It was around 8am and everyone was gathered in the dining room. There
was a lot of tension as raised voices barked words into the phone in
rapid Igbo, a word of which I could not understand but from the looks of
it, they weren’t pleased.
From what I gathered, Chike, the groom had
stolen out of the hotel and gone off to the bride’s home half and hour
away and his family was worried that it was morally wrong. Plus, they
would end up late if he did not show up soon.
They could worry all they wanted for all the young man cared as I
would later find out. Chike is a photographer and he and his fiancee
love pictures a lot. He planned to take as many nice pictures against
great backgrounds before heading to the venue.
He had gone over to the
lady’s parents, secured their permission to take her over to the hotel
for the photos and they had obliged him. That is how we wound up
leisurely taking photos during a two hour window. We made more photos
than an average traditional wedding gets.
Later, when I asked him why he snuck away early without informing his
family, he replied that the whole point of getting a nice hotel away
from the venue was to have options for great photos. It amused me that
photos were that important to him, enough for him to risk the wrath of
his family. In the end, both bride and groom got their wish and the
family has since forgotten how mad they were at him for that boy scout
behaviour. I understand him though.
He had to change his wedding date
just for the sake of pictures and would not have anything stand in his
way. He is the nicest guy I know and incredibly single-minded. He gets
what he wants.
Credit: Wedding photographer, Udimee