Kash Sonola: The Wedding Costs Nobody Warns You About

Here Comes the Bride

Kash Sonola, the social media manager for Gigi & Olive, discusses the reality of planning three distinct wedding celebrations: a civil ceremony

Key takeaways

Unexpected 'logistics costs' for furniture transport and lighting can add tens of thousands of pounds to a wedding budget late in the process.
Planning multiple celebrations requires separate, dedicated budgets for each event, including welcome parties and post-wedding brunches.
Social media platforms like TikTok create a powerful community for brides but can also lead to overwhelming trends and pressure to perform.
Utilizing bridesmaids' professional strengths, such as project management or design skills, can help manage complex wedding logistics.
Second-hand designer dresses from platforms like Vestia Collective offer a high-fashion look while remaining budget-friendly.

Main topics

Wedding Budgeting and Hidden Costs
Nigerian Wedding Traditions
Destination Weddings in Portugal

Notable quotes

We got an invoice for it about four weeks out and it was tens of thousands of pounds.

Conclusion

The episode serves as a practical guide for modern brides, emphasizing

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) We should just scrap groomsmen as a concept. We got an invoice for it about four weeks out and it was tens of thousands of towels. Speaker 1 (0:08) No, no, no, no. Would you ever go on a hen where you're not invited to the wedding? Absolutely no way. Did you have a wedding planner there in Portugal? I Speaker 2 (0:15) did Speaker 1 (0:15) have a Speaker 2 (0:15) wedding planner there. Speaker 1 (0:16) Oh, and that is all that will be said. And that is all Speaker 2 (0:19) that will be said. Speaker 1 (0:29) My guest today is a little bit special because she's part of the Gigi and Olive team. Kash Sonola is our very own content and social media manager, and she got that job because of the way she documented her bridal era on TikTok. She got married twice to the same person. First, a Nigerian wedding with all the tradition that comes with it, and then a destination wedding in Portugal. Two entirely different weddings, both captured beautifully, and her lead up to the wedding became some of the most followed bridal content on TikTok. Today we're talking about all of it. What to capture, how to document it, how building on TikTok brought her to Gigi and Olive, the pressures of social media and all her hot takes. Welcome to Here Comes the Bride. Thank you Speaker 2 (1:10) Georgie. Speaker 1 (1:11) I'm so happy you're here. I'm so excited Speaker 2 (1:13) to be here. Speaker 1 (1:13) This is really, really fun. Why don't you start by telling everyone about who you are and your role and what you do at Gigi and Olive. I am Cash. I am the Speaker 2 (1:22) creative content and social manager at Gigi and Olive. And my main role is to bring all of the story and the visuals that you see for Gigi and Olive on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest. That goes from launches to real brides that we have and also community events. And then on the other side, translating what it is that we're seeing on social media to what our brides want. So whether that's community events, products, new personalization, I think we kind of inform. the audience and the audience forms us it's a very symbiotic thing so yeah I Speaker 1 (1:58) love that and you do such a good job I feel like one of the things that's unique about Gigi and Olive is our social media and you just really embody the taste and you understand everything that goes into weddings and bridal planning so last year you got married across two celebrations a Nigerian wedding first and then followed by a destination wedding in Portugal so let's start there How was it organizing two completely different weddings? It was two, but like kind of three. Right. Love it. We Speaker 2 (2:26) had our civil ceremony in Malibu Town Hall. Speaker 1 (2:30) And Speaker 2 (2:30) that was the morning of our Nigerian ceremony. Is that where Dua Speaker 1 (2:34) Lipa got married? Speaker 2 (2:35) Yeah. Speaker 1 (2:36) Did it first. Speaker 2 (2:37) And that was an elopement because we were like, we have everyone coming from Portugal. We don't want them to see the ceremony and kind of like, you know, do it twice. to do that as an elopement. And then we got in a black cab to East London and that's where the Nigerian ceremony was. And that was a big party in the evening. And then six months later, we had our Portugal destination wedding. Creatively, I loved having two celebrations because they were very, very different. I would say that the Portugal one was very romantic, very ethereal. It was outside on the River Douro. So this... gorgeous backdrop and setting and the Nigerian one was in London New Year's Eve city wedding winter big party lots of colors so creatively I loved it logistically yeah logistically there was lots also sorry Speaker 1 (3:26) I didn't realize it was on New Year's Eve like it was on New Year's Eve love that but also that adds to logistical nightmare 100 % aren't like suppliers more expensive on New Year's Eve as well yeah suppliers labor a lot Speaker 2 (3:37) of people just don't want to work on New Year's Eve which is fair enough Costs to get people home, every single person who worked on New Year's Eve in East London needed to get home and we were paying for their transport costs. That was like double time. We, Brendan and I, my husband stayed nearby, near the venue and we were waiting for an Uber after the wedding. Everyone had left at this point. We were like, so is anyone going to accept our bride? We just like stood there like it really Speaker 1 (4:02) settled. But like, okay, the evening is over now. The evening is over. Speaker 1 (4:06) Okay, so first of all, lots to discuss, but talk us through your Nigerian wedding first. So what were the traditions and moments that mattered the most to you or to your family? Yeah, I would say it was really Speaker 2 (4:17) important to my family to have a Nigerian wedding. And my mum was born in Nigeria and I'm Nigerian. I really wanted to have that jaw aspect and a nod to like both sides of my identity. But I am not a traditional person. So when I was speaking to the Elaga, who's the MC. I was telling her, let's do this, let's scrap that, let's do this, let's scrap that. And she was like, no, this is the tradition. And I was like, I'm happy to accept some of the traditions, but I also want to do it in a way that reflects us. So for me, the tradition that was most important was the coming together of the two families. Nigerian ceremonies are very different in that way where it's less about the bride and the groom standing at an altar. And it's more about the families being introduced to one another and accepting one another and blending. And surprisingly, Brendan and I weren't even there for most of the ceremony. We come in like 40 % and 45 % of the way through the ceremony. So a lot of it happens without bride and groom. And that was the most important to me, the families kind of having that moment. That's Speaker 1 (5:17) so lovely. And obviously I've seen pictures and you look incredible, but can you tell everyone like what you were wearing and what's the tradition? I Speaker 2 (5:25) was wearing an Ashok, okay, which is basically the Nigerian wear. And we picked a color and Brendan and I were wearing the same color and our families picked the color and they had their own family cloth. So sometimes everyone wears the same family cloth, but I think modern day people kind of pick what's right for them. And I picked fabric for my bridesmaids as well and got all of that made. And we had some stuff made in Nigeria by Nigerian tailors, which was also another logistical thing. I had it made by a really talented Nigerian designer, but I didn't have fitting in Nigeria. So I was running around on New Year's Eve trying to get final tweaks done and no one was really open. I loved wearing that. It was super colorful. It wasn't the most comfortable, but beauty is paid. And it was very different to obviously what we wore in Portugal. Speaker 1 (6:18) Yes. Okay. Oh my God. That all sounds amazing. And was there a lot of music? Yeah. Speaker 2 (6:22) Lots of music. There were drummers. There was like lots of music going on. We had traditional dancers as well. It was really a big party. Lots of dancing, like organized. My bridesmaids and I had to do like an organized dance and we are not dancers. We were like stepping on each other's toes. The DJ didn't get the memory of when to start it. It was a bit of a disaster, but we just took it in our stride. I love Speaker 1 (6:45) that. Okay. And tell us about then the wedding in Portugal. Yeah. Speaker 2 (6:49) So the wedding in Portugal was six months after on the last weekend of June and it was a destination wedding, but like a full wedding weekend. So we got to Porto. We got married in the Douro Valley, which is the wine region. of Portugal it's absolutely beautiful honestly it's so so nice in a hotel on the on the river banks and we got to Porto which is just about an hour from the Douro Valley on the Wednesday checked into a hotel there and we were walking along Porto walking along the street off to dinner and we bumped into Brendan's cousins so it's like having that whole weekend and like Destination holiday with all your guests was really, really amazing. And then we did a port tasting in the city on the Thursday for anyone who was there. Like there were lots going on. We knew people were making a holiday out of it, but it wasn't like you must come to this, this, this and that. The only obligational thing was the wedding, of course. I love that. So we had the port tasting on the Thursday, welcome party on the Friday, which was in the hotel. We had all our guests staying in the hotel with us. And then wedding on the Saturday. Some people stayed on the Sunday for a pool party. Some people Speaker 1 (7:57) went home. And did you love choosing Portugal as your destination? And why did you choose it? Speaker 2 (8:02) At first, we knew we wanted to have a destination wedding because we love travel. And I mean, we're recording this during a heat wave. Obviously, we were very worried about the weather in the UK. Maybe that's not going to be a thing anymore. But we just wanted a really sunny and lovely weekend. Brendan's parents live in Portugal. So we ended up. choosing there and I really love Portugal as a country we go all the time we go about two or three times a year so it only felt right to do it there but initially we looked in Spain, Italy, Greece I think I sent about 400 inquiry evils wow all over Europe it made sense to go country by country after and realize that that was not a good tactic was Speaker 1 (8:43) there one area that was more responsive than the others I don't think so I think like Speaker 2 (8:49) actually I found that um UK suppliers are far more responsive than maybe other suppliers in Europe I think we have a very like bam bam bam yeah mentality especially like living in London, working in London, everything's a lot quicker. I think a lot of the venues and the vendors that I emailed in like Italy and Spain and France were very much like, Speaker 1 (9:12) we'll get back to you. Yeah, we'll come round to that. Speak soon. It was very chill vibes. And so you'd recommend it to other brides to choose Portugal? Yeah, I loved Portugal. I think it's great. Hey, I love that. Can you tell me about what you wore at your destination wedding in Portugal? Speaker 2 (9:28) Yes, I had the full wedding wardrobe. I know it's Speaker 1 (9:31) a Speaker 2 (9:31) thing now for brides to literally amass white clothes. That was me with my two 30 kilogram suitcases, like posturing through the airport. Wait, how did you pack your dress? So my friend gave me this tip and actually I thought it was a really good idea. At first I was like, but she said at your last fitting, take a cabin bag and your stylist will fold your dress into your cabin bag and that's the only thing that's there. And then when you get to the other side, they'll steam it. So that's what I did. That is genius. It was genius because... I got to EasyJet and I did what all the brides did because I had two dresses. So like I folded my big one because that was quite heavy. And then I had a Vivienne Westwood dress that like Brendan was like carrying through the airport. And I got there and I was like, hi, Speaker 1 (10:09) I'm Speaker 2 (10:09) getting married. Is it okay if you, they looked at me like, we're not hanging anything up. Just put it over the head. Speaker 1 (10:14) Perfect. So I didn't get Speaker 2 (10:15) that. So I was glad that my main dress was in the cabin bag. So I wore a Lea DeGloria dress as my main wedding dress. full train, big moment, and then like a lace trim veil that was maybe royal length, that was very, very long. And then I had a change into a Vivienne Westwood dress that I actually got from Vestia Collective. I got that secondhand because I just couldn't justify spending collectively that amount on a dress. And I changed into that number. I really loved that. And then for my wedding welcome party, I got a custom made dress from a Vietnamese. bridal designer love it fitting on facetime like no trying on she sent it through dhl tried it on and it's it oh iris cardboard i Speaker 1 (10:58) love it um what did brendan wear brendan wore a tux um white Speaker 2 (11:04) jacket from Speaker 1 (11:06) from Speaker 2 (11:06) suit supply we went did you like valentine's day as like i was like just look like you're like leaving this quite late we went and like second suit you tried on he was like yeah Speaker 1 (11:16) perfect under Speaker 2 (11:17) the Speaker 1 (11:17) dress i tried all i was like maybe um i love that okay can you tell us some advice if you have a friend who's trying to do multiple different celebrations across multiple different traditions and cultures like what would you say to them i Speaker 2 (11:31) think logistically if you're planning multiple things don't underestimate how one thing can become a whole budget for that in and of itself. And then in terms of mixing multiple traditions, I think just be true to yourself because when you're working with multiple traditions, there will be things on each side or multiple sides if you're blending multiple cultures that... that resonate with you that don't resonate with you so I think if you're saying okay well I'm doing this for tradition's sake you can very much get lost in like everything yeah so be firm with the people who you're working with and um be creative I think it's really nice to blend like different aspects of it I went to my friend's wedding in Dubai and she is Palestinian and she also had um cultures from the UAE as well and he's Jamaican as well so it was just like such a nice mix of all the cultures I loved that ceremony so much. That Speaker 1 (12:26) is Speaker 2 (12:26) so fun I love that. Speaker 1 (12:27) Okay and was there a moment across either wedding that surprised you? I would Speaker 2 (12:32) say I was surprised by how late Brennan and I went into the Nigerian ceremony so we the groomsmen and the bridesmaids were sat in like a back room and this was that's first of It was freezing. We were all in our dresses. All of us had really tight corsets to the point where we were