Son of the richest African woman, Folorunsho Alakija ties the knot

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June 14, 2017 8:03 PM

Folarin Akalija, the son of the richest African woman, Folorunsho Alakija has tied the knot with his Iranian girlfriend Nazanin Jafarian Ghaissarifar in Bleinheim Palace in Oxfordshire.

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Folarin Akalija, the son of the richest black woman, Folorunsho Alakija has tied the knot with his Iranian girlfriend Nazanin Jafarian Ghaissarifar in Bleinheim Palace in Oxfordshire.

Local media reports that the destination wedding cost £5m ($6.3m) making it perhaps the most expensive Nigerian wedding till date.

Attending the event which took place during the weekend included the elated mother of the groom, Folorunsho Alakija and her husband Modupe as well as other high profile personalities all over Africa as well as family, friends and business contact of the oil baroness.

A widower and a father of one, Folarin Akalija juggles several jobs as an entrepreneur, investor and cinematographer whiles his wife, Naz works as model and marketing consultant with a Diploma in Law and a degree in Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering from the University of Manchester.

Flo as he is affectionately called proposed to his then girlfriend at a romantic vacation in Greece and followed up with a lavish traditional wedding in Lagos.

Renowned Celebrity Florist, Jeff Leatham was contracted to transform the historic building into a fairytale wonder. The floral designer said it used more than 10,000 hydrangea flowers for the decoration with a magnificent cake from Elizabeth’s Cake Emporium. Sade Awe of The Bridal Circle was in charge of the event planning.

Guest were surprised with performances from Robin Thicke, Ycee and Montell Jordan as well as resplendent fireworks over the palace.

Nigerians are generally big spenders when it comes to marital unions with the families of the couple investing heavily the events surrounding the union. Special fabrics known as Asoebi are bought and sewn by friends of the bride for the ceremonies.

Others go to the extent of customising gifts and other souvenirs for wedding guests. In 2014, former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan gifted each guest who attended his daughter’s wedding a gold-plated iPhone.

Folorunsho Alakija is estimated to be worth $1.61bn by Forbes magazine. She made most of her money in the oil industry and is ranked number 18 on the Forbes' list of African billionaires.

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