We left the house at about noon, we knew we were not going to meet at the church wedding, so we were headed to the reception venue but we got into a little traffic on our way, we stayed there for about 30 minutes and then we were back on the road. Thankfully we got there at the same time the other guests were arriving, Cheta got out of the car to talk to one of Cheta's friends that had walked over to the car.
"Cheta, how far? You didn't come to the church?", he asked Cheta. His name was Daniel.
"We got into traffic on our way here", Cheta said.
"Oh...Okay"
"They are not here yet?", Cheta asked him,
"Not yet. They were still taking pictures when I left"
"Okay, We will wait in the car", Cheta said. I was still sitting in the car.
"I'll do that too, my girlfriend is in the car"
"Guess, I'll see you inside then", Cheta said. Daniel walks away, and Cheta steps back and gets back in the car with me.
"Are they here yet?", I asked him
"No, not yet. But I think they will be here soon",
"Okay."
We sat in the car, vibing to the songs that were playing on the radio channel. Then a few minutes later, Nick and Chioma's car drove into the compound.
"They are here, babe", I said as I saw the car drive into the compound.
"Oh! Yes, we should go and say hello before we walk in",
"Yes".
Cheta got out of the car, then walked over to the other side of the car and opened the door for me, then he took my car and we walked to Nick and Chioma's car, when we got to the car, Nick wound down the window,
"Hello newlyweds", Cheta said
"My guy", Nick answered
"Hey Nma", Nick said,
"Hey, Nick... Chioma, you look so beautiful, my goodness.", I said to Chioma,
"Thank you my darling. Have you guys gone in?", Chioma asked us,
"Not yet. We were waiting for you to get here", Cheta said,
"Okay, I think we would be coming in soon", Nick said. While we were talking, a young lady, who I suspect was their wedding planner walked over to the car and started talking to them,
"We would need you guys to come in soon", she said,
"Okay. Where is the bridal train?", Chioma asked her,
"They are already by the door, waiting", she said,
"Okay, we are coming. Please can you get my make-up artist? I need a little touch-up on my face", Chioma said,
"Okay, I'll get her now", she said, then walked away.
"We will see you inside, let's go and take our seats.", Cheta said
"I'll see you inside Chioma", I said, then I added, "Congratulations guys", we walked away from the car and back to the car. I took my purse out of the car and we walked into the wedding reception hall. I was blown away, the moment I walked in, it was so beautiful. It was a flowery arrangement, they had flowers up on the ceiling and had them draped down like curtains. Then there were different kinds of flowers on each table, the tables were covered with golden and silver cloth. The wedding hall looked like a garden and then there was a seating arrangement, everyone had a table with their names, and with the help of one of the ushers, we found our table and sat down. Our table had a bottle of wine with our names on it, by this time there was music playing in the background. At this time, someone was already announcing and asking people to come in and sit down because the reception was about to start, so people started coming into the reception hall and taking their seats. Daniel and his girlfriend joined us at our table, including James, Cheta's friend from the dinner.
"Cheta, how far?", James said, shaking hands with Cheta,
"Were you at the church?", Cheta asked him,
"No, I'm just getting here.",
"Of course, you were late", Cheta said and they laughed.
"Hey Dinma, how are you? You look very beautiful", James said to me,
"Thank you James", I said,
James sat down next to Cheta and they continued talking. Then a few minutes later, the bridal train starts dancing into the hall with the groomsmen. They dance in first, then stand close to the centre, making a circle and then Nick and Chioma start dancing in. I got up to record a video of the newlyweds dancing. They dance in and when they get to the middle of the circle, they stand there and dance for a while before taking their seats. Then the MC (Master of Ceremony), continues handling the events, he called the couple to come out for their first dance, which they did and the DJ(Disk Jockey) started playing a slow romantic song, they stepped out, holding hands and they danced. After the first dance, the couple walked out of the hall to get changed(It had become a thing in Nigeria, that couples change their outfit after their first dance in the reception hall), while they were out changing, the MC had us play games which ranged from dancing to the other things. When Nick and Chioma were done getting changed, they danced back into the reception hall and after dancing a while with their friends, it was at this time that Cheta and I walked out and danced with them,
"Your dress is so beautiful", I whispered to Chioma while we danced together,
"Thank you", she said.
We sprayed them money before we went back to sit down, Cheta still holding my hand. We sat down, at this time, they had begun to serve meals, starting from the appetizer.
"Do you like it?", Cheta asked me while we ate,
"Yes, I like it",
"You have barely touched your drink, you don't like it?", Cheta asked him again,
"Yes, I like it. I'm just trying to hold my liquor", I said to him,
He laughed at me, "Baby, you should enjoy yourself, I'm here to take care of you",
"But you are not drinking too"
"Because I'm driving us home, I'm sure you don't want to be driven by a drunk",
"Fine, I'll drink, " I said, picking up my glass of wine, taking a long sip from my cup, putting it down, and continuing to eat my appetizer.
Then they brought over the main dish, there were different options on that menu but I had picked the Nigerian jollof rice which was chicken and fried chicken as a side dish and there was also cole slaw, but Cheta had asked for Jambalaya rice and snails with the coleslaw. While we ate, Cheta fed me some of his food and his snail which tasted delicious,
"Thank you baby", I said with food in my mouth
We continued eating our food while the activities were at the reception. Then it was time for the father-daughter dance, it was so beautiful, Chioma's dad was such a good dancer, they did a lot of dances together, and there were cheers from the guests.
"You know anytime I remember that my dad won't be here to dance with me on my wedding day, I get really sad", I was saying to Cheta while Chioma and her father were dancing,
Cheta took my hand, trying to console me.
"I know how painful that can be my love. But you know I am always here and your brother will be there to walk you down the aisle and also dance with you", he said,
"Thank you, baby. You always know the right things to say to me", I said and held on tight to his hand.
I know you all are tired of hearing me talk about Cheta and how much he cares about me, but the truth is that there won't be a story without Cheta and how much he cares about me. Cheta's love for me is something I have never experienced before in my dating life and I'm going to keep talking about it because I know it won't bore some of my readers, so enjoy my beautiful story about the love of my life who at some point was a stranger. I'll take you back to the wedding reception.
After the Father-Daughter dance, the cake was rolled into the reception hall, it was the most beautiful wedding cake I had seen,
"It is so beautiful, my goodness", I said to Cheta,
"It is baby.", Cheta said,
The couple cut their cake and then there was more dancing, more food and more drinks too. There wasn't a time for gifts as I was used to when I was younger. Back then, at every wedding reception, there was a time when the guests would give the gifts they had come with to the newlyweds and they would get a souvenir in return but now things had changed, now the couple would create a website where they make a list of the things they need and then their guests get it by sending an equivalent amount for the gifts. This was exactly what Nick and Chioma had done and of course, we had paid for 3 of the things they had put up. After the cutting of the cake, the desserts were served and more drinks too and the party continued.