Don’t knock a date at Cheesecake Factory until you try it.
While social media has had plenty to say about mixing and mingling for romantic purposes at the no-frills but delicious restaurant, that’s where celebrity makeup artist Lola and the man who would be her husband, George, had their first date.
“It lasted about six hours,” Lola tells ESSENCE of their 2013 date. “The restaurant practically kicked us out.”
Bonding over their similarities, it didn’t take long for the two to realize they’d found someone and something truly special. Though the two didn’t go on a date until 2013, when they first met briefly in 2012 at a friend’s graduation party, they felt there was something there.
“When I saw George the year prior, I thought he was very handsome,” she shares. “So the attraction was there from the very beginning. I knew he was my person after our first date by how he spoke about his family, his faith and his appreciation for his culture. Those are three very important factors to me when getting to know a person.”
“Shortly after being formally introduced to Lola [in 2013], I attended an event she was hosting. I needed to see her in person, and when I did that evening, I literally left and went to my cousin and told her, ‘I think I just met my wife, but I didn’t say a word,” George says. “At that time, it was her spirit, her energy. The way it hit me, I was convinced that she was my person. Later in life, it was confirmed that she was my person when I realized that she was fashioned for me by life, her temperament, and her personality.”
So George decided to follow that feeling. In August of 2022, he popped the question at a family cookout at their home, the stars aligning because her parents and sister were coming into town from Nigeria. “The day of the cookout, I received her father’s blessing to move forward,” he says. “The cookout went as planned with everyone enjoying the food and music. However, no one had a clue other than my son, her brother, and now her father.” As he looked for the perfect moment to propose, it started to rain, and everyone had to make their way to the couple’s patio. While there, Lola said a few words of thanks, and at the end, “I got on one knee and proposed–to her shock and surprise,” he says.
Once the shock wore off, the couple planned two celebrations: a traditional ceremony to honor her Nigerian and his Guinean traditions and a white wedding to follow Western customs. The end result, on Nov. 19, 2023, was an unforgettable event in Manassas, Va., filled with love and luxury. While there were more than 500 people present to see it all, the couple say that in the end, their favorite memories of the day involve the moments where all they could see were one another.
“Just like many times before, seeing her walk into the room, I’m reminded of the crown that she is and the favor I’ve been granted to receive the privilege [to be with her],” says George.
“We looked into each other’s eyes and were very intentional about expressing our hearts to one another with our own written vows,” Lola says about her greatest memory of the day, the vow exchange. “In that moment, I was filled with gratitude that God sent me my person…my safe place, my home.”
See photos from the Diolamous’ celebration of love and learn more about the road to their big day in this week’s Bridal Bliss!
“After our first date we literally spent every day together for months,” Lola says about falling for George. “I couldn’t shake the feeling. I felt safe, I felt desired, I was giddy. It’s the 1st time I ever felt soft and feminine with a man.”
“I’ve had emotions or feelings before. I’ve been very attracted to someone before, and I’ve been willing to support someone in every way without restriction before,” George says. “However, I’ve never been willing and desired to not love and support someone but to go through whatever to improve for someone by consequence of their mere existence.”
Lola’s mother is pictured helping her put on her gorgeous veil.
Lola is captured, by photographer Jose Camacho, in a close-up shot in her veil.
A shot of the altar at The Foxchase Manor, in Manassas, Va. More on the venue shortly…
“My favorite moment was when she walked down the aisle,” George says of his first look at Lola on their wedding day. “I was opposed to doing a first look photos because I wanted to truly feel anything and everything possible when I finally saw her after being apart 24 hours. When that time came, it was better than I could have imagined.”
George couldn’t hold it in when he saw his bride-to-be. “Great emotion came over me and I could not contain the tears of gratitude and appreciation,” he says. “A memory I could never forget.”
“My favorite moment was when we exchanged vows,” says Lola. “It felt as if the room stood still.”
With its ability to contain a maximum capacity of 1,500 guests, Foxchase Manor was the perfect place for the couple to have their two nuptials in one day. It was also meant to be based on how they secured the space. “Selecting the wedding venue was extremely difficult because of capacity. There’s not many venues that hold over 250 people seated in the metropolitan area,” she says. “We both come from big families and we wanted to make sure everyone was accommodated. As fate would have it the second site visit we went on we discovered after a brief conversation that the owner was a family friend that George’s father assisted when he first came to the United States. He recognized the last name and told us about how instrumental his father was to his life, so we believed it was a sign from God to move forward.”
To welcome guests into the space for the reception, the couple utilized gorgeous images of themselves to make a seating chart.
The pair are pictured on their way to enjoy their first dance. A fun fact about Lola’s look, the star MUA opted to have someone else, fellow makeup artist Tia Condrington, do her face for her special day. “Initially, I was going to do it but my planner convinced me otherwise,” she says. “My husband loves my natural beauty so I knew I didn’t want to deviate from the makeup I typically wear which is clean with a bold lip. My wedding dress was very simple and classic so I knew I wanted to wear my signature red lip. However, I’m very particular about my lashes and lips. Therefore, although my friend did my makeup, I applied my own mascara and lipstick as my own final touch.”
Plenty of spraying went on, which is a popular practice by Nigerian people at weddings, to shower good tidings on the bride and groom, as well as to show love to certain guests (often the mother and father of the couple, but really, whoever you want to spray you can). Money was all around as George and his family, who are of Guinean background, took to the floor.
At the reception for the white wedding part of the day, Lola is pictured with a few of the “aso ebi” ladies who rocked a beautiful light blue fabric with brown geles.
At the brief reception, the couple had their first dance, mother-son dance, father-daughter dance, started dinner, gave speeches, and as you can see, they also cut the cake. Shortly after, Lola and George changed for the traditional ceremony.
For the second ceremony, George and his close friends wore traditional attire, including agbadas, to present the dowry for Lola and to ask for acceptance from her parents. This is just one custom within the traditional Nigerian wedding experience. His look was from TDA Couture.
Lola is seen entering in her rose gold aso oke, in another beautiful veil. The look was made by Bimms, a widely known fabric designer in Lagos.
A lot of kneeling down and prostrating is done by the bride and groom during the traditional ceremony. All of it symbolizes humility and the desire to honor the customs that make these particular cultural celebrations so rich.
Lola says after the traiditonal ceremony, she and George changed into fabric to represent his country of Guinea and to make clear that she was crossing over into his culture, as his wife. Her dress was made by Khristopher Aiyéh, or KingAiyeh. His look was from Moh B. Couture.
As guests got down, Lola changed for the fourth and final time, putting on a beautiful black gown by SheyeOladejo for the after-party. Usually, a traditional ceremony and a white wedding are had on separate days, but the couple wanted all of their many guests to see their traditional celebration, as well as the white wedding. They also didn’t want to keep people longer than necessary as the holiday (Thanksgiving) was approaching.
For the white wedding, the bride wore a look done by Arturo and Ana of the Rancho Team or Rancho Tailors. George wore a look by Don Morphy.
After plenty of planning and a lot of happenings on the big day, Lola and George are proud of how everything came together. “Yes, pulling off two celebrations in one day was a major feat. It was very interesting trying to blend aspects of our Nigerian and Guinean culture with American culture,” Lola says. “We wanted our guests, especially our American friends, to really feel and understand our heritage, so it was important for us to fuse the two. And honestly there’s nothing like an African wedding. The music, the food, the dancing and especially the attire. It’s like nothing you’ll ever experience and I hope we were able to give our guests an authentic taste of Africa.”
Vendors
- Planner: Enchanted Events & Weddings
- Videographer/ Photographer: Jose Camacho
- Venue: Foxchase Manor
- Decor: MMD Platinum Design and Decor
- Sound & Lighting: DJ PRYMETYME
- Bridal Suite Décor: Assembly by K
- Bridal Makeup: Tia Codrington
- Barber: @Tamikainthecity
- Bridal Stylist: DiAndre Tristan
- Bridal Stylist: KingAiyéh
- Bridal Stylist: SBR Bridal Styling
- Transportation: 495Limousine
- Hotel: The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner