Beth and Kae
Your Wedding at the Temple of Peace
Why did you choose the Temple of Peace for your wedding?
We were looking for a venue close to the church where we were getting married (Highfields). We wanted to bring in external caterers as we wanted to have traditional Nigerian food; and we were on a budget, so wanted an affordable venue. Temple of Peace ticked all those boxes. We went to view and Kae (the groom) fell in love with the building. We also really liked the fact that the profits were put towards charity work in Africa. And the team were so friendly, we immediately felt at ease working with them.
Did you have a theme for your day?
Beth (the bride) is British, whilst Kae is Nigerian. We wanted to incorporate aspects from both cultures to make something that reflected us, the fusion of cultures in our relationship, but also reflected our passions, including the salsa dance that first brought us into each other’s lives.
How did you decide on the other details of the day, the décor, dress, suits, food, etc?
As above, we had chosen to do the ceremony and first half of the reception in traditional British dress (Kae in a morning suit, Beth in a white dress), and then changed into traditional Nigerian dress for the remainder of the evening. Whilst shopping for the fabric for our Nigerian dress, the one that we both liked was blue and silver. So we decided to extend this colour theme all through the wedding.
It is traditional to have a special seated area for the bride and groom, so we looked at a number of staging companies for inspiration on how we wanted that area to look.
Kae knew that he wanted a morning suit, and chanced upon the perfect one whilst browsing online. He saw the waistcoat with which it was displayed and knew that that was the one for him.
Beth designed her own dress, based on elements of other dresses that she had seen, both British and Nigerian; and incorporated a surprise twist: a flare of Ghanaian fabric in the train, in remembrance of Kae’s mother who was from Ghana.
We were having a mix of guests from Britain, Nigeria and other countries, so, given that we were having traditional Nigerian food that not all the guests would have been familiar with, we chose to have buffet style catering, where guests could choose which dishes they wanted to eat from a variety of options.
What do you remember most about your day, were there any surprises?
Kae: remembers the smiles as we came out of the church. The fact that it didn’t stop raining all day!
Beth: my granddad walking me down the aisle - we didn’t know even to the last minute if he would be well enough to attend. The sermon: “it doesn’t matter what you eat, it’s speaking English that kills you!” Kae’s dad wearing shades for most of the day, and having to get the groomsmen to confiscate his mobile! Our first dance, something that I’d imagined and dreamed of for longer than I’d care to admit. Zoe - our wedding co-ordinator - was amazing, so friendly and helpful and bent over backwards to make sure everything went off just as we wanted.
What was the menu that you chose?
Wedding breakfast: pepper soup, fried rice, jollof rice, moi moi, meat, fish, chicken, vegetable soup, poundo yam.
Evening reception: finger food buffet
How many guests did you have?
About 140 at the final count.
A quote from the bride about the day:
It was a magical day, but only the start of an even more magical journey that we have embarked on together.
A quote from the groom about the day:
Life is beautiful when you walk to the altar with the woman you love. It’s a dream come true.
Who did the following for your day if applicable (so that we can credit them):
Caterer – Ace Catering
Photographer – Premiere Photography (Newport)
Videographer – Grove Video Services (Cardiff)
Music – Jay Lukeman of My Perfect Big Day (Pwllheli)
Florist – Jan Lima (Cardiff)
Cake – Celtic Cakes (Newport)
Bridal and bridesmaid dresses – Michelle’s Bridal (Cardiff)
Groom and groomsmen’s suits – Dobell/House of Fraser
Make up – Beau Bridal (Cardiff)
Hair – Beau Bridal (Cardiff)
