From an Instagram DM to Forever Love! Esther and Opemipo’s Beautiful Wedding

Love is a force that cannot be stopped, even by Coronavirus. Because of the pandemic, several couples have had to move their weddings forward but this couple found a way around it. They couldn’t wait to be married and they were not going to let anything stand in the way of that happening.

Esther and Opemipo‘s wedding was initially set for April 4, 2020, but after the official lockdown regulations were put in place, they had to find a way to make things work. They decided to move their court wedding to March 24, 2020, and reschedule their other ceremonies. Eventually, after being legally married for months without any new changes to the lockdown rules, they opted to have an intimate wedding on June 27, 2020. They had their big day planned in 2 weeks.

We know you’d want to find out how these two met and how their love story played out. The couple shares both sides of their story below. The bride who planned the wedding and created all the outfits also shares how they pulled it off!

Here’s how Esther and Opemipo’s relationship started according to the bride, Esther:

“We had been serving in the same space in the church for a while but the real meeting was in the DM early last year. He commended my efforts on Sunday while we were serving and told me he had learnt a lot from my etiquette page. That evening, I slid into his Instagram DMs to thank him for his warm and encouraging words. That’s how we started chatting and a week afterwards we went on our first date.”

Esther and Opemipo sharing love-filled looks at their traditional wedding. Photo: Huvi Pictures

Esther and Opemipo's — The bride, Esther, maid of honour, and bridesmaids pose before the traditional marriage. Photo: Huvi Pictures

The groom, Opemipo, best man, and groomsmen pose before the traditional marriage Photo: Huvi Pictures

Although Opemipo loved Esther’s ‘Etiquette’ page on Instagram, he was initially blind to her beauty because he assumed she was just a church girl and she’d be boring. However, after the first DM and a few conversations, he quickly decided DMs were no longer enough. He says:

“I got a new follower on Instagram so I decided to check out the profile. What particularly caught my attention apart from realising it was the girl from church was her etiquette posts. The next time I saw her, I told her how much I had learned from her posts and I encouraged her to keep it up. After the excitement she exuded from my compliment, she went further to thank me in my DMs. The DM became a convenient place to find out more about her until it wasn’t fast enough, so I asked her for her number. I asked her out on the first date a few days after.”

The bride, Esther, poses for a bridal robe picture before the white wedding. Photo: Huvi Pictures

The bride, Esther, maid of honour and her bridesmaids pose for a bridal robe picture as they prepare for the white wedding. Photo: Huvi Pictures

The beautiful bride, Esther poses for a picture before she walks down the aisle at her wedding ceremony on June 27, 2020. Photo: Huvi Pictures

Esther says she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Opemipo after their second date because he matched all of the qualities she had ever wanted. She says:

“I already knew the qualities I wanted in a husband and when we met, it was as if he was ready-made for me and more. Our rapport was seamless and it was so easy to know we were meant for each other. We had a lot of things in common except for his love for catfish and isiewu (goat head). Plus he is tall, dark and handsome and knows how to sweep a lady off her feet. He is hardworking, ambitious, meticulous and his level of maturity and discretion was admirable.”

The couple strikes a pose for a photo after their traditional wedding. Photo: Huvi Pictures

The groom, Opemipo, best man and groomsmen pose for a picture before the white wedding. Photo: Huvi Pictures

The groom, Opemipo Sotiloye, poses for a picture at a hotel garden after the white wedding. Photo: Huvi Pictures

Opemipo, on the other hand, knew he was going to marry Esther after their third date, and he proposed to her after five months of dating. He wanted to make the proposal as perfect as he could and he set out to do just that. He explains how he prepared for that day, saying:

“I had secretly gone on a quest to get her ring preference and size, and with the help of my friend in the UK, I was able to get the perfect ring. I went to a number of locations to make enquiries for proposals. I finally found the perfect one at a resort in Lagos. The proposal coincided with my best friend’s birthday so it seemed like we were going on a vacation to celebrate him. It was beautiful, she was pleasantly surprised, and of course, she said yes!”

The couple poses for a picture at a hotel lobby after their white wedding. Photo: Huvi Pictures

The couple poses with the best man and groomsmen after their white wedding. Photo: Huvi Pictures

The couple poses for a picture with the maid of honour and bridesmaids after the church wedding. Photo: Huvi Pictures

After the proposal, they just wanted to get married as quickly as possible, they started preparations, set the dates and paid vendors but Coronavirus had plans of its own, so it all had to pause. They had to shuffle the wedding dates around and when they finally decided they needed to finish all the wedding rites, they set a new date and they planned the wedding in two weeks. Esther and Opemipo’s 600-guest wedding became a very small and intimate affair.

Esther explains how they managed to pull off the wedding in two weeks, she says:

“We had paid all our vendors and we were just waiting for the D-day so we would have the event. After we moved the wedding, we had to reduce the number of vendors that could show up for the wedding to reduce the risks of spreading the virus. It was quite hard because we had to rework some of our previous plans but it turned out very beautiful. We planned the entire small wedding in two weeks. We went out to meet a few vendors and when we couldn’t go out, we sent emails, had video calls and we did that to ensure the wedding went smoothly.”

The couple beaming with joy as they pose for a picture with the best man and groomsmen after the traditional wedding. Photo: Huvi Pictures

The couple poses for a picture with ‘The Squad’ after the white wedding ceremony. Photo: Huvi Pictures

The bride, Esther, maid of honour and bridesmaids right before she walked down the aisle. Photo: Huvi Pictures

Everything was going smoothly until a few days before the wedding when the bridal party had to go for their final fitting and everyone had outgrown their outfits during the lockdown. The bride who made most of the wedding party’s outfits had to rework all the clothes. She said,

“I made my wedding dress, my husband and his groomsmen’s outfit and shoes, the bridesmaids dresses, Aso-Ebis and my parents’ outfits prior to the lockdown. And then we went for lockdown and everyone got fat, including me. When I tried my wedding dress a few days before my wedding, it was no longer my size. I couldn’t even put it on. So I had to put everything in pieces and started from scratch. I also had to make my Aso-Oke again and adjust all the bridal party outfits.”

The couple poses for a picture at the hotel garden after their intimate white wedding. Photo: Huvi Pictures

Despite all of the ups and downs, Esther and Opemipo Sotiloye’s wedding turned out to be beautiful, gorgeous and everything that they wanted. They got to spend the day with their immediate family and their closest friends, and also share their joy with other friends and family through Zoom.

They proved that even the strongest problems cannot tear down their love.

Congratulations to the newly-weds!