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• Kehinde and Kevin Adekoya tied the knot in August.
• Kehinde wore a custom Alonuko dress to their destination wedding in Greece.
• The gown had a sheer illusion bodice covered in flowers and a low back.

Kehinde and Kevin Adekoya fell in love when they were teenagers.

Kehinde, a digital creator, and Kevin, a project manager, went to the same secondary school, she told Insider.

They had been friendly since Kehinde was 13 and Kevin was 14, but things didn't turn romantic until three years later, just before they went to college.

"We've been together for 12 years now," Kehinde said. "We grew up together."

Now 28 and 29, respectively, Kehinde and Kevin live together just outside London.

Kevin proposed in 2018.

Kehinde was on a trip with friends in the Dominican Republic, and Kevin flew out to surprise her with the proposal, she said.

As the Adekoyas started planning their wedding, Kehinde knew she didn't want to get married in the UK.

"I couldn't imagine myself getting married in England," she said. "I love to travel. I just knew that I wanted a destination wedding."

When their wedding planner, La Jet Fete, showed them a venue in a private villa in Crete, Greece, Kehinde knew it was the perfect spot for their nuptials.

The Adekoyas tied the knot on July 30 after pushing their wedding back a year because of the pandemic.

Kehinde had a specific vision of the wedding dress she wanted to wear.

"I'm the type of person that I just always know what I want," Kehinde told Insider. "So in terms of my wedding, I just always knew what I wanted from that."

Her long relationship with Kevin also helped her home in on what she wanted out of a wedding look.

"Five years before I even got engaged, I kept a folder of anything that I saw that was nice and kept it in the file for inspiration for when it was my turn to get married," she said.

Kehinde said she imagined herself wearing a fitted long-sleeve gown with a bodice covered in floral embellishments atop mesh fabric to create an illusion look. 

"I just knew that I wasn't going to find that in the shops in England," Kehinde said of her vision.

Kehinde ended up getting a custom wedding dress designed by Alonuko.

Kehinde worked with Gbemi Okunlola, the founder of Alonuko, over the course of a year and a half to make her dream dress a reality. Okunlola recently designed the "Orange Is the New Black" star Danielle Brooks' wedding gown.

"I wasn't willing to compromise because I love fashion and I just like to look good," she said. "So I thought, 'I'm not compromising on my white dress on my wedding day.' And I knew that she would be able to deliver, and she did."

The dress Okunlola designed looked exactly as Kehinde imagined it.

The form-fitting gown had a sheer bodice and sleeves, and the neckline dipped into a low V. An intricate pattern of floral appliqué covered the bodice and sleeves.

The floral pattern continued onto the silver skirt, which flowed out into a train. 

Kehinde loved how seamless the mesh fabric looked against her skin.

The transparent fabric that acted as the base of the bodice cut all the way up to Kehinde's neck, but it was barely visible thanks to Okunlola's clever design. 

"The mesh on top of my skin just matched my skin tone perfectly," she said. "Because I'm dark-skinned, it's not easy for designers to get that kind of mesh to match someone as dark as I am."

Alonuko echoed Kehinde's sentiment in an Instagram post about her gown.

"One of the biggest struggles Black women find when wedding dress shopping is finding illusion tulle to match their skin," the caption of a photo of Kehinde's gown said. "We go far and beyond to ensure we deliver the best when it comes to matching your skin — whether you are Black, white or mixed, because the tulle is just as important as the detail that goes on top of it."

The see-through fabric on Kehinde's gown allowed the floral pattern to shine on both the bodice and the sleeves, exposing Kehinde's abdomen and shoulders.

The Queen Hadassah did her makeup and Naomi did her hair.

The back of the dress was also covered in flowers.

The back of the gown also had a mesh base, with the floral design flowing down to the skirt. 

Kehinde told Insider she loved the fit of the gown.

The dress was form-fitting on Kehinde's torso and legs before flowing out around her ankles.

"I just loved how fitted it was," she said. "It just brought my figure out."

She paired the gown with delicate heels.

The strappy shoes had pearl beading, elevating the simple silhouette.

Kehinde also wore a veil to her wedding ceremony.

"I just wanted my veil to cover my whole dress," she said of the floor-length veil she chose for the event. "I like that look."

Her veil ended up flying off and getting lost when she and Kevin were taking photos on the wedding day, but Kehinde said she didn't let it bother her for long.

"I was so annoyed, but I just thought, 'It's my wedding day. Let me just enjoy it,'" she said.

Kehinde and her bridal party also got ready in statement robes.

The robes from C Best Planning and Coordinating were "amazing," Kehinde told Insider.

The sheer looks acted as a preview of her wedding gown.

"I just felt like me," Kehinde said of how she felt in her gown on her wedding day.

Kehinde told Insider her dress made her feel confident and happy. But most of all, she felt like herself.

"I just felt beautiful, and I just felt like me," she said. 

Kevin wore a white tuxedo jacket to the wedding.

The bright jacket from Kabiru Abu fit the summery but formal event.

His outfit also had little details that elevated the look.

Kevin and Kehinde's initials were embroidered onto Kevin's cuffs, and he wore "K" cuff links. 

The Adekoyas said their vows in front of the sea.

Nelson Niteh photographed the couple's wedding.

"Taking pictures is one thing, but capturing beauty and love is another," Niteh told Insider of the event. "Kehinde and Kevin's wedding was spectacular."

Kayode Fabunmi was their videographer.

Kevin didn't see Kehinde's dress until the ceremony.

"He loved it," Kehinde said of her husband's reaction to her gown. "He thought I looked stunning. And to be honest, he didn't expect anything less."

Kevin cried as Kehinde walked down the aisle.

Kehinde said she was also emotional throughout the wedding day.

"It was emotional before I even went down the aisle," she said. "I was crying."

"I just knew that if it wasn't for God that I wouldn't be here," she added. "And I was just so grateful that God could bless me with such a good husband that's been consistent for the last 12 years that we've been together."

Kehinde told Insider the people who came to the wedding were the highlight of the event for her.

"They were just my close friends and family," Kehinde said of their wedding guests, adding that the invite list was on the smaller side because it was a destination wedding.

"We had welcome drinks where all of our friends and family were there, and not everyone knew each other, but everyone just clicked," she said. "You would think that they've known each other for so long the way everyone was talking."

She said she felt lucky that she was relaxed on her wedding day.

"I know people say that they didn't enjoy their wedding, but I can honestly say that I just loved my wedding," she said.

"I just think everything went the way God wanted it to go," Kehinde added. "And it just went smoothly, and it was all down to my wedding planner."

The Adekoyas' planner managed to make their perfect day happen despite some hiccups.

Three days before the wedding, the Adekoyas' venue told them they couldn't hold their reception at the event anymore.

"I was just thinking, 'Oh, my God. This is a joke,'" Kehinde said. "But my wedding planner, she just sorted everything out."

She was able to ensure the Adekoyas said their vows at their original venue, and she found them a stunning stand-in for the reception.

"She went above and beyond for us," Kehinde added.

Kehinde recommends that brides who are designing custom gowns still go try on dresses in stores.

"Before you decide that you want a custom gown, go try on other dresses in different shops, just so you know what dress suits you," she said. "It could be mermaid, or it could be one of those princess dresses. You can see which one suits your figure."

She also thinks the experience of getting to try on gowns for your friends and family makes the shopping experience worthwhile.

She also thinks brides shouldn't feel pressured to look a certain way on their wedding days.

"I think they should just stay true to what they actually like," Kehinde said of how brides could find the right dresses. "You want to feel comfortable in the gown. You don't want to feel like, 'OK, I'm doing this because this is what I think everyone else will like.'

"As long as you like it, and you feel beautiful and comfortable in it, I think that's the dress you should go for."

Kehinde said it was especially important to feel like yourself on your wedding day.

"I think sometimes on social media, we just see things and we think we have to have it, but we don't," she said. "Just do what you like, and you'll never go wrong by doing that."

She added: "I think with everything that you do at your wedding, you want people to be like, 'Oh my, God, this is you.'"

For Kehinde, staying true to herself on her wedding day meant surrounding herself with people she loves.

"People say, 'Oh, your wedding was so nice,'" she said. "My wedding was nice, but it's my friends and family that actually made my wedding.

"That's why you have to invite people who you genuinely love, not just to have numbers."

Kehinde said she loves the way she and Kevin have grown together.

"We've seen each other grow, and I just love that we've added so much value in each other's life," she said of her marriage.

She added that she thought their relationship was so strong because they share the same values.

"We just continue to put God in the center of our relationship, and I just love our values," she said. "We just love to help people. We love all of our friends and family, and I just feel like our morals and our values are aligned."

She knows she can count on him.

"He's been consistent from the 12 years that I've been together with him," Kehinde said of Kevin.

"He's just the kindest person that I know. The most selfless person," she said.

You can see more of Niteh's work here.

If you wore an eye-catching wedding dress and want to talk to Insider for a story, get in touch at sgrindell@businessinsider.com.

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