When Cassie reached out to her wedding planner less than two months to the day, she was quite sure of what she wanted; an intimate, elegant and unconventional wedding. Judging from the over 400k views and 6k shares on her “unconventional things I did at my wedding” post, a lot of people agreed it was the best thing they had seen in the wedding scene in quite some time.
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As a creative who pays close attention to the finer details, Cassie Daves designed almost all the props and decor used at her wedding. From invitations, menu cards for food and wine bars, welcome banners, wedding fans that doubled as information pamphlets, Instagram photo frames, table signs that doubled as a guest book, down to the popcorn stickers! This bride was exploring all her creative impulses and we loved it.
Creatives can be quite insistent on things they want done their way and Cassie’s husband, Mark, didn’t mind her having creative control at all.
“Thankfully my husband understands the way I think so it wasn’t so bad. We had like two occasions where we had a mini fight about something I wanted. I wanted to make our wedding program into a hand fan and he didn’t see the point in it, we talked it out eventually and he left it for me. According to him “these things are too trivial to let it be an issue for us”. He also didn’t want a lot of things to be honest, I think he was only particular about the drinks and that was one area I didn’t care about so I let him do what he wanted.”
All The Fun Things About #MeetTheUmarks wedding
Cassie Daves and her husband Mark Umarkehi held their wedding in a beautiful garden wedding on a lovely Friday afternoon in the bustling city of Lagos. The ceremony was simple yet so intentionally classy. The couple wore outfits from Nigerian designer and the bride’s longtime friend, Mai Atafo. Cassie’s wedding dress was a beaded ivory satin dress with a sweetheart neckline and a high side slit. She finished off the look with a hand beaded veil. Mark wore a mauve tuxedo with a matching satin lapel and bow tie. Both looks were soft, significant and oh so stylish.
Some of the unconventional things she did at her wedding lends credence to the age old phrase “less is more”. She had one maid of honor, one bridesmaid and wore her blonde dyed buzz cut without any extra styling. There was no reception dress or dramatic entrance for the reception; the couple simply walked into the reception area and proceeded to have their first dance. One of the most exciting elements of the reception ceremony for guests was having popsicles with their wine!
“The popsicles were fun considering the heat! loved the painting activity too”, Cynthia said, reminiscing on how the popsicles were such a great relief from the unrelenting sun.
When you plan your wedding in your own way, you are bound to love everything and so did Cassie Daves. When asked about her favourite detail from the wedding, she says “It’s hard to pick a favorite thing, I loved everything! Lol. My head tells me I should say “oh my husband and getting married to him” but I know that’s not it, sorry to that man!”. Sorry Mark, your bride is always right as you probably already know. Giving props to her event decorator, Cassie Daves says “Honestly I think I’d say just seeing everything I planned come to life perfectly made me so happy. So I’d say the decor, my event decorator really outdid herself in bringing my ideas to life.”
What The Guests Had To Say
When you witness love in a pure and intimate manner, you definitely have quite a lot of great things to say. This isn’t such a surprise as most of the couple’s friends posted really sweet videos on social media, recanting their experiences at the wedding.
Enkay, a longtime friend of the couple, loved that the wedding was really intimate and traditional rules were discarded.
“It was their wedding, and they were going to do it their way. My best part of the wedding was their slow dance in the middle of everybody they loved and wanted there. It was so beautiful, I had to pinch myself to be sure I was alive at that moment, lol!”
Photographer and self-appointed mobile videographer of the day, Lex Ash had fun just the way he likes it. “It felt relaxed, no pressure, no one rushed or was rushing, there was a flow that is usually lacking from many weddings. And it was beautifully simple and artisanal. It felt like fun in the lightest and best way.”
Oby Onugha didn’t know how to start gushing about the wedding. “It was like stepping into a fairytale! The moment I arrived; the scent of blooming flowers embraced me like a warm hug. Their choice of venue was absolutely enchanting, and I couldn’t get enough of the romantic ambiance. The intimate setting made it feel like we were all part of something truly special. And let’s not forget the personalized touches, like the tree with polaroid pictures of the couple’s memories on it, pure genius! Their wedding was a delightful blend of elegance, nature, and love. It was an honour to be part of such a magical day!”
The wedding became extra magical at night and that’s what Iyesogie loved the most. ‘The night lights were so beautiful and just seeing how it glowed made everything seem more romantic. I loved the intimacy of it. You could tell every detail was well thought of and just how the couple wanted it to be.”
Cassie’s bridesmaid, Becky, wishes she was as creative as the bride. “It was so detailed and thoughtful. It really showed her creativity and the fact that Cassandra has a mind of her own. I wish I was a creative as her. It wasn’t rowdy like a carnival. The guests were well taken care of, and we were all able to bond and I met new people. It was absolutely beautiful; I love them both.”
Meet The Umarks
The couple often speaks about their journey on their Instagram page, and it gives us the feels every time. Their vows proved the depth of their joy of finding each other, being accepting and committed to making each other happy. It had the bridal party (and the rest of us) in happy tears during the ceremony.
Mark jokes that he now has a masterclass on how to move from being a “random man” in the DMs to putting a ring on that finger. Need some lessons? The U-marks got you. Follow them on Instagram and check out Cassie’s youtube channel to catch up on how they met and their journey as a young couple.
CREDITS
Decor- @intimateweddingsbyfave
Planner- @miviaevents
Photographer- @manneshotit @manneshotitevents
Makeup- @mobellefaces
Outfits- @atafo.official
