Karin & Eric’s Uniquely Chic Wedding in Chantilly

After noticing how many mutual acquaintances they shared on Facebook, and certainly feeling the allure of each other’s profile images, Karin and Eric decided to reach out and make the connection. Almost immediately a magnetism between them was evident, and the potential for something special was clear. Over time their love grew, as did their support and belief in each other. They both began to realize that they had found “the one.” For Karen it was Eric’s values and reverence for family that convinced her this man would be her husband. For Eric it felt as if a divine hand were guiding him to Karin. And on May 28th there love became forever, united as husband and wife before family and friends.

Read all about Karin & Eric’s love story, proposal, and experiences, in their gorgeous uniquely chic wedding in Chantilly.

Bride & Groom: Karin & Eric
Occupations: Special Events Manager/Designer/Fashion Stylist/Presenter & Information Security Engineer
Wedding Date: May 28, 2017
Wedding Location: The Bellevue Conference and Event Center, Chantilly, VA

Tell us how you met. Karin: “Ironically, we met on Facebook after noticing we had mutual friends. One day, he wrote me and we’ve been speaking ever since.”

Eric: “We met directly and indirectly through a mutual friend and through social media (Shout out to Facebook). We both have our own unique, distorted stories as to how we secretly had eyes for each other. Regardless of our versions of the story, we both somehow found each other and have been together ever since.”

Tell us all about the proposal. Karin: “I will never forget July 31, 2016; the day Eric proposed. He had just left church to pick me up from Union Station in Washington, DC. I had spent an amazing weekend in NY with two of my favorite aunts. One of my aunts flew in from Lagos, Nigeria and the other from Tampa, Florida; we enjoyed a weekend of shopping and theater. I was rather irritated that Sunday because I had received some disturbing news. On the car ride back to his house, I was venting to him about what irritated me. Although he was very supportive, I couldn’t help but to be annoyed by the smile on his face. I was wondering to myself ‘why was this man smiling after I just vented to him about what was bothering me?’ Once we pulled up to his house, I just wanted to get in my car and drive home. Then he reminds me that I left a few things in his house that I would need for work the next day. I then started walking towards his front door. He then says ‘Karin, you forgot something in my car.’ A ‘frustrated me’ turns around to see what I forgot and I see him reach in his pocket and get on his knee. So many emotions ran through my mind. I couldn’t believe it. Finally, the man of my dreams asked me to be his wife. With everything he said, all I could remember is he wants to build a family with me. I truly lost it when I saw my ring glistening. The man I was in love with chose me. It was my perfect proposal – intimate and a sweet surprise at a time when I truly needed to smile.”

Eric: “The proposal was done, randomly, on a day that I kept getting ‘signs’ to do so. My wife, girlfriend at the time, had actually gone out of town to New York and I was to pick her up from the train station later on in the afternoon. By that time, I had already purchased a ring and was planning on how I was going to propose. I was getting ready for church that morning and I kept seeing the same wedding commercial all morning on each television station I turned to. Joel Osteen’s televangelism program that morning was speaking to the joys of marriage during his sermon and his own individual experience in the courtship of his wife. And as if that wasn’t enough, as I started my car to head to church, the station my radio had been set to was on the topic of marriage. So at this point, I’m starting to think this is getting a bit out of hand. I ended up changing the radio stations in search of some music I wanted to listen to and I began hearing the same commercials I heard while in the house on each station. In retrospect, it could’ve been an excessive media campaign being that it was wedding season. But at that time, it was all the motivation I needed to go back in the house, get the ring, and make the decision to propose once I picked her up.”

How did you know they were “the one”? Karin: “I knew Eric was the one when he showed me the importance of family to him. He has values that are very important to me. He is a very caring person. He regularly went out of his way to do things for me; there were many times when I had to travel for work and the airport was 15 min from my house and over an hour from his. He would get up early before he had to be in the office and pick me up and drop me off at the airport so that we could spend time together before I traveled. That made it clear he enjoyed sharing time with me; that is very important to me. He is also my biggest cheerleader always encouraging me to go after my dreams. Eric truly loves me for me and that means the world to me.”

Eric: “I honestly don’t know if there was any specific or particular moment when I knew she was the one. However, the feeling at some point in our relationship was intuitive where I could see myself building a family with her. It was ultimately that feeling that led to my proposing to her.”

Describe your wedding style. Karin: “My wedding dress was uniquely perfect for me. Being a designer and fashion stylist with a unique sense of style I wanted something that was fitted with a flare. Detailing on both sides of my dress was asymmetrical; I loved it. My second outfit was a pants jumpsuit I designed with an extremely long train. Wedding shopping for me was whimsical. Being a fashion stylist shopping for me is always fun, but shopping for my wedding was exhilarating. I had never been wedding dress shopping and ironically the first time I went I found my dress while on vacation.”

Eric: “Wedding shopping was a bit more complicated than I would’ve liked it to be. My wedding tux and shirt were purchased from Gucci (Shout out to Cassandra over at Gucci City Center!). I initially wanted to go for a made to measure option and somewhere along the way, decided against it. I almost was unable to piece it all together due to size and item availability after it was worn by James Corden at the 2017 Grammy Awards. It put a slight damper to the whole shopping process. However, I did have a “Plan B” in the event things didn’t work out. Thankfully, the folks over at Gucci were persistent in finding the items I needed to put the tux together. My tuxedo shoes were purchased from Suit Supply.”

Did you incorporate any culture into your wedding? There was definitely culture injected into the wedding from our Nigerian heritage. Culturally, the bride and groom’s parents are escorted in by relatives and close friends of the family. And obviously, much of the attire worn by family and many of the guests were traditional in nature. Female family and friends of the Bride and Groom dress in uniformity depending on whether they are acquainted or related to the Bride or Groom; this is called Aso Ebi. This show of uniformity is usually seen throughout the wedding ceremony and when ushering the parents of the couple into the reception. The Bride & Groom also changed into more comfortable, traditional attire after many of the reception formalities were done. Another traditional aspect of the wedding outside of clothing was that of the breaking of the Kola nut. This is a show of hospitality of a male host to his guests at his house. Words were spoken in their native language of Igbo in welcoming all guests at the wedding, recognizing notable figures in the midst of the attendees, and the offering up prayers and good fortune.

Wedding party gifts: For the Bridesmaids; an oversized clutch purse that depicted the movie theme it looked like and was in the shape of a movie ticket. A special oak hanger in the shape of their names. Emoji slippers with the wink kiss heart emoji face. Onesies for them to wear with the word bridesmaid, maid of honor, or matron of honor embroidered on it. Movie theme notepad, inscribed pen, engraved bottle opener keychain, fan.
Groomsmen: Movie theme notepad, inscribed pen, engraved bottle opener keychain, lapel pin.
Gifts for each other: He bought me Gucci shoes and a Celine purse. She bought me Christian Louboutin shoes and a custom broach.
Ceremony Entrance Songs: Coming to America theme, “Tale as Old as Time” from Beauty and the Beast.
First Dance Song: “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion, “Why I Love You” by Major, “Colorblind” by Counting Crows.

What is your best memory from my wedding? Karin: It’s hard to pick one when there were so many amazing moments… Seeing my husband’s joyful facial expression when they took his blindfold off to reveal me doing a special dance routine for him. I did a special surprise dance for my husband that was in honor of his late best friend Jody that passed away a few years ago. Jody was part of a dance team that included my husband’s brother, cousin and two of their friends. All 4 of them danced with me dancing one of their famous routines.

Eric: My best memory of the wedding was the dance choreography organized by my wife with relatives and some family friends of ours. One of my best friends past away a few years ago of Lupus and he, along with the others of the choreographed dance, were members of an afro-beat dance group in our younger days. Had he been with us at the time of our wedding, he would’ve been part of our wedding party. As a tribute, they put together a routine from one of their performances in honor of his memory. I’ll definitely never forget that.

What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples? Karin: “The best advice I would give to engaged couples is to remember that this is just one day and it goes by so fast. Try your best to relax and soak up every moment because when it’s over it’s over. Don’t let anyone dictate to you how it should be; it’s your BIG day! Definitely make a budget and plan what is within your means. Get a planner! Although I planned my entire wedding because I am a very hands on creative and wanted my BIG day to be exactly what I wanted it to be. I still hired a planner that started a month to my wedding and definitely did everything the day of my wedding so I could just enjoy my wedding day. Lola and her team were awesome!”

Eric: “Best wedding advice I could give is doing your wedding your way! Plan and budget according to what you can afford and make it a unique experience. I would also advise to make the best of the day no matter what happens because your wedding day will come and go in the blink of an eye. There are so many intangibles involved in what goes into coordinating a wedding, much of which is outside of what you can control. Best to let everything flow as it may and try to enjoy your special day.”

Vendors:
Location of Wedding Ceremony & Reception: The Bellevue Conference and Event Center
Brides Wedding dress: Winnie Couture
Bride’s second outfit: jumpsuit designed by bride Karin 
Brides Shoes: Giuseppe Zanotii, Jimmy Choo, Gucci
Bridesmaid Dresses: All designed by Bride Karin
Bridesmaid shoe designer: Forever 21
Groom Tux: Gucci
Groom Shoes: Suit Supply, Christian Louboutin
Grooms lapel: Designed by bride Karin, crafted by Katrin
Groomsmen wear: The Black Tux
Stationary Designer: Designed by bride Karin, crafted by Lee
Photographer: Dotun Ayodeji
Videographer: Henry Adewale Films
Bride’s bouquet: Designed by brideKarin, crafted by Katrin
Bridesmaid flowers: Z Gallerie
Flowers/ Centerpieces/ Tableware: Dacceni Luxury Weddings
Movie themed table numbers: designed by brideKarin, crafted by Lee
Jewelry worn: Earrings – Giuseppe Zanotti
Caterer: The Bellevue Conference and Event Center
Cake: Fluffy Thoughts Cakes
Bride’s makeup: Sade Falade
Bridesmaid’s makeup: Bria
Bride’s Hairstylist: Ngozi
Decor: Dacceni Luxury Weddings
DJ: DJ KC
MC: Uchenna Nwokeafor
Month of wedding and day of Wedding Planner/Coordinator: MasterPlan Events
Planner of theme and wedding details: Bride Karin via Uniquely Atypical