Wisconsin

How They Met

It was love at first swipe. Terrance and Chidera met on Tinder in August 2016. After several deep conversations on the app, they finally met in-person two months later on a warm October day. On their first date, Terrance picked Chidera up and gave her a single red rose as well as her favorite food, sweets. Their first stop was a pumpkin patch, where they navigated through a corn maze together. Afterward, they dined at a fancy restaurant where they were too nervous to realize they ordered the same customized cheeseburgers. Later, they ended the night in downtown Milwaukee where they walked along the shore of Lake Michigan.

Terrance and Chidera quickly realized that they had so much in common. They began to hang out three to four times a week and talk every day until they officially began dating in November. Early in their relationship, their date nights consisted of going to the movies, libraries, the mall, and participating in fun outdoor activities.

The Engagement

During the pandemic, Terrance contacted the Marcus Majestic Cinema to rent out a private movie theater to propose to Chidera in front of their friends. As a former film major, Terrance disguised the event as a red carpet movie premiere for one of his short films, which featured one of their close friends, Julio.

Terrance invited all his close friends to the event and told Chidera to do the same. Terrance told Chidera that everyone was dressing up. After the short film and movie, Terrance suggested they take pictures. As Terrance was tying his shoes, he pointed to Julio, who told Chidera he needed to adjust his camera’s focus to get clearer photos. When Chidera turned around Terrance on one knee with a ring! Totally caught off guard, Chidera, of course, said yes!

The Dress

The designer of Chidera’s wedding gown was Allure Bridals. She found her dream dress at Amelishan Bridal in Hubertus. Luckily, it was the first one she tried on in that store.

Before finding the dress, Chidera tried on eight different dresses in three stores. Her matron of honor, Tierra, helped her find a store that fit her vision. “I knew the dress was the one by how perfectly it fit me and the wonderful details within the dress,” Chidera said.

The Nigerian Ceremony

Terrance and Chidera had two back-to-back ceremonies and receptions on August 26 and August 27, 2022. On Friday night, they had their Nigerian wine ceremony, Igbankwu, in the Lake Country Ballroom at the Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee. Terrance and his family fully participated in Chidera’s Nigerian culture, which was very special to the couple. Their families even had dancing entrances in the beginning of the ceremony. Then there was the presentation of the kola nut, which symbolizes the bride’s family welcoming the groom’s family.

Later on, Chidera danced in with her asoebi girls, her close friends. The most important part of the traditional ceremony involves palm wine. Chidera’s father filled a cup (iko) with palm wine and passed it to Chidera while Terrance found a place between the guests. As Chidera danced, she looked for Terrance in the crowd while her asoebi ladies followed her. Once Chidera found Terrance, she offered the cup to him. When Terrance and Chidera drank the wine, they were officially married. Terrance put money in the cup and the couple danced back to Chidera’s father so he could pray over the couple.

Another element that made Terrance and Chidera’s wedding unique was the beautiful clothes everyone wore. A unique aspect of Nigerian weddings is that the guests spray the newlywed couple with dollar bills while dancing throughout the night to wish them a life filled with prosperity.

Terrance’s favorite part of the Nigerian wedding was Chidera’s outfits and watching her dance in with her asoebi ladies. Chidera’s favorite part was finding Terrance and drinking the palm wine with him.

The Nigerian Reception

The couple’s favorite part of the first reception at the Ingleside Hotel was watching the dancers and the traditional Nigerian flute player perform. The dancers had the two get up and dance with them. Chidera’s uncles danced during the flute player’s performance, which brought her and every guest feelings of pure joy.

The amount of guests wearing custom-tailored Nigerian clothing and participating in Nigerian culture brought the families together. Chidera had 17 asoebi ladies at her side, all of whom wore fuchsia Nigerian fabric and fuchsia head wraps. Terrance had 11 asoebi men who wore white clothing and fuchsia caps.

The American Ceremony

The next day, the American ceremony was held at St. John Vianney Parish in Brookfield, where they had a traditional Catholic wedding. The couple had so many guests show up to the church and felt overwhelmed with love. Terrance’s favorite moment was watching Chidera walk down the aisle with her father. Chidera’s favorite part was making her promises to Terrance at the altar. The way in which Father Alex, who is Nigerian and speaks Ibgo, officiated the wedding and the amount of people in our bridal party were unique. The priest invited guests who were married for at least 20 years to stand up during his homily.

In total, the couple had 20 people in their bridal party, which included the flower girls and ring bearer. They were surrounded by love the entire weekend and felt thankful for their family and friends who joined them.

The American Reception

There were so many favorite moments of the second reception! After the bridal party and newlyweds entered the room, they danced as a group to the song “Jump on It” by Apache. For Terrance and Chidera’s first dance, they chose a song that meant a lot to them, “Live It Up” by John Legend. They even had sparklers as they danced, which brought a lot of emotion to many guests. The couple was able to soak in the amazing day and enjoy each other’s company without interruption. At one point, guests of all different cultures danced to the song “Swag Surfin’” by Fast Life Yungstaz, which was extremely fun and special.

The Food and Drink

Terrance and Chidera wanted the food and drinks at their wedding to represent both of their cultures, African-American and Nigerian. The food was such a hit with all of the guests that their family and friends still talk about how wonderful it was.

For dessert, the couple got a four-tier traditional Nigerian cake and a five-tier American cake for the two weddings. Both cakes were custom-made by Simma’s Bakery, who made their vision come to life in the tastiest way.

The Couple’s Favorite Moments

The moment that has stuck with Terrance the most is the couple’s Catholic ceremony. “I was thankful for all the guests that showed up to the church. There were so many. I also loved the moment that my wife walked down the aisle with her father.”

For Chidera, she loved watching her husband and mother-in-law’s mother-son dance. “It was so beautiful and touching. I felt the love between them and within the room. While they were dancing, there were a lot of tears and respect.”

The Honeymoon

Terrance and Chidera embarked on a five-day carnival cruise to the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos.

Words of Wisdom from the Bride

“Take it one day at a time. It feels overwhelming in the beginning but if you start early, it is not that bad,” Chidera suggests. “Delegate tasks if you can to family and your bridesmaids.”

Wisconsin Wedding Vendors:

Wedding Vendor Service Website Instagram
Wedding Consultant Event Design by Be @eventdesignbybe
Makeup Artist According to Larissa / FMA Beauty @accordingtolarissa / @_fmabeauty
Hair Stylist Becky Teal Hair @beckytealhair
Ceremony & Reception Venue St. John Vianney Parish / Ingleside Hotel @theinglesidehotel
Catering/Bartending Service Bisi African Restaurant / Randy’s GFS @bisi_restaurant_schaumburg
Cake/Desserts Simma’s Bakery @simmas_bakery
Flowers A Novel Arrangement by Amanda Leigh @anovelarrangement
Music/Entertainment DJ Spike/ DJ Martinez White
Transportation Blackline Limousines @blacklinelimousines
Photographer Gee Q Photos @gee_q_photos
Videographer Gee Q Photos @gee_q_photos
Wedding Gown Designer Allure Bridals @allurebridals
Bridal Boutique Amelishan Bridal @amelishanbridal
Formalwear Men’s Wearhouse / Etsy (Nigerian Wedding Attire) @menswearhouse
Rings Larson Jewelers / James Allen @larsonjewelers / @jamesallenrings
Rentals Sham Studios / Farid Khatib / Heavenly Creations Events @shamsstudio.wi / @heavenlycr8