Behind the scenes at Nigerian royal wedding

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) -- It has been a year of royal weddings. First there was Prince William and Kate, then Monaco's Prince Albert and Charlene -- and Nigeria has just had a royal wedding of its own.

When Nigerian bond trader Olawunmi Taiwo married Yoruba prince Taiwo Olashore in Lagos last month, CNN got a behind-the-scenes view of a royal wedding, Nigerian style.

The pair tied the knot over two days of ceremonies. First a traditional engagement party was held, followed by what's called the "white wedding," when the bride wears the white wedding dress.

More than 1,000 people attended the wedding, including a number of esteemed guests of the bride's father, a Yoruba king.

The traditional Nigerian engagement

A royal wedding in Lagos "In Yoruba culture ,  when you marry someone, you don't just marry the person but you marry the family," said bride Taiwo.

"You can't get engaged without the father's permission, do the introduction, follow the steps. It's very important because both families literally become one," she added.

The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa, and for them, it's the bride's family that organizes the ceremony.

To help out, Taiwo hired a wedding planner who's been behind some of the country's biggest parties.

"You have to make sure the bride is happy, make sure the groom's family is happy, the groom is happy, bride's family is happy -- so I love weddings because it teaches me how to be diplomatic," said Funke Bucknor-Obruthe, wedding planner and managing-director of Zapphaire Events.

Taiwo bought her wedding dress in Dubai and selected the cloth for the engagement dress locally in Lagos.

Called the "Aso Ebi," which translates as "uniform," this cloth is sent to more than 600 guests to have tailored for their own dresses for the wedding. The chosen colors also set the scene for the design of the entire ceremony.

During the traditional engagement ceremony the groom's family presents a gold proposal letter to the bride's father for his daughter's hand in marriage.

The veiled bride then makes her entrance, escorted by family, friends and drummers. As she dances through the crowd in her high heels, the bride is showered with money.

The women in the wedding party, including the bride, wear dramatic head wraps known as "geles" -- a particular fashion in West Africa.

Like any other parent anywhere in the world you feel delighted, you feel grateful to God for everything.

--Jide Taiwo, father of the bride

tpia@:

^dont get it.

Studio CFR:

Amala wedding

Jackieugo:

Royal wedding my Bottom lol