Although Adenike and Leland knew each other since their teenage years, their love connection did not spark until later.
They met in high school, ran on the same track team, and even had one class together, but they rarely shared any words with each other. They exchanged numbers upon graduating, but soon fell out of touch. Two years later, in 2009, Leland reached out to Adenike on Facebook, and they made sure to stay connected this time. Adenike shares, “In May of 2010, I came home from College for Summer Break and Leland took me on our first date to Myrtle Beach and the rest is history. Leland never gave up on pursuing me on social media, and I never would have thought of falling in love with THE LELAND BLAKELY a.k.a. LELOW. The one I knew from High School. God used Facebook to reconnect us together and we’ve been madly in love ever since.”
From the beginning of their relationship, Leland stated that he was going to Adenike, and on May 18, 2018, he made the leap. He decided to leave work early, decorated their apartment with rose petals and candles, Googled which knee to get down on : ), and surprised Adenike when she walked through the door.
For their wedding, Adenike wanted to feel and look like a queen, so they went with a theme of royalty incorporating the regal color of purple, and Leland’s favorite color red. Adenike was just stunning in an Eve of Midlady ballgown, and she made sure to incorporate her Nigerian culture throughout the wedding!
See all of the grand details below.
- Couple: Adenike & Leland Blakely
- Wedding Date: Jul 27, 2019
- Wedding Location: Doko Manor, Blythewood- Columbia, SC
How did you meet?
ADENIKE… Leland and I met when we were at A.C. Flora High school. We ran on the same Track team and also had one class together, but we rarely shared any words with each other. Leland graduated in 2006 and I graduated in 2007. We reconnected on MySpace after we both graduated. Leland sent me a message and we exchanged phone numbers. Apparently, at that time, it wasn’t meant to be because we lost contact.
Late 2009, Leland reached out to me on Facebook, we reconnected again and stayed in contact. We talked A LOT on the phone, getting to know each other. In May of 2010, I came home from College for Summer Break and Leland took me on our first date to Myrtle Beach and the rest is history. Leland never gave up on pursuing me on Social Media and I never would have thought of falling in love with THE LELAND BLAKELY a.k.a. LELOW the one I knew from High School (LOL). God used Facebook to reconnect us together and we’ve been madly in love ever since.
LELAND…Adenike and I attended high school together and ran on the high school track team, she was a long-distance runner and I was a sprinter. Some say I was as fast as lightning but I never claimed it..lol! Unfortunately, we never communicated during our high school time. Well at some point we had a class together and to hear her tell her version of the story apparently, I picked on her and made her cry one day ..lol, but I don’t remember it so to me it never happened. I graduated in 2006 while she followed in 2007.
In the Summer of 2007, I messaged her on a popular social media site at the time by the name of Myspace.com. We talked a few times, but I didn’t utilize my smooth-talking skills, so we didn’t quite hit it off. A few years later we reconnected on Facebook. We exchanged numbers and this time everything was different. We would stay on the phone for hours at night and text all day. It was as if I met my best friend.
Around the summer of 2010, she came to Columbia for the weekend taking a break from summer school and the rest is history. I fell in love with everything about her and her culture. I remember that same summer we were riding around Columbia, I looked at her as I said “I’m going to marry you one day” and we laughed it off and continued with our day. Every day after that I made it my mission to become her husband.
Tell us about the proposal.
ADENIKE…Since Day 1, Leland always told me that he would marry me one day, and every time he repeated it, I always shrugged it off but informed him if it’s meant to be, it will happen. On May 18, 2018, I came home from work still in my uniform (looking a hot mess), I opened the door and saw flowers spread out on the floor along with Brian McKnight music playing on the TV screen. I was really shocked and didn’t know what was going on. He walked me to the middle of the living room, expressed his love for me, got on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was laughing and crying at the same time while saying YES. It was the best day of my life!!!
LELAND…May 18, 2018, was the day I chose to ask this beautiful woman to be my wife. The week prior I had asked my close friends and coworkers for help. They flooded me with great ideas and places until we finally got it narrowed down to one place. I had everything planned out for that weekend.
On the morning of the 18th, I woke up and looked at the weather for the weekend. We had a huge storm brewing, I went into panic mode. I went to work for about half a day I couldn’t wait any longer. I told my coworkers I was leaving early so I can go set the house up. I came home and paced a hole in the floor for about 2 hours. Until I got myself together. I knew she would be getting home soon so I covered the house in rose petals and candles. I changed clothes about 10 times I was in a frantic mess. I saw her pulling up, so I quickly lit the candles and got the camera in place, Then I Googled what knee to get down on. I turned on the music and stood in the middle of the living room waiting on my Queen. She walked in the door and had the biggest smile on her face, I waited on her to walk toward me, I got down on my knee and asked her to be my wife. Of course, she said yes followed in crying and a lot of jumping up and down lol. I was so happy it went well because my heart was beating out my chest.
Tell us about your wedding!
The inspiration behind the wedding was a Royal wedding. I wanted to be extra and act like a Queen and which I did. My favorite color is Purple and my husband’s favorite color is red, so we decide to combine both colors together along with gold, and Javetta, our wedding decorator, made it happened. I am Nigerian, so it’s was only right to add my culture to the wedding by having the Royal wedding of my dream.
Let’s talk wedding decor. How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception?
For the ceremony, I kept it simple. For the reception, I wanted to go all out. I had separate seating decor for our bridal party. I didn’t do anything DIY, I’m not that creative, so I left everything to my decorator.
What were the florals like in your wedding?
We had real flowers, Javetta surprised me with that. I wasn’t expecting that (lol). The bouquets and centerpiece matches the theme color for the wedding. The flowers match what you will see at a Royal wedding.
Did you personalize the day in any way?
On the bride’s side, my family members wore Nigerian attire. We also had Nigerian meals and the DJ played Nigerian music. Our guests on both sides of the family had a great time and enjoyed seeing Nigerian cultures. My favorite part of the wedding was when my husband and I danced in and secondly was when my husband removed the garter from my thighs. My husband and I absolutely enjoyed the dancing and having a great time with our guests.
How did you both choose your wedding day look?
I wanted an ivory ball gown with sparkling and tiara. I found my wedding dress at Bridal’s by Lori. It was everything I could imagine. I didn’t have to do anything extra to do. It was like the dress was made just for me. My dress was made by Eve of Milady. I fell in love with their wedding gowns collection when I started following them on IG. My husband outfit was by Connaisseur Paris. We wanted to have the all-white look. We knew we would look fresh in it lol.
What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?
Our first look! It was everything. The look on my husband face when he first saw me. It was magical. He shed a little tear. And for me, it was like I fell in love all over again. He looks super handsome. The man of my dream.
Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you’d like to share with other couples planning their day?
I will advise make sure you do what YOU want to do. Don’t let ANYBODY make the decision for you. It’s your wedding day, so make it about you and your spouse. Make sure to have a wedding planner. At first, I wanted to do it by myself then I started stressing out too much. Thank God for our my wedding planner, it was a smooth planning. Also, always remember to put God first in your marriage.
Vendors
- Photography: Logan Jay Photography
- Second Shooter: John Sekyere Photography
- Wedding Planner: The Diva Wedding Planner
- Event Designer: Couture Events
- Event Venue: Doko Manor
- Specialty Foods: RM Enterprises LLC
- Lighting: Illuminations
- Cake Designer: Bonnie Brunt Cakes
- Second Shooter: B Lawz Studio
- Bridal Salon: Bridals by Lori
- Tuxedo and Men’s Attire: Connaisseur Paris
- DJ: DJ Majesty
- Makeup Artist: Make up by Joe Tijani
- Hair Stylist: Wake up by Coffee
We were so thrilled to participate on this sweet couple’s wedding day. All our love to them. :)