Pnina Tornai

Love & Sophistication

“This is me. This is how I want to look on my wedding day!”

This is how every bride wants to feel when picking out her dream wedding dress. These were the exact words that Oladoyin (Doyin) Ogunbayo-Jolaoye said when saying yes to her dream wedding gown. Therefore, when it came time for her to marry her true love, Daniel Jolaoye, on October 7, 2017 at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos, Nigeria, there was no doubt in Doyin’s mind that was she doing it in the wedding gown meant for her.

Doyin was a bride-to-be that knew what she wanted, which included buying her wedding dress from the amazing Kleinfeld Bridal. Having been a big fan of the show Say Yes to the Dress, she knew there was no other bridal salon for her. So Doyin and her two sisters hopped in the car and took a road trip from Maryland to New York to find her dream dress.

When it came to the gown, Doyin knew that she wanted a fitted gown with lace and tulle, so that’s exactly what she pulled to try on. To her surprise, Doyin didn’t need to try on as many gowns as she thought she would. She and her consultant pulled five gowns for her to try on that fit her criteria. The first two gowns were nice, but they were missing something that Doyin just couldn’t put her finger on. Next, Doyin tried on a sophisticated LOVE by Pnina Tornai mermaid gown that had exquisite lace embroidery and sleeves, a tiered skirt, and buttons down the back.

This gown was everything that Doyin was looking for and then some. It looked spectacular on her silhouette, and she loved the way that she looked in the gown. Not fully ready to commit though, Doyin did try on a few more gowns. Nothing was giving her quite the same feeling however, so this time, when Doyin tried the Pnina Tornai gown on again, she knew this one was the one for her.

“I just knew it was the dress,” Doyin explains. “It was just enough. There wasn’t too much of anything showing.”

The only part of the gown that Doyin decided to change was to omit the floral appliqués around the skirt of the gown. With the small alteration complete, Doyin finally had her dream wedding dress. To highlight the elegant back of the gown, Doyin opted for a sophisticated up-do for her wedding day hair. She completed the look with a lace-trimmed cathedral veil and drop earrings gifted to her from her husband (along with some fabulous shoes). With that, she was ready to walk down the aisle.

Feeling beautiful and classy, Doyin knew when she saw the tears streaming down her soon-to-be husband’s face that she had made the right decision – not only with the dress, but in love too!

Written by: Jazmine Keels

Photograph by: Jobi Photography