QD Dare and Andrea ‘s love story is one that gives butterflies, and twinkling eyes. The two met in such an unexpected way, that what seemed to be a coincidence, turned out to be God’s plan. Proving his undying love for his queen, QD Dare not only proposed once, but twice, only this time upgrading Andrea’s ring! With a love story like this, we just had to know more!
The bride-to-be, Andrea‘s Story
I was in the DC area for the June 2009 Alpha Omega Eta Sorority, Inc National Convention. A couple of us were staying over at a friends place during the convention. On the second to last day of the convention, we had a Charity Ball Fundraiser and so we didn’t get back home to rest until 5 am. As a result, we woke up late the next day for our morning devotional with our sorors. We had to literally jump out of bed and head straight to the car to get down to the convention centre in good time. Later that afternoon we came back to our friend’s house dressed in our pajamas, exhausted, and hungry. A guy (Dare) answered the door, and we ran to the kitchen looking for food with no shame lol. When I finally got my plate I went to sit down in the living room to eat. While I was eating, I heard a voice say “can I have some?” I looked over and noticed it was the same guy, Dare that opened the door. Without skipping a beat I smiled and said there’s more in the kitchen, and continued eating. P.s I’m a little cranky when I’m hungry. He persisted and asked again, “so you can’t share?” In my mind I’m like “ahh can I eat in peace, please?!” But I replied with a smile “sorry, no.” While I tried to finish my food, he decided to continue trying to have a conversation with me about why he was here, and his music career etc. Let it be known that at this time, my friend Lara and I were looking for talent for our Naija Elites fashion show so I promised to take his number down and contact him about it later. After I finished my food and was no longer blinded by hunger I realized that the guy in front of me this whole time was so cute and was smiling so hard. As I took the time to process these new found revelations, and respond, I looked at myself and realized I was still dressed in my pajamas. I immediately asked him to excuse my appearance and explained the situation we had gone through earlier that morning. He laughed and said not to worry. When it was time for him to leave – he said goodbye to everyone but I was the only one he hugged goodbye. *Blushing* From then on we kept in touch and of course, the rest, as they say, is history.
The Second Proposal
As told by the Planner, FTK Konnect Events
Qd surprised Andrea yet again and popped the question for the second time in the most romantic way with an upgraded ring at a Paint & Sip outing. He asked us to plan for this so we went ahead and invited the bridal party ladies, the engagement & wedding photographer as well as the videographer. After their second engagement session with Tunji Sarumi Photography, we all pretended we wanted to do a relaxing activity but little did Andrea know we had planned a beautiful surprise for her. After their second engagement session with Tunji Sarumi Photography, we all pretended we wanted to do a relaxing activity but little did Andrea know we had planned a beautiful surprise for her. They were such a great sport and made the surprise even grander by asking couples to volunteer by showing their finished painting. Qd & Andrea came out, but little did she know that Qd’s painting had been swapped to ask those 4 major words any girl would want be asked AGAIN & AGAIN…”will you marry me?” In this case, again, Andrea was truly surprised and shed a few tears with a joy-filled response of YES!
The entire class was emotional and happy for the couple.
What is something fun you remembered either about the process or the big day?
My best memory from the wedding was the entrance my wife and I had at the reception. I remember when we were introduced we caught people off guard. Due to the fact wedding party had been dancing in from the first floor, most people expected us to be walking in from that same door. However, we were on the second floor. When we were introduced, a curtain open and revealed my wife and I waving from behind a glass window. We then walked down a 15-20 curly stirs and at the bottom of the stirs, fireworks erupted which added some effects to majestic entrance dance. Similarly, our first dance was also equally beautiful. With my wife and I dancing to some 90’s love song, the large dance floor was covered in cloud effect and mood was just right for the first dance.
The Proposal Video
THE BASICS:
NUMBER OF GUESTS: 250
YOUR BUDGET RANGE: $75,000
WHAT WAS YOUR PLANNING EXPERIENCE LIKE:
Did you hire an event professional to help pull everything off?
We hired the best international event planner and ours came with a double advantage being that she’s my sister (groom) and she has been a professional wedding end event planner for over 10 years.
THE LOCATION:
Where did you wed and why did you pick the venue/site?
The Venetian in Garfield New Jersey – My wife was born and raised in NJ and she had attended a few events at the venue needless to say she had day dreamed of only that venue to be where she would one day get married, hence why it was the only choice for us.
THE FASHION:
TELL US ABOUT THE WEDDING DRESS, what was your overall bridal style? Did you pick your attire based on a theme? What was the color, shape, style and fabric? How did you wear your hair and makeup?
The wedding dress was literally of a fashion website – we wanted something out of the norm but was just right. The dress wasn’t based on any particular theme – it was just aesthetically different from any typical wedding dress, the 2 maid of honors outfit were jumpsuits while the bridesmaids had on a different type of bridesmaids dress too. We wanted to be different and our outfit designer @dollyskeppings came through on all our outfits.
DESCRIBE THE GROOM’S and Groomsmen LOOK:
What did he wear? What about his dudes?
We kept it classic and simple. Different not your average color combo but it was just right. Groom wore a burgundy and black tuxedo set from @jswestins while the best men had on black suits with complementing burgundy vests, the groomsmen in navy blue suits and complementing black trimmings to tie in with the groom and best men look.
YOUR WEDDING STYLE
WHAT INSPIRED YOUR THEME/STYLE? What was your color palette?
Gold, Burgundy and Blush
Why was it important to you? It was just a simple romantic color with a pop of heart 🙂
CEREMONY & RECEPTION
TELL US ABOUT YOUR CEREMONY DÉCOR:
How did you decorate the space and the aisle?
Did you use any kind of structures or decor down the aisle? We had an outdoor ceremony at Kean university where both parents of Andrea graduated from hence why we chose to do our ceremony there. We had a beautiful backdrop which incorporated the wedding colors, the beautiful garden and nature surrounding it made for a beautiful space.
WHAT INSPIRED YOUR RECEPTION STYLE?
How did you pick your centerpieces and decor elements?
We picked our decor pieces based on the wedding colors and a classic look.
WHAT MENU ITEMS DID YOU SERVE?
How did you come up with your overall menu direction?
We chose a fusion of Nigerian and Continental dish. Our menu file is attached to the email to you all.
DESCRIBE YOUR CAKE:
What flavors did you choose? Was the cake real or faux? Did you include any decor elements to personalize the cake?
Our cake included 4 tiers of round and square cake – it was a classic white cake with a hint of blush and gold. The most fascinating element we wanted incorporated on the cake was our logo and it was a nice touch our wedding planner hooked up for us.
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH YOUR WEDDING DAY PLAYLIST?
How were certain songs picked like the first dance song?
What was the name of the song and singer? Did you have a DJ or a band? Any surprises? We chose certain songs like our grand entrance we decided on popular nigerian songs while our first dance was chosen based on our love story so we decide on our top 2 Kc & Jojo All my life which was fused with a Nigerian song Iyawo mi (My wife) by Timi Dakolo
FAVORS?
Did you have wedding favors? If so what did you choose and why?
Yes we did and it was outstanding put together by our wedding planner. Please see the attached 15 seconds video. It was a beautiful bag featuring a collage of our engagement photos and inside them were personalized water bottles, note pads and pens with our names and more pictures.