The traditional wedding cake evolution

I remember those years growing up and attending traditional wedding ceremonies of older relatives especially elder aunties...its was so much fun with lots of  diverse showcase of rich cultural heritage in clothes,rites,foods and dancing....but i never noticed cake cutting.Cake cutting was left for the white wedding ceremonies as usual....But today,the huge evolution that the cake world has witnessed has extended to traditional wedding ceremonies.As all manners of  cakes in traditional concepts are shown.

This just goes to show the high level of creativity and 'think-out-of-the-box' attitude Nigerian cake bakers have.I must commend you guys for a great job....


Well,here at WeddingsByMelB,we will be bringing u some lovely fashionable,creative work of art in cake baking history that has stormed the Nigerian traditional wedding scene.....some pics after the cut...



The suitcase inspired traditional wedding cakes

The kola nut and gourd inspired cakes

The drum inspired traditional wedding cakes

The head-gear inspired traditional wedding cake

Brought to you by:WeddingsByMelB

PHOTOS-Yetunde and Segun's wedding

WeddingsByMelB brings you exciting photos of yetunde and segun's wonderful moments..Pics after the cut.


Yetunde and Segun at their traditional wedding.

The bride holding her plum mixed with cream coloured lilied bouquet

Bride and bridesmaids in their grey coloured satin gown

She's good to go

Couple with bridesmaids

Jewelries: bedazzling Jewelries

Brought to you by:WeddingsByMelB

Wedding colors-PURPLE

Purple is one of the most popular colors of all wedding time.its distinctive nature that depicts royalty,its flexibility to be able to combine with other wide range colors,its various shades

 PURPLE AND TURQUOISE

and many other characteristics,makes this color stand out at weddings.Today,WeddingsByMelB,will be showing you some combos that could go perfectly on purple.....Enjoy as you consider choosing purple for you big day.


LAVENDER AND YELLOW

LAVENDER AND GREEN

PURPLE AND ORANGE

PURPLE AND GOLD

 PURPLE AND SILVER

 PURPLE AND RED

 PURPLE AND BLACK

PURPLE AND ROYAL BLUE

Brought to you by :WeddingsByMelB

WeddingsByMelB-Till food does us part......

They say the way to man’s heart is through the stomach, if that’s the case I need a gastric SAT NAV. Somehow, I’ve taken a left and ended up in confusing culinary junction.

Tradition stipulates that the perfect wife has an apron permanently pinned to her chest, smiling beside her perfectly clean cooker, that churns out scrumptious plates and plates of tantalizing meals. All this has to be done with the poise of a gazelle and the hair and face of a goddess.

Before getting married, I prayed for a man who wasn’t fussy about food. He so graciously answered. I have a beloved who is happy to eat whatever I put on the plate (bar Turkey – too much of a good thing during childhood is definitely a bad thing). I am aware that this paints the picture of woman who refuses to touch the cooker for fear her foundation may melt. Truth is, I am not that woman. I simply prefer other tasks to cooking. I’d quite happily organise a sock drawer according to colour and fabric, iron ten crumpled linen shirts and wash food encrusted plates than cook.

Growing up in a fairly big family, I was ‘encouraged’ to cook for the family, so much so that it became a chore rather than a past time. The only thing I am happy to slave over to cook is cake. And to be fair, that’s not cooking – it’s baking. I am amazed by and strongly admire women who run home to cook, developing culinary delights whilst journeying home from work. When hunger strikes, the first thing that comes to mind is: what is the quickest thing to make. My meals are selected on how much time I have.

And since my meals are selected purely on the time factor you can imagine that Nigerian food is the furthest from my menu. In fact, I think the traditional ‘red stew’ has only been cooked in my home a couple of times…by my husband. Everything about Nigerian food feels long. The purchase of the ingredients requires lengthy treks to negotiate rates with brash market traders and the selecting of the best leaves and herbs based on their colour and smell. Its preparation robs women of their Saturdays and leaves their hands smelling like the gut of a fish. The cooking of this cuisine, generates aromas that fill the house and beckon your beloved to the kitchen…though this aroma will also hang on your clothing and curtains…mmm…eau de naija.

Left to me, I would survive on a couple of slices of toast, spinach salad and pizza. Had it not been for mybestie at Uni, I would have either wasted away into a round size zero or I would have developed a healthy deficiency. During the day, I have to force myself to eat which is always a bone of contention between my beloved and I. I have to program myself to ensure that I peel myself away from the laundry or playing baby entertainer, to make an edible hot meal for my beloved.

When we’re out with our married friends and the subject of food/cooking comes up, you should see the horror when they hear that I’ve not made many traditional Nigerian meals since I got married. The eyes widen and jaws drop as though I’d said I would pose nude.
‘So…what do you cook?!’
Food; meat filled pasta, roasted sweet potatoes, Thai and Indian curry, brown basmati rice, fennel seasoned salmon, spinach and feta cheese salads and Sunday roasts. Our cuisine is made up of a blend of cultures which are just as quickly and easily prepared and they are eaten!

For some, this is an indictment on my upbringing perhaps, a mother who didn’t adequately train their daughter in the delights of Nigerian cuisine. This couldn’t be further from the truth. My mother regularly hauled us (I’m one of 4 girls) into the kitchen to take notes on what she was brewing and to ‘help’ her to cook. From peeling dusty gigantic yams to sifting through beans to pick out stones, we did it all. My naija bestie would say that my asaro (yam porridge) was and is the best she’s ever had. I just couldn’t turn my hand to pounding yam, I don’t think my twig like arms could quite transform the powder into the cream coloured light fluffy mounds my mother did. Others would reason that my reluctance to rustle up something more African is that I grew up in the UK. This may be so, perhaps if I’d grown up in Nigeria I would have a greater affinity to that type of food. It certainly may have been far less socially acceptable to plate up Quinoa to your in laws.

There will be women who will argue that my reluctance to cook will only expose my hubby to those who will. That he will be tempted by the hot pot of ‘efo’ soup cushioned with a mound of ‘amala’. I would argue that my sweet potatoes with peppered mackerel served with a warm spinach, mushroom and walnut salad, is doing a good of keeping him at home. The absence of ‘shaki’ and ‘cow foot’ has not caused any arguments though, the occasional whinge can be heard from family members when they visit.

Truth is, I am not defined by my culinary skills nor the repertoire of the dishes I can prepare. We are no better ‘wives’ by our ability to blend chopped tomatoes and soak beans. It is just a part of a much wider role as a wife. The way to my beloveds heart is not through a plate, it’s…now that would be telling wouldn’t it?!

Photo Credit: 123rf.com
______________________________________________________________________________________
Ruby Suze is a yummy mummy who has been married for 5 years. She is passionate about using her life experiences to help others especially, youth. Follow her blog: Forever Newlywed and on Twitter@cr8tivrubysuze

Story source :Bella Naija

Brought by WeddingsByMelB

PHOTOS-The Edo and Yoruba combo.....Ivie and wole tie the knot

How We Met
from the bride, Ivie
We met in September 2009 when we resumed at the Lagos Business School. I will say it wasn’t love at first sight but our friendship kicked off almost immediately. I like the fact that he was very playful yet very smart too which made it hard for me to believe him when he started making his moves towards dating. Our friendship grew overtime and I decided to “honor his request”. I thank God for how far he has lead us. I’m happy I took that decision because I haven’t had any reason to regret it and going forward I know I won’t.

The Proposal
It was during one of his official assignments to Lagos. He suggested we should have dinner during the week – unfortunately on the set day, he closed late from work so I blanked the possibility of going out. He kept apologizing and saying we could still make it and in my mind I was like ‘why must we go for this dinner?’.‘He eventually persuaded me so we headed to Oriental Hotel. Dinner was fun as we talked a lot having not seen each other in the past few months.

Amidst all this I looked away for a moment and turning around, I see him holding a ring and he pops the question. I was so shocked when I saw the ring “staring” in my face because I wasn’t expecting it that soon and I also don’t know how I didn’t notice his bulging pocket. After a few seconds, I stretched out my hand in acceptance. He then came over to my side of the table and did it the right way by going on his knees. That was  surely a day to remember – November 8,2012!

A year later we are now newlyweds and I couldn’t be happier.

***

WeddindsByMelB wishes ivie and wole marital bliss.More pics after the cut.

Photography and Videography:Soji Oni

Make-up Artist: Eniayewie of beauty republic (+234808461418)

WeddingsByMelB-Relationship

   Know your place

Last night, I watched an Edward Norton movie- “Keeping The Faith“. Two friends, (a rabbi – Jake and a priest -Brian) get a call from their old friend, Anna. Now, Anna hooks up with Jake and they start having sex. They both agree to keep the relationship on the down low for two reasons – Jake’s vocation and well… they didn’t know how Brian would take it so they decide to keep him out of the loop. On a movie date, Jake runs into his synagogue members and he calls Anna his “buddy”. They have a mock fight as they leave the cinema because she’s supposedly mad at the way he treated her in the presence of other people. They laugh it off saying “It’s a good thing we’re not going out!”

So how do relationships start? Back in the days, it was a lot of letters, tapping of Nitel phones and plenty sneaking off during teenagers fellowship, just to name a few. I recall a a few of these as being the official relationhip starters back then:

“I would like us to go steady”
“Would you go out with me?”
“Please be my number 1” *whispers* Someone actually said this to BN’s Jennifer

It is presumed that once the response was “yes”, the relationship is deemed to have commenced from the date of acquiescence. Thus, marks the date upon which anniversaries are based. However, it is not always cut and dried. There are times when both people haven’t actually defined what they’re doing but their relationship has all the elements of “dating” like Jake and Anna in “Keeping The Faith”.
So, when you meet a couple who can’t tell you the date of their “anniversary”, there’s the urge to ask “so how did you know when you guys started dating?” With the age of social media, and what is now referred to as “Setting P”, it is easy to assume (either erroneously or otherwise) that once the both parties have come to some form of understanding that they’re in a relationship.

“Did he ask you out?” “No, not really. But we just kind of evolved and both of us knew where we were going”
I was running this topic by a couple of my friends and they were very cynical (yeah, I know I need to change my friends!) One of them said “Why would you be deluding yourself when the guy hasn’t said specifically that he wants to be in a relationship? Call me old school but if a guy doesn’t toast me in the traditional way, I’m not referring to him as my boyfriend oh! Na there problem dey take start and you’ll start playing roles that you’re not supposed to and now find out that there’s a numero Uno coming from Manchester every weekend to see her man”

My other friend, a guy, said “both of you are adults na! Does anybody still do the whole song and dance of will you be my girlfriend? in this day and age? Besides, if you rely on that and throw a tantrum, what’s the guarantee that he hasn’t asked 3 other girls the same questions. Sometimes you just know, deep in your gut that this person is yours”

What do you guys think? When does a relationship actually start? Are you Team Let’s Infer Based on the Facts Before Us? or Team Spell It out Loud and Clear? Oh, and before I forget, what were some of the relationship starting quotes you heard back then?

Let’s discuss

Photo Credit: thegrio.com

Story credit:Atoke (bellanailja)

What's the difference; love,infatuation and attraction

WeddingsByMelB

For me “love” is not a feeling but I’ll tell you what is. We live in a world that continuously affect our mindsets, influences our decisions, alters our motives and clearly muddle things up in some instances. The best lesson in life that offers clarity is “experience” ever heard of the phrase, experience is the best teacher? How about experience is the only teacher and you are the student.

For so long, I think my understanding of “love” has been miscalculated by various situations and scenarios, undoubtedly reading a lot of Mills and Boon and watching romantic movies did nothing but influence my ideologies on “love”. I hadn’t figured out why I felt butterflies in my tummy when I saw my primary school crush precisely at 9 years old or the sensational feeling almost like an “electric shiver” that ran through my body the first time he touched my head as a gesture of affection.

In a nutshell, that was my first ever experience of having a strong attraction for a boy. It was amazing in that I could not contain my excitement each time I saw him or heard his voice. All I felt was sweaty palms, increased heartbeats, wobbling stomach and worse of all a widely pasted grinned face. He was all I could think of and talk about; everyone knew I was into him. Although, I didn’t quite understand what it was I felt until much later, I knew this much, I liked the guy. I moved to the UK and it didn’t take me long to have another crush. To make matters worse, I was a daydreamer bordering on the obsessive.

I got into relationships with some dudes I didn’t find attractive. However, as time went on and we talked, laughed and shared moments, I got to like their personalities. I slowly began to develop feelings. I admit I said the “I love you” not because I meant or understood it but because that was the norm. It was what everybody said once you were in a committed relationship right? Despite all of the emotions the relationships still ended and we all moved on. I must admit though one of the relationships did hurt more than others. Slowly, my understanding on attraction and love began to form including how attraction is largely driven by emotions and how one’s views can be clouded by emotions.

Eventually with time and maturity I began to understand certain things. To start off, I experienced an intense attraction and short lived infatuation. All of these infatuations were made intense by the initial attraction I felt for the dudes to begin with. The more I thought about the feelings or why I liked them, the more I fed it and the more it grew. You all know whatever you feed, water or take care of in most cases will grow, take roots, take forms etc. To quit babbling, my experience with “love” was slowly being unravelled in my mind.

This is where am at with my understanding:

Attraction: Attraction in itself comes in different forms and it is experienced differently by all. However, all of the lovely sweet things I was experiencing with the dudes I liked and dated were mostly attraction that led to having feelings. This was even fuelled by the interaction, similarities, values and ideas we share. Obviously, the physical physique really does add a touch base to the whole thing. Needless to say, attraction is not love and love is not attraction. However, attraction is essential as it helps to aid closeness and intimacy. I also think that the longer the attraction the more it has potential to lead to “infatuation” and this is where it get interesting because infatuation can be closely linked or confused with “love”.

Infatuation: Infatuation itself I believe is stemmed from much more deeper attraction. It is the very foundation of some relationships and how far it went. When I think of infatuation I think of crushes, long term likes and equally obsession. Love is not obsessed, infatuation is. Think of it has having a new plant you constantly overfeed, over nurture basically over everything with it. Eventually, the plant will either not grow properly or wither away. In essence, infatuation has tendencies to overdo everything that can either make the other person feel suffocated or place unnecessary responsibilities on them again which can weigh anyone down mentally. Love on the other hand understands there is time for everything instead of constantly being obsessed, it understands the plant needs it own personal space and time to grow and be independent to an extent. Love is also selfless and intuitive in that when the plant needs it, it will know because it has taken time to study the plant etc. I think that “love” in general is less demanding, less needy and absolutely knows when to withdraw and reunite.

Love: What leads to love in a relationship and how do you know this is love? I think this will vary for each individual. Nonetheless, I know this much that love is not controlled by emotions rather our emotions are controlled by our feelings and our feelings sometimes control our judgments and actions. I think to “love” is influenced by a combination of factors but I do think “love” is a decision.

Unlike attraction, love is not instantaneous. I don’t believe people fall in love for the first time, I believe we grow to love and learn to based on life experiences, journey, moments, struggles and situations shared. Reading 1st Corinthian Ch 13 for the first time opened my eyes to a whole new different world and the meaning we all attach to “love”.

What is love when selfishness, injustice, unforgiveness, envy, malice and more abound even in relationships? Contrary to what we are told or see “love” carries a lot of responsibilities, accountabilities, demands, sacredness, trust, humility, knowledge and more. It is deeper than what meets the eye and it is the one thing I will not equate to feelings because I know my feelings are fleeting and are controlled by the desires of my heart. So when we say we want someone to love us we must first learn to show love to ourselves and others around us without expecting back. We must first practice it.

Unlike the movies and novels we read, we never get to share the reality of life with them. The reality of Cinderella living happily ever after yet the Prince can’t father a child? What if Snow White has an immune deficiency causing her to age a lot more?

Only through life experiences and situations will you and I understand what true “love” is. Yes, the understanding of this will become apparent once we find ourselves thinking less of our selfish needs and more of others. It will also become apparent when the butterflies are gone, the sweaty palms, daydreams etc are collecting dust instead reality takes over which challenges you and stretches you out of your comfort zone.

Yes, attraction can potentially be a base to develop feelings and for love to grow as sacrifices, true intentions and genuine concerns including intimacy (I’m not referring to sexual intimacy) begins to form and become the habit of both individuals. So next time you find yourself sweating palms, feeling shy… please know that this is nothing but attraction.

Photo Credit: kennyonline.net

story credit:blessing(bella naija)
__________________________________________________________________________________________________