These two medical physicians first crossed paths in medical school at a scholarship dinner, and from that point on they would forever remain in each other’s lives.
After five years of dating, Michelle knew that this would be the man she was going to marry, in her own words, “everyone who knew me knew that I wanted to marry this man, but he kept telling me to be patient – I was not patient…!”
To celebrate Michelle’s graduation her and Bode went on a vacation in the Dominican Republic. It was during this trip that she finally received her wish.
While taking a romantic walk on the beach, Bode asked Michelle if she would be his wife… She fondly remembers how she “literally fell into the sand I was crying so hard… it was one of the best days of my life.”
Read all about Michelle and Bode’s beautiful and elegant wedding, and enjoy the image gallery from their traditional Nigerian wedding here!
Bride & Groom: Michelle and Bode Ogunwole
Occupations: Bride ( Internal medicine physician) Groom ( anesthesia physician)
Wedding date: May 28th 2016
Wedding location: Ritz Carlton Dallas, Texas
Tell us how you met and all about the proposal: My husband and I met in medical school. He was two years ahead of me and we met at a scholarship dinner. We had been dating for five years and Everyone who knew me knew that I wanted to marry this man, but he kept telling me to be patient–I was not patient ha! We went to the Dominican Republic to celebrate my recent graduation from medical school. He took me on a walk along the beach and told me that he wanted me to be his wife one day–little did I know he was ready THAT day. He pulled out the ring and I literally fell into the sand I was crying so hard… it was one of the best days of my life.
What was wedding shopping like for you? I love to shop but wedding dress shopping was so stressful and exhausting. I actually found my reception dress within seconds of walking into the first store. My reception dress is a beautiful couture gown by an Israeli designer; it is a very sexy dress with lace and a deep v neck and very curve hugging. I LOVED this dress but wanted something more conservative/classic for the ceremony. I always thought I would wear a ball gown and change into my sexy dress for the reception but it turns out ball gowns looked terrible on me. My reception dress ended up being my splurge fantasy dress and my ceremony dress was something I found during a sample sale; that was an incredibly reasonable price– it had a blush champagne undertone that made it unique and the fit and flare style complimented my figure. I was actually just so exhausted that I was like, lets just get it. I was NOT like, this is the one; its funny though that on my wedding day it was the PERFECT dress!
Did you incorporate any culture into your wedding? We had a Nigerian traditional wedding in my husbands home town a year to the day from our white american wedding. It was a very elaborate affair and not all of our guests that were at our white wedding were at the Nigerian wedding. During cocktail hour we had a projection of the live video from our Nigerian wedding playing silently in the background. I was afraid it would look cheesy but it ended up being really nice to revisit that very special day
What is your best memory from your wedding? How do I pick?! It was my fairy tale wedding! However it was my dads speech and all of the other speeches that touched me the most. Being surrounded by the genuine love of your family and friends on the best day of your life.
What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples? If possible hire a great wedding planner. We interviewed 8 wedding planners since we were planning from a different city, we’re both in busy jobs as young resident physicians. Our wedding planner understood our style and our standards and made each visit efficient and the whole process as stress free as possible!
The other advice is to financially plan for the wedding you want. I knew I wanted an elaborate wedding, in which my guests felt very taken care of. I also knew that I didn’t want to put us in debt as we started our lives together–so my husband and I had a two year engagement and both picked up extra work where we could.
Vendors:
Wedding and Reception Venue: The Ritz Carlton Dallas
Floral and Décor: Bella Flora
Photography: Khanh Nguyen
Video: Inspired Effects
Chandelier: Fauxcades
Bride’s Ceremony Gown: Allure Bridal
Bride’s Ceremony Veil: Vera Wang
Bride’s Reception Gown: Berta Bridal
Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Groom’s suit: Hart Schaffner Marx
Groomsman’s Suits: Men’s warehouse
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Adrianna Papell
Flower Girl Dress: custom order somsicouture
Bridesmaid’s gifts: Katespade New York
Groom’s gift (from bride): Rolex Submariner
Bride’s gift (from groom) : Beyonce world tour tickets
Hair: Muffin the Stylist
Makeup: Glam by Cham
Invitations: Etsy shop: wrapped up in details
Band lead singer: Keith Angelo
Cake: The Ritz Carlton
Catering: The Ritz Carlton
Lighting: Absolute Lighting
DJ: Jason Esquire
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