Ahh, yes! The day of the traditional wedding is here!
FRIDAY
4:15 am, and Diamond was wide awake, obviously too giddy with excitement.
The day had finally arrived! By the end of this day, she would officially be Edem’s wife. Sure, there was the church wedding the next day, but it certainly wasn’t any superior to what would happen later that day.
As Serwaah, who was joining her in the room for that night, began to stir, Diamond’s phone buzzed. She picked it up.
A message from Edem. A message that warmed her heart.
Babe, today, our forever begins. I can’t wait to make it official before God and man. I love you.
***
4:16 am, and Edem was seated in the living room of his parents’ house.
His phone on his lap, he smiled as he saw the ‘typing’ notification on Diamond’s chat.
What a journey it had been! Who would have thought that that day Boochie ran out of the house, he’d meet the woman he knew he couldn’t live without? How things had worked together for his good!
As he looked up and whispered, “Thank You for this day, Lord,” his phone buzzed.
He looked down and smiled at the response from the woman set to become his wife.
Indeed it does, honey. I couldn’t be more blessed than to become one with you. I’m gonna cherish this day forever. I love you too. More than you’ll ever know.
***
7:42 am, and the Dolphyne house was buzzing with activity. The make-up artists, photographers and videographers were all present and had set up in the two rooms the bridesmaids were occupying. All the bridesmaids were in, getting their make-up done. And Shamima and her crew were adding the final touches to the décor.
The boys had quickly moved out to Samia’s spot to get the waakye ordered the previous day for all those working behind the scenes, and were busily distributing the packs to the various workers.
Just the start of what would be a very busy, but very beautiful day.
***
9:51 am, and visitors had already begun arriving.
Oscar, Toby and Anasah, already dressed impeccably in their apricot orange kaftans, were hanging around the entrance, greeting family members as they walked in.
Edem was outside in his car, looking absolutely dazzling in his white kaftan with kente designs. His groomsmen were exquisitely robed in royal purple kaftans, and were busily chatting and messing around as they waited for the ceremony to finally kick off. All the items were in Jackson’s car, so all they needed was the signal, and everything would be carried off to the venue.
It was about 10:00 am when the speaker for Edem’s family finally gave that signal. The guys immediately grabbed the various items and formed the line, ready to place the gifts before Diamond’s family.
Maame Happiness, the speaker for Edem’s family, cried into her mic, “Agoooo!”
Champion Mama, the speaker for Diamond’s family, responded, “Amɛɛ!”
As she and the groomsmen walked to the wedding area, carrying the various boxes filled with the gifts for the Dolphyne family, it was official.
The ceremony had officially begun.
***
About thirty minutes had passed, and as was the custom, the gifts for Daniel, Larissa and the Dolphyne boys had been given to them, with a lot of jokes, stories and songs raised by both family speakers.
Now it was time for Maame Happiness to bring the young man who had convinced his family to bring all those gifts.
A minute or two after leaving the scene, the family seated on the left erupted into cheers as the sounds of Bether Revival Choir’s “Agbadza Gospel Medley” started up. You could tell how much the intro of the song excited them.
In no time at all, the groomsmen appeared on the scene, dancing passionately to the song.
Nurudeen. Jason. Patrick. Hanson.
And behind Hanson, aggressively showing off his flawless agbadza skills, was the groom himself: Edem.
Behind him was Mawuli, followed by Jackson, Bernard and finally Dennis.
Edem’s dancing certainly excited everyone present.
“Ala, give us!”
“Yieyeeeeeeee!”
“Chale, Edem really knows the dance ooo! Proper Ewe man!” Shamima excitedly commented as she stood next to her boyfriend and his brothers.
“I swear down!” Toby agreed, his phone held up as he recorded the procession. “The skills no be easy.”
As the groomsmen ahead of Edem stepped on the walkway, the DJ switched it up. ‘Koko’ by E.L. was the next song to play. And the excitement that ran through the groomsmen’s movements was too palpable.
At that moment, the joy coursing through Edem’s veins wouldn’t let him think about his beloved Efo Godwill. He saw the face of his mother, Maame Precious Sedudzi, the faces of his uncles Henry, Benson and Senam. Faces full of delight to see their little boy finally become a man.
And that was enough to fill him with glee.
The atmosphere was set for an incredible day, no two ways about it.
***
Now that the young man had been revealed to the Dolphyne family, it was time for that beautiful flower – or in this case, diamond – to be revealed as well.
As you’d hear in many traditional weddings, there was the jovial demand of the fee to book a flight for the bride to arrive. After the playful back and forth, Champion Mama made her way out of the wedding area and into the house.
A minute after, the DJ put on ‘Monalisa’ by Lojay and Sarz.
As Champion Mama appeared from the entrance of the house, moving her feet enthusiastically, out came the bridesmaids, who were looking absolutely gorgeous in their violet dresses, dancing their heads off from the jump.
Serwaah. Akinyi. Gyamfua. Sabukie.
And right behind Sabukie, beautifully decked out in her kente gown and looking as delighted as could be while she danced, was the woman of the moment.
Diamond.
Behind her was Maabena, followed by Selasi, Araba and finally Lucy.
What a glorious sight to all who were present there! The photographers were capturing the moments with passion, and the videographers made sure their cameras did not miss a millisecond of the joyful moments.
As the second verse of the song started, the bridesmaids surrounded her as she sang while turning around. And when the chorus hit, the bride dropped it low. Her bridesmaids had an assignment they carried out to near perfection as they waved their fans on her while cheering her on.
“Come on, girl!”
“Work it, work it!”
“Give them, girl!”
Diamond had promised to bring sass and attitude, and boy, was she fulfilling it to a T.
Especially when the DJ switched things up and put on ‘Something’ by Gyakie.
Daniel and Larissa could only watch in joy, their hearts swelling with pride as their daughter made her way down the walkway with her girls, showing off her sauciness on a day she was more than permitted to.
***
Paul Dolphyne, standing in as head of the Dolphyne family, stood to his feet and faced the couple before him. With a smile on his face, he started.
“Diamond, this family have brought all these items, and say that they are taking you away to their home. Shall we take them or not?”
“Please take them,” Diamond responded, a glowing smile on her face as her friends and siblings cheered.
“Diamond,” Paul Dolphyne began again, “this humble family have brought us all these lovely items, with the intention of taking you away. Shall we take them or not?”
“Please take them,” Diamond repeated.
“Diamond. For the final time. This powerful family have presented all these gifts to us, with the intention that you become part of their family. Should we tell them to leave or should we take their gifts?”
“Please, take every single gift they have given to you,” Diamond responded confidently. That reply drew even bigger cheers from those around, especially her brothers. Mr. Paul Dolphyne laughed as he took his seat next to Daniel, who was simply taking it all in.
Yep, his daughter was being taken away.
***
Half an hour later, and the main event was complete. The guests had now taken their seats at the tables, the MC was in charge of proceedings, and Edem and Diamond were fully enjoying themselves on the dance floor.
Surrounded by the bridal train and family and friends, they happily danced to the various songs DJ Damocles unleashed on them.
The older guests, seated at the tables set up, watched on in amusement as the younger ones enjoyed themselves. It was particularly when the song ‘Enjoyment’ was played that everyone’s attention was captured.
Oh myyy oh my oh my (GIIIIIIIIVE DEMMMM)
I want to see you shakey-shakey for Daddy
The way Diamond obeyed that last lyric with a naughty twerk on her husband had everyone rolling and hollering. Even Daniel and Larissa were taken aback in hilarity.
“Eish, Danny, you see your daughter now?” Larissa teased. “She’s got herself a new daddy oo.”
Daniel shook his head. “Nope. She’s got herself a ‘dzaddy’ now. There’s a difference.”
“Please, please. Kidi doesn’t mention Dzaddy. It’s Daddy.”
“But Kidi wouldn’t tell his daughter he wants to see her shake it for him now, would he?”
Larissa was ready to argue, but stopped, clearly stumped by her husband’s response. “Never mind.”
“Oh, you know I’m on point, don’t you?” Daniel teased.
“Zip it, Danny.”
Daniel laughed.
***
As you would expect, the others joined the couple on the dance floor, and it was nothing but delight for the next two hours as they all moved their bodies to the beats.
From the likes of Toby, Serwaah, Akinyi and Selasi – undeniably good dancers – to the likes of Kwame and Mawuli, who clearly had two left feet, everyone was jamming to the music. And whether it was Toby and Serwaah combining their skills for ‘Overdose’ or Diamond, Selasi, Akinyi and Shamima forming a brief choreography for the Stonebwoy songs Damocles played back-to-back, there was so much to remember about that afternoon.
An absolute jam session.
***
Late afternoon had arrived, and most of the guests had already departed.
Edem and Diamond were hanging around, sitting at one of the tables near to the entrance, with the other Dolphyne siblings, Kwame, Akinyi and Maabena as company, talking about the beauty of the day’s events. They were waiting for their chauffeur for the weekend to whisk them away to the Movenpick Hotel to prepare for the next day.
Bustling around was the ever-busy Shamima, who was overseeing the taking down of the décor. As she passed by the table, Diamond called out, “Shamima!”
Shamima turned. “Hey, Missus!”
“Chale, I never knew you were a serious Stonebwoy fan like that ooo! Fellow Bhim native!”
“Oh, Dee, Bhimnation for life!” Shamima enthusiastically responded, giving her a fist bump. They certainly showed off on the dance floor in memorable fashion. “You know the deal. Aaaaaabwoi!”
“Yaaaas, girl! Dassaall!! But girl, the way you’ve worked, eh. Herh, you do all!”
“Honestly,” Edem agreed. “Inobi easy. Here and there, making sure everything’s in order. Chale, thanks, Shamima. Thanks a lot.”
“Awww, you’re welcome, guys,” Shamima replied gratefully. “I’m glad I contributed to making it great for you. Anyways, I need to go and get some stuff in the twins’ room. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Turning to Toby, she called, “Babe, I’ll come see you in a moment, ayt?”
Toby nodded.
As she walked back into the house, Toby watched her. Very keenly.
As a matter of fact, way too keenly. And everyone around him saw the focus of his keen attention.
“Tobias Nana Nyarko Dolphyne!” Diamond’s voice brought him back to reality. He turned to see his big sister staring at him with an amazed expression.
“Ei, Toby!” she exclaimed. “So big booty has captured your attention like that?”
He grimaced and put on a sheepish smile, as Edem threw him a sly, amused look as he mouthed, “My nigga!”
“Ahhh, Diamond, you didn’t know, eh?” Anasah entered. “Hwɛɛ, this my senior bro, he likes big tins ooo! Big tins agwan fi di bwoy!”
Everyone laughed at Anasah’s patois attempt. Except Toby, who was staring hard at him.
“But chale, Toby, the way the ass dey captivate you be serious ooo,” Edem commented, that amused look still on his face. “This one, if she twerk for your top diɛɛ…”
“Eiiii, Edem! Unless you people carry him off the floor oo! Aboozigi!” Serwaah declared.
Her use of Agradaa’s term had everyone’s laughter going harder. “Herh, Serwaah!” Maabena exclaimed as she keeled over in tears. “See what you’re doing to your big brother!”
Of course, Toby was the only one not laughing, as he shot her another hard look. She was too busy laughing to notice, though.
“But guys, guys,” Akinyi interjected as the laughter died down, “you know you need to give the boy some slack, right? I mean, did you see all o’ that? All that booty for her alone?” She leaned on the table, a dreamy expression on her face. “I mean, Good Lord, even I wanna get her pregnant.”
“Ahhhhhh, Aki!”
The laughter started up yet again, and this time, Toby could not help but join in. Kwame simply looked at his best friend, who kept the silly dreamy expression on her face, and shook his head. “Oh dear Lord, you’re never gonna change, are you?”
“Not for all the kelewele in the world, dear bestie. Not at all.”
As everyone around them continued to laugh, Edem looked at Diamond.
She looked back at him.
He smiled.
She smiled back at him.
He put an arm around her shoulder.
She placed her head on his.
What a sweet end to a beautiful day!
Magnificent stuff! Edem and Diamond are now husband and wife! Beautiful! Let’s see how the church wedding goes…
