Season 4 Step 1 Blog 10: Greg’s Wedding Part 2: Nigerian Ceremony

 Greg’s Wedding Part 2: Nigerian Ceremony

Temi, Greg's bride, is from Nigeria. As I mentioned in a previous installment, "Groomsman," I have known that they would get married long before the actual engagement announcement. What I didn't realize initially was that there were going to be two weddings. The first was a Nigerian ceremony on Saturday (6/26/21), and the second was a Western ceremony on Sunday (6/27/21).

Greg, the other groomsmen, and I arrived at the Nigerian wedding venue at about three, dressed in our traditional attire. We were introduced to the woman leading the ceremony (whose title name I cannot remember), and she told us not to be stressed. The groom's party took a sigh of relief as a group, and we were taken into a back room to wait.

The ceremony started without us because everybody (Greg and Temi's families then the groom’s and bride’s parties) entered individually. When it was our turn to enter, the leader told us to dance to the music played. I was trying hard not to stim (flap my hands/squeal in excitement), so to cope, I just had a giant goofy smile on my face. After we danced in, we were led through the ceremony. About halfway through, the leader asked, "By raise of hands is anyone married?" None of the groom's men were, so none of us raised our hands. Because I was still smiling, though, the leader saw me and asked me specifically, "Are you married?"

I knew she wouldn't take me seriously with the way I had been smiling, so I said, "No!" very firmly. It wasn't until everyone started laughing that I realize that it sounded like I was saying, "No, I'm not married and I don't want to be! I don't know what Greg is thinking he's crazy!"

When we finished our part of the ceremony, the groomsmen sat down, and Temi and the Bridesmaids entered. The Bridesmaids did their part of the ceremony, and then they sat down. When it was just Temi standing alone, she was directed to "choose" a gift that Greg's family had donated. The gift she chose was a bible, and in the package with it was a ring. Long story short, Greg had to "re-propose" to Temi in front of everyone! We watched him get down on one knee and profess his love to her. As he spoke the words, we all knew this was the most genuine thing he had ever said because of how he looked at her, and it was beautiful.

To Be Continued...