Category Archives: Real Weddings

December 23, 2016

Top 5 Kosibah Destination Brides for 2016.

By Kosibah

Hi there, thanks for checking out this blog post. As the end of 2016 draws in, I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to look back at Kosibah Real Brides who got married in a different country from which they usually live.

This is more pertinent to me as a bridal designer who has recently relocated to New York from London after successfully running my business there for 25 years.

It’s a huge leap of faith to have a destination wedding because even if you have the most efficient and well connected wedding planner, you are still physically removed from where your dream day will take place.

I’ve had the great privilege this year to work with some amazing brides to create couture gowns for their destination weddings. I’m pleased that at least getting their couture gown made is one thing they can be part of from start to completion.

Here is the list. Please let me know which is your favourite Kosibah Bride or wedding destination.

1.Kosibah Real Bride Louise. Destination: Cape Town, South Africa.

Louise wore a couture full skirted bridal gown with a beaded, corseted bodice and a tulle skirt bustled behind with multi length layers, stiffed at the hemline with horsehair crinoline.

2. Kosibah Real Bride Funmilayo. Destination: Venice, Italy.

Funmilayo wore a couture fishtail gown. It had a removable chemise with 3/4 length sleeves which she removed for the informal part of the wedding reception.

3. Kosibah Real Bride Amina. Destination: Chateneauf-de-Grass (near Nice), France.

Amina wore a silver gray French Lace and Duchesse Satin couture gown styled to reflect her Nigerian heritage. The corseted gown had a fitted skirt with a detachable tulle overskirt.

4. Kosibah Real Bride Julianna. Destination: Santorini, Greece.

Julianna wore a couture bridal gown featuring an illusion tulle bodice embellished with Lace appliqués and a modified fishtail skirt in soft tulle with a cathedral train.

5. Kosibah Real Bride Layal. Destination: Lake Como, Italy.

Layal wore a couture bridal gown with a fitted beaded Lace bodice with an intergral corset and delicate covered buttons over the dress zipper and dropped shoulder strap sleeves. The fishtail skirt was made up of over 50 meters of Tulle gathered into rose swirls and ruffles on the surface fabric of Duchesse Satin. A matching cathedral veil with hand stitched Lace edging completed the ensemble. Photos by Jide Alakija.

I look forward to reading your comments. Thank you.

8 Comments | tags: bridal gowns, Cape Town wedding, couture, Couture Bridal, Couture bridal gown, couture wedding dresses, custom bridalwear, destination weddings, Kosibah, lake como wedding, luxury bridal, New York bridal designer, New York couture designer, New York wedding dress designer, Nigerian bride, santorini wedding, Wedding dresses, wedding inspiration | posted in Events, Ideas and Inspirations, Ideas and Inspirations, Real Weddings

December 13, 2016

Kosibah Real Bride’s Ruby’s sumptuous wedding.

By Kosibah

I was introduced to Ruby through her wedding planner Mati Gono of Just As Planned and she was very excited when we met at my London Atelier because even before Mati recommend me, she had been following Kosibah for years (this is ALWAYS a great start for me!).

As usual with all my clients I wanted to know from Ruby what elements of a couture bridal gown would tick all her boxes. She said she’d like a really long train, a fitted fishtail gown with lace detail and an open back.

RUBY’S wedding service in the glorious St Paul’s Church , Knightsbridge and had her reception at the nearby Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane stunningly decorated and coordinated by Just As Planned.

Ruby has become a very good friend to me and and evangelist for Kosibah.

Side note, her train is the longest of a Kosibah couture bridal gown so far.

Are you following my Instagram page? If not, please do so and say hi under the latest post on there. Thank you.

Enjoy the beautiful photos from RUBY’S wedding some taken by myself and some by Jide Alakija of Alakija Studios.

Ruby in the Kosibah London studio at her first toile fitting.

Design assistants in the Kosibah studio cutting out Lace appliqués and embellishing them with Swarovski diamanté crystals.

The magic tool that allows us to affix diamanté unto fabric, called a hotfix wand.

Ruby back in the studio for her second toile fitting. All the minor fitting issues that showed up at the first fitting are resolved and this toile is the revised version. This couture process is what assures a perfect fit.

The embellished appliqués are then pinned into place on the toile. They will eventually be carefully replicated on the surface of the actual dress fabric by hand. A process that takes more time and skill than you want to think about.

The bridal shoes just HAD to be Swarovski diamanté embellished Loutoutins!

The Dress!

Close up of the sheer back in tulle with hand stitched appliqués and covered buttons. Gave the illusion of a deep plunging back whilst giving the right support.

Wedding and Events Planner Mati Gono.

Bouquets for the bridal party.

Ruby’s diamond and pearl headpiece.

Is this really me?

Genius photographer and brains behind Alakija Studios, Jide Alakija and I.

The obligatory couture designer and bride selfie. Has now become a tradition with my brides and me.

Full length view of Ruby in her bridal gown.

Close up of Ruby with her tulle cathedral veil.

After last minute checks Ruby is about to leave her room.

Setting off to Church.

St Pauls church, Knightsbridge.

Interior of the show showing its stunning alter screens and stained glass windows.

Leave a comment | tags: bridal dress, bridal gown, bridal inspiration, Couture bridal gown, Couture wedding dress, custom wedding dress custom bridal gown, Kosibah, Kosibah Real Bride, London Bridal Designer, Nigerian wedding, nyc bridal designer, Real Weddings, wedding dress, wedding gown, Yemi Kosibah | posted in Real Weddings

August 21, 2015

Kosibah Real Bride Simisola.

By Kosibah

In August I had the joyful opportunity to fulfil a promise I made to myself during a visit to my niece shortly after her birth….that God willing, I would create her bridal gown when she got married.
I also got to make dresses for my cousin, the mother of the bride and her older sister.
It was the first time a large group of my family would see one of my creations ‘in real life’ as opposed to photographs, videos or in magazines which made it even more special for me.
The dress, a corseted fishtail chapel train strapless gown with a cathedral length organza overlay,and veil featuring a beaded tulle lace with pearl accents, were further enhanced by 4,000+ Swarovski diamanté crystals added unto their hand cut appliqués in the Kosibah studio.
Swarovski diamanté crystals were also added to her bridal shoes in the Kosibah studio.

Her hair was styled by talented hairstylist (and as it happens, a past Kosibah Real Bride!) Bunmi Nsofor of Avos Hair.

4 Comments | tags: #TeamSAS2015, bridal gown with sleeves, cathedral train, Couture bridal gown, Couture wedding dress, Fishtail bridal gown, Kosibah, Kosibah Real Bride, London wedding, Nigerian wedding, Yemi Kosibah, Yemi Osunkoya, YemiKosibah | posted in Events, Ideas and Inspirations, Real Weddings

July 2, 2015

Kosibah Real Bride Yve.

By Kosibah

Today I share with you images from Kosibah Real Bride Yve’s wedding. Creating Yves dress was a joy for many reasons. For one, she was getting married to my good friend Deb and I knew a lot of our mutual friends would be seeing my work ‘in real life’ for the first time. It was also an opportunity to create a fusion design that incorporated aspects of Deb’s Asian culture.

I decided to use Sari Fabric, deconstructed and put back together with silk duchesse satin. We chose a rich burgundy red and gold sari.

The wedding took place in the grounds of the magnificent Tudor mansion Leez Priory with the wedding breakfast in a hall within the mansion.

Here is a short video captured and edited on my iPhone that encapsulates the whole day.

Leave a comment | tags: Asian Bride, bespoke bridal gown, bridal inspiration, Couture wedding dress, Kosibah, Kosibah Real Bride, Leez Priory, Munaluchi Coterie, Yemi Kosibah, Yemi Osunkoya | posted in Real Weddings

August 23, 2014

Kosibah Real Bride Asia- A couture Nikai bridal gown.

By Kosibah

Today I am sharing with you the process of creating Kosibah Real Bride Asia’s couture gown for her Nikai ceremony held in Tanzania.

It involved hand cutting appliqués off the French Lace fabric and reassembling them on silk tulle, by hand, thereby creating a bespoke fabric for the center back panel of the fishtail skirt.

Asia teamed her gown with a head-wrap in the same silk satin as the gown underlay and wore an embellished veil for the ceremony.

This gown would also be perfect for a Reception dress after a white

Please let me know what you think.

Leave a comment | tags: couture, couture bridalwear, couture eveningwear, Kosibah, Lace gown, London Bridal Designer, Muslim Bride, Nikai wedding dress, Yemi Kosibah, Yemi Osunkoya, YemiKosibah | posted in Real Weddings

June 11, 2014

Kosibah Real Bride Charlotte

By Kosibah

It is always a great show of confidence in one’s work when as a designer you get to create bridal gowns for more than one member of the same family. It was such a case in today’s Kosibah Real Bride Charlotte as I also got to create her sister’s bridal gown a couple of years later.

Charlotte wanted a fitted fishtail gown with some texture in the fabric. I created a gown featuring an asymmetrical empire-line bodice hand-draped in silk duchesse satin with a Swarovski embellished knot leading to 2 detachable shoulder straps. The corseted lower bodice and fishtail skirt was in textured silk tulle with Swarovski diamante crystals added on in the Kosibah Studio.

I also made the dresses worn by the 2 Bridesmaids (one of whom I later made a wedding gown for), the Mother of the Bride and the Grandmother of the Bride. As I usually do when I can, I arrived in the morning to dress the whole bridal party.

Charlotte, the daughter of Lord Boateng, a peer of the realm, had the privilege of getting married in the beautiful St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey with her reception taking place across Parliament Square at One Great George Street , a magnificent Grade II listed, four-domed, Edwardian building .

Charlotte removed her silk tulle cathedral veil after the wedding service and just before cutting the cake with her new husband, removed the detachable shoulder straps which created a more informal look to her dress.

Enjoy the images, especially the interiors of both St Margaret’s Church and One Great George Street.

8 Comments | tags: couture, Couture bridal gown, couture bridalwear, Kosibah, Kosibah Real Bride, Mother of the Bride outfit, One Great George Street, St Margaret's Church, Yemi Kosibah, Yemi Osunkoya, YemiKosibah | posted in Events, Ideas and Inspirations, Real Weddings

March 15, 2014

Kosibah Real Bride Anu.

By Kosibah

I share with you today’s Kosibah real bride Anu’s wedding with very fond memories. Her wedding was one of those rare ones that allowed me to fully display exactly what Kosibah can do for a wedding party. I dressed Anu and her 6 bridesmaids not only for the wedding, but also for the evening party afterwards where they changed into Afro-Centric eveningwear.

The wedding was held at the magnificent St Marylebone Parish Church , Marylebone Road near Regent’s Park where the couple were able to take some wonderful photographs after the service, and the Reception took place at the London Hilton on Park Lane .

Anu wore a fitted empire-line fishtail gown, with an integral corset laced up underneath the zipper featuring decorative covered buttons. The bodice was ruched in ivory organza and the skirt was in ivory silk duchesse satin with a champagne tulle beaded Lace overlay. The removable cap-sleeved chemise top was in the Lace left sheer.A cathedral tulle veil edged in the same lace completed the ensemble.

As Anu wanted to celebrate her future husbands Ghanaian heritage, I suggested we used a fabric called Kente-Oke as well as duchesse satin for the bridesmaids dresses. Anu’s husband’s tuxedo jacket was made with Kente-Oke as well.

For the evening party, Anu changed into a fitted sheath gown in salmon Silk charmeuse and beaded lace and her bridesmaids in knee-length fitted dresses in Woodin fabric.

A short video clip of the wedding beautifully captured by Joseph Young can be viewed here

Please leave a comment after viewing the photos below. I’d love to know what you think.

22 Comments | tags: Afro-Centric wedding, Bridemaids, couture bridalwear, Designer wedding dress, Kente-Oke, Kosibah, Lace wedding dress, London wedding, Yemi Osunkoya, YemiKosibah | posted in Events, Ideas and Inspirations, Real Weddings

January 14, 2014

Kosibah Real Bride Amina.

By Kosibah

Today’s Kosibah Real Bride is Amina. She wore an empire-line corseted dress in champagne duchesse satin, with a champagne silk organza overlay featuring old gold Lace appliques embellished with Swarovski diamante crystals. Amina opted to wear her hair in loose curls tumbling over her right shoulder. On her head Amina wore a champagne tulle cathedral train with hand stitched Lace edging to match her gown as well as a bespoke jeweled headpiece by Kyles Collection. The wedding service took place at the beautiful St Peter’s Church and the reception at the English Heritage former stately home Kenwood House.

Kyles Collection .

8 Comments | tags: bespoke Bridalwear, bridalwear, Cathedral veil, couture, Kosibah, Kosibah Real Bride, lace, Yemi Kosibah | posted in Events, Ideas and Inspirations, Real Weddings

January 4, 2014

Happy Anniversary to Fola and Akin Esho.

By Kosibah

Here are images from the wedding of the CEO of Wed Magazine and Wed Expo Akin Esho and Kosibah client Fola which took place exactly one year ago today in Lagos, Nigeria.

As is the case with most of my bridal clients, I was there to dress Fola and attend the wedding.

Happy Anniversary Fola and Akin, I wish you many more years of marital bliss.

Hair and Make Up was by BMPRO MAKEUP and the cake was by Cakes By Tosan

3 Comments | tags: Bespoke wedding dresses, Bridal, bridal gowns, bridal inspiration, couture, Couture Bridal, Designer, Kosibah, lace, Yemi Osunkoya, YemiKosibah | posted in Events, Ideas and Inspirations, Real Weddings

March 20, 2012

KOSIBAH BRIDE – Aluna

By Kosibah

This wedding was set in Brompton Oratory Catholic Church, South Kensington, London and the bridal gown was inspired by the bride who wanted a DEMURE style.

Bride: ALUNA

Wedding Year: 2008

Wedding Style: Demure