Fashion blogger and style enthusiast, Aku Akuffo’s wedding to her beloved Brian was set to get tongues wagging with eyes rolling in their socket over the level of opulence and luxury that was going to be exhibited at the ceremony
And just like social commentators and style insiders predicted, the 2020 event was nothing short of spectacular. It will easily get into the top 3 list of the biggest social event in Ghana attracting scores of Ghana’s famed, powerful and affluent names.
Brian and Aku’s official journey to becoming Mr and Mrs begun a few months back after courting each other for a reasonable period. The festivities first began with a traditional ceremony in October and even then the signs were written on the wall.
“I married the love of my life on the 11th of January 2020. It was the most beautiful day I have ever lived. It was our very own fairytale full of love and so much joy,” Aku wrote about the once-in-a-lifetime experience on Instagram, a platform where she amassed a crowd of avid style fans. “Thank you, God for blessing me with this incredibly amazing man with whom I get to spend my life.”
The young couple make love so beautiful and we’ll write about it some other time but just like an award-winning photographer, Yaw Pare who documented the event from the angle of a guest and collaborated with us on this piece, our focus is on the ritzy guest.
As guests filled the St. James Catholic Church in Osu, we could tell that never had there been such a stylish, debonair and an ostentatious crowd like this one since the turn of the decade.
From spruce and suave men in dandy suits from some of Europe’s big labels and a number of African suitmakers to the high-society women styled to within an inch of lives in the trendiest apparels from couturiers all over the globe including Ophelia Crossland, Christie Brown, Pistis, with a large number of them sporting iconic fascinators and headgear.
Fascinators are a fairly new accessory piece in Ghana’s fashion culture but this exotic trend hasn’t stopped any woman from looking their best. Millinery Queen, Velma and her contemporaries of gifted milliners turned the heads of these women into a walking museum as they nodded to the tunes of the choir and the homily of the Reverend father.
The affluence at this nuptial is linked to the several family connections both parties possess. Aku, for instance, is niece to Ghana’s President, Nana Addo-Danquah Akuffo-Addo, a former Chief Justice, Mrs Sophia Akuffo and Ghana’s Attorney General, Gloria Akufo.
Mother of the bride, Mrs Jacquline who dazzled in a red fringe dress with a coiffed hair festooned with a crystal hairband, is also celebrated for her several successful enterprises and “Daddy” on the other is a kingmaker in the opposition NDC.
In such a stylish atmosphere, it was no suprise to see Ghana’s former first lady and a style aficionado, Mrs Konadu Agyeman Rawlings in her classic headwrap, puff sleeves and pencil skirt smiling affectionately behind her dark shades. For 20 years, this glass-ceiling-shattering AKORA dictated fashion trends in Ghana albeit unknowingly. Vogue needs to dedicate 50 pages of the style bible to her, she’s lived and continues to with verve and vitality.
Former President J.A Kuffuor in his crisp mandarin white shirt and mustard silk pocket square was also in attendance. He is also credited with reviving the love of Ghanaian fashion through several policies.
Lawyer Kwame Akufo, Bumpty Akufo-Addo, Dr Addo Kuffuor (rumoured to be in the unofficial top 10 rich list in ghana) Nana Asante Bediatuo, the erudite Yoni Kulendi, Kwamena Ahwoi, Chairman General, Kwame Sefa-Kai and list of over 800 wedding guest with stories and family roots that have shaped our nation in every field were present at the event.
When the internet thought it was done, the wedding got everyone gobsmacked with a reception in no other place than the Christianbourg Castle. The Castle which also a former slave dungeon was built by the Danes and was the seat of governance until 2008 when President Kuffuor moved it to the Jubilee House which houses Dr Nkrumah’s first office, the Flagstaff house.
A royal wedding was what it was if we are being very fair. The Christiansburg castle despite losing its status as the seat of leadership is still shrouded by a litany of security protocols that will frustrate the ordinary person who wanted to use the grounds for an occasion such as a wedding.
Meanwhile, a fleet of cars including the multimillion-dollar Rolls Royce was another part of the event which is still causing a buzz on Al Gore’s internet.
Even the lights, the cake with several tiers, the music, the waiters and every detail spoke luxury and class in such an imperceptible manner.
The newlyweds cut their cake, celebrated their love with a romantic dance and gave us all a taste of what the ostentatious living feels like. Cheers to more of this in the future!!!
