An Estee Couture Bride for an Interfaith Jewish-Nigerian Wedding at Heritage Club at Bethpage, Farmingdale, New York, USA

We’re so excited to be featuring STG’s very first Jewish-Nigerian wedding – and it’s totally gorgeous! Bride Julia, an OB/-GYN and groom ChiChi, who is training to be a cardiologist, combined their backgrounds – hers Jewish, his Nigerian – into such a beautiful, memorable day.

Incorporating so many wonderful traditions from both cultures – an exquisite ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com and a lovely floral chuppah meet traditional Nigerian outfits and festive touches like the customary money dance – these two managed to craft  a one-of-a-kind celebration of their love.

We adore Janelle Brooke Photography’s spontaneous and natural action shots – she captures the energy and fun of the big day so well!

Now over to the bride, who looked stunning in Estee Couture…

PS Can we have a slice of that Sprinkles Wedding Cake?! 

How we met

Julia, the bride: We met in medical school, and were friends for a year before we started dating.

A Romantic Setting

We got married at Heritage Club at Bethpage. We loved the windows and how airy the space was; it felt romantic, but not gaudy. We also loved the outdoor space for our ceremony!

Classic Vibes

I wanted a romantic feel to the whole night. I liked a classic, timeless look, and a warmer color scheme. We used LLG Events as the wedding planner.

Unique Invitations

The wedding invitation had cut-outs that I loved because it was unique, but still classy. The invitations for the wine carry had a cartoon of us dressed in traditional Nigerian clothes!

Hair + Makeup

I wanted to look like myself, so I didn’t go heavy on the makeup. Once Upon A Bride was my hair stylist and makeup artist.

An Estee Couture Dress

Wedding Atelier was the store, and Estee Couture is the designer. I didn’t think I wanted a tight dress, but it worked better with how short I am. It was one of the first dresses that I tried on, and was my favorite the whole time even though I kept looking.

A Simple Veil

Wedding Atelier made my veil – I don’t particularly like veils, so it was very simple.

Kitten Heels

Kitten heels because I can’t walk in tall heels!

The handsome groom

ChiChi had his tux custom-made from a tailor out of Hong Kong that comes to New York City every couple months. Two of my cousins had used them for their weddings.

Bridesmaids in Purple

My bridesmaids wore purple dresses that matched the flower scheme.

Chuppah

We wanted to be able to hang it in our house, so we went with a blue color scheme that also matched our wedding style.

A Beautiful Ketubah

We used Ketubah.com. We had an interfaith one that they make, which had a very sweet paragraph about marriage.

Our music choice

Our first dance was, ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ by Alicia Keys.

Flowers

Designs by Ahn was our florist. We incorporated eucalyptus, anemones, roses and dahlias.

Photographer

We used Janelle Brooke Photography, and Michael Joseph Films for videography. Janelle Brooke had photographed three of my cousin’s weddings, so my mom contacted her right when we got engaged because we always wanted to use her! We like the way they photograph because all of the pictures look spontaneous and natural.

Sprinkles and Bows

We used Dortoni Bakery for our cake. I loved the sprinkles and bows on a cake I saw on Pinterest, and ChiChi didn’t care about the cake, so I got what I wanted!

A Great Band

We went with Hank Lane Band. They were great and super interactive with the party!

Live painter

We loved everything about our day. My mom and dad surprised us with a live painter for the event, and we love the final product. Also, LLG Events creative director, Teal Nicholson, hand-painted custom signage that we used during cocktail hour for signature drinks.

 
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding

Just enjoy the day and stay calm. I left my phone in the hotel so I could take in the day without any interruptions.

Julia & ChiChi’s little white book