May 4, 2019 • Washington Dulles Marriott Suites, Herndon
Photos by Olivia Diane Photography
Comfort Uduebholo and Victor Irorere are proof that distance is no obstacle to true love. Both natives of Edo State in southern Nigeria, the pair barely knew of each other as undergraduate students at Benson Idahosa University in Nigeria’s Benin City. Victor was in his final year, while Comfort was just beginning at the university. “I was very popular, however,” says Comfort, laughing. “He saw me on Facebook and linked up with me.” The pair struck up a conversation through Facebook, but before they could meet, Victor left to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom. By 2015, Comfort had moved to the United States to pursue her own master’s degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., when the pair decided it was time they had a date. “So I flew to London,” she says. On Christmas Day in 2017, which is also Comfort’s birthday, Victor, then a doctor in the U.K., proposed to Comfort while visiting her in the U.S.
With their families still in Nigeria and friends and relatives in Canada and the U.K., the couple chose the Washington Dulles Marriott Suites in Herndon as their venue for its proximity to an international airport as well as its beautiful hall and friendly staff, says Comfort. Although miles from their native Nigeria, the couple infused their big day with the food, dress, and music of their homeland. In a nod to her adopted culture, Comfort wore a white wedding dress and Victor donned a tuxedo for the ceremony. For the reception, Comfort enlisted the help of her older sister, Esther Erewafe, a Nigerian clothing designer, to make lavish traditional wedding garments for the couple and their parents. She chose gold, which symbolizes royalty, and oxblood maroon for herself and Victor, while their parents wore traditional Nigerian Aso Ebi dress in aquamarine accented with orange and sewn from the same material to demonstrate the coming together of the two families. Guests enjoyed traditional Nigerian food at the reception, including pounded yams, fried plantains, bean cakes, and Jollof rice, a rich blend of rice, tomato, and pepper purée. The reception also featured the Benin Song dance by the couple while guests showered them with money for good fortune. Blessings from both of their families were the highlight of the tradition-filled celebration, says Comfort. “We were so happy to have so many family and friends from so far away to celebrate with us,” she says.
Details
Photographer: Olivia Diane Photography, Callaway, OliviaDianePhotography.com | Videographer: Piximpress, Salem, Piximpress.com | Gown: Ellie’s Bridal Boutique, Alexandria, ElliesBridal.com | Linens, Rentals, & Lighting: Washington Dulles Marriott Suites, Herndon, Marriott.com
This article originally appeared in our February 2020 issue.
