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I am so excited to finally present to you, the first of a series, about Boomie and David and Africa.

Boomie and David met over the phone, about a year ago. She was in Maryland, and he was in her hometown of Lagos, in Nigeria. They spoke on the phone quite a bit, and for quite a while, before Boomie decided to surprise David. She had her uncle meet him at Barcelos (an amazing made-to-order fast food chicken extravaganza), to give him a gift. The gift was her. She was hiding in the car. David had said to her in one of their talks, that when he finally sees her in the flesh, he’ll pick her up and spin her around. He was so shocked when he saw her emerge from the car that he totally forgot. And after some time, he told her to put down her things, and he delivered as promised.

This, their wedding week, is only the third time she’s ever seen him. But the love just oozes from them. So much for each other, and for everyone else around them. Arriving at Murtala Muhammed Airport was the first time I ever (and finally!) met Boomie, and I was so taken with her brightness and sincerity that it feels like I’ve known her for a year. David has never been to America, but he’ll be moving here next week, to be with his new wife. How awesome is that?!? Husbone and I look forward to having them as our dear friends.

Lagos is probably one of the most vibrant, chaotic, visually rich places I’ve ever seen. And I have to say the same about their various wedding ceremonies. The first of which, was the traditional Yoruba ceremony. I am weary with travel, and I have three more flights left today until I arrive in Santa Fe, New Mexico for the Blend workshop, so I’ll let the pictures do the talking!

Yams!

An awesome tradition in Yoruba wedding ceremonies, and many other West African cultures, is that everyone on a side of the family gets a fabric, and each person gets their outfit custom made. There were 1000 people at their Christian wedding, and about 400 people at the Yoruba wedding. This way, you can look out onto a sea of people and know how many people on your side are there for you.

You might be able to spot me there in the back. And as you can see, I was very happy to be there. No matter how sweaty.

I love this shot.