Nikki Ogunnaike and Philippe Fonzin’s Prospect Park Boathouse Wedding Blended New York and Nigerian Style

When Nikki Ogunnaike and Philippe Fonzin first met—in August 2014 at a birthday party in Manhattan—they had something in common: “Neither of us was actually invited by the host,” Nikki says. (They had been invited by another friend.) At the party, which was at the now-shuttered Hudson Hotel, Nikki saw Philippe sitting at a picnic table and introduced herself. They hit it off, and spent the rest of that summer and fall getting to know each other.

“We’ve been together ever since,” Nikki says. Within the first few months of their relationship, Nikki introduced Philippe to her sister, Lola, who “immediately put him to work building a crib for my soon-to-be-born nephew,” Nikki recalls. “While that may have been annoying to another man, it was one of the first moments when I knew that Philippe was a generous and genuinely wonderful man.” She adds: “My 12-year-old nephew still can’t believe that Philippe has known him literally his entire life.” In 2020, amid the pandemic, the couple moved in together in Brooklyn.

In September 2025, during New York Fashion Week, Philippe proposed to Nikki. He took the opportunity of her sister’s birthday party to let her parents know his plan. After going to the Tibi show and lunch at the Odeon, she picked up balloons for the party. “Nikki was in the backyard struggling to untangle the balloons, so I was able to sneak in and brought her parents upstairs to let them know the plan.

She had no clue I was even there,

She had no clue I was even there,” Philippe says. “Cut to the party a couple of hours later, and everyone was in the best mood ever,” Nikki says. “I thought it was just because we were throwing a great party, but as it turns out Philippe had told everyone that he’d be proposing the next day.”
The next day, Nikki had a relaxed Sunday, going to stretch class, acupuncture, and Sephora.

“I thought it was so strange that Philippe was really concerned about my whereabouts on what I thought would be a very chill Sunday,” she says. “Little did I know I was impeding on the picnic he’d planned in Prospect Park, where he proposed after we finished sandwiches from Radio Bakery.”
They took some time to enjoy being engaged before diving into wedding planning. But from the start, they knew they wanted to get married in New York, and especially in Brooklyn.

“That’s where our love story really took shape,” Nikki says. “A running joke was that I was a bride-chilla, rather than a bridezilla,” Nikki says. As someone who attends and plans many events in her role as editor in chief of Marie Claire, she led the wedding planning alongside Fallon Carter. “When I first met with Fallon, I let her know that it was important to me to work with as many women and vendors of color as possible,” Nikki adds.

We found an incredible assortment of partners who

“We found an incredible assortment of partners who all came together to make for an unforgettable few days.”
“We knew we wanted to hit the dance floor as soon as possible into the evening, but that a delicious plated meal was also very important, and both our DJ Cory Townes and our caterer Purslane delivered,” Philippe says. “In fact, people said they often couldn’t decide between eating and dancing—both were that good.”
They celebrated their wedding on July 24 at the Prospect Park Boathouse.

They chose the date because it was a summer weekend “after Mercury retrograde ended.” (Yes, Nikki double-checked this.)
“We looked at a few places in Brooklyn, but kept coming back to Prospect Park as it’s a place that is important to both Philippe and me—as a couple and also separately. We love to have picnics there together, and I’m a runner and Philippe is a cyclist, so we’ve done a lot of laps in the park on our own,” Nikki says.

“The Boathouse is a Beaux Arts building in Prospect Park—one of the first buildings in New York City to be declared an historic landmark—and overlooks the Lullwater and Lullwater Bridge, so we had built-in beautiful views.”
When it came to their wedding looks, Nikki turned to her fashion community. Their friends and stylists Shiona Turini and Ronald Burton III helped bring the looks together.

I’m a huge fan of Christopher John Rogers’s

“I’m a huge fan of Christopher John Rogers’s work, especially the way he uses color in his designs,” says Nikki. “The burgundy of my welcome dress matched the shade my family would wear the next night for their Nigerian traditional looks—a nod to my being a part of the nuclear Ogunnaike family before I start anew with Philippe.”
Ever since Nikki attended her first Brandon Maxwell show—fall 2016—she’s known that when she got married, she wanted Maxwell to make her ceremony gown.

“He’s masterful, precise, respects the female form—and happens to be a Virgo, a perfect match for my Capricorn tendencies,” Nikki says. Over the course of months of fittings, Maxwell and his team created a custom gown for Nikki. Her vision was for it to be “elegant, a bit athletic in shape, and showstopping—hence the train— and the team delivered.”
Nikki also embraced the “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” tradition with her accessories.

Matthew Harris of Mateo loaned her a few pairs of earrings to wear over the weekend, and she wore the gold and pearl Curve Form earrings for the ceremony. Her watch was a 1986 Rolex Datejust with a blue dial that she found on the Real Real and had serviced in time for the wedding. She also wore Amina Muaddi heels that were “unbelievably comfortable and quite easy to walk in,” she says.

Nikki’s outfits over the course of the wedding

Nikki’s outfits over the course of the wedding weekend “turned into a bit of a love story for the New York fashion industry—from wearing Christopher John Rogers for our welcome party, to Calvin Klein Collection for our after-party, and Kallmeyer for our farewell brunch,” she says. “I’ve always loved and deeply respected the talent New York has to offer and was so proud to wear many of its designers over the course of three days.”
Philippe went for a look from Fear of God in lieu of a traditional tux for the ceremony.

Nikki’s brother-in-law, Deen, officiated the ceremony. “It meant so much to Philippe and I that he agreed to officiate our ceremony—I’ve known Deen since my early 20s, and he and Philippe quickly bonded early on over their love of cycling,” says Nikki. Their families proceeded down the aisle to the instrumental of “For Good” from Wicked. “The lyric ‘Because I knew you, I have been changed for good’ really represents how I feel about not just Philippe but everyone who joined us that evening to celebrate,” Nikki shares.

Nikki’s father walked her down the aisle. Philippe’s best friend, Jonathan, and Nikki’s sister, Lola, read scriptures from 1 Corinthians 13: 4–8 and Ecclesiastes 4: 9–12. Once they were pronounced husband and wife, they walked out to the Method Man and Mary J Blige version of “All I Need.”
After the ceremony, Nikki and Philippe changed into aso ebi and agbada, which were custom looks designed by Adeleke Sijuwade, a dear friend of Nikki’s brother-in-law.

Leke worked tirelessly between New York and Nigeria

“Leke worked tirelessly between New York and Nigeria to get everything made in time,” Nikki says. “Changing into this second look for spraying, the Nigerian tradition where guests shower the couple with dollar bills and well-wishes, was a nonnegotiable for me. I’ve dreamed about it since I was young and felt it was a way to bring friends and family into another part of my culture,” Nikki says.

They chose green because it’s Philippe’s favorite color. Later, Nikki learned that in Yoruba culture, “green carries the meaning of nature, fertility, abundance, and new beginnings.” To perfectly match the green, they got a pair of satin dyeable Stuart Weitzman heels and color-matched them at the cobbler. “The fashion girl in me really needed Cartier sunglasses to finish the looks.

Once they were added, the vision was complete,” Nikki says. Though they got married outside in Prospect Park, Nikki notes that the ceremony felt incredibly intimate. “Our friends said that onlookers watched from the Lullwater bridge across the pond and even clapped when we were pronounced husband and wife, but I truly did not feel like anyone else was around us but our family and friends,” she says.

Reflecting on the wedding weeks later, Phillipe says:

Reflecting on the wedding weeks later, Phillipe says: “We both walked away from the experience feeling deep in our bones that if one can do it, they should have a wedding. Gather all your friends and family, get dressed up, and celebrate. There’s no feeling like having everyone in a room you love celebrate your love.” Working with Minted on our invitation suite was so easy.

The cocktail glass and hotel-key-inspired invites added some flair. —Nikki
A little sunset portrait before Philippe and I go in to greet our guests at our welcome party. —Nikki
Always laughing with this one. —Philippe
A bird’s-eye view of our friends and family at the welcome party. —Nikki
Spotting a friend! —Nikki
Eric, Janelle, Soyini, and Amber: smiles all around.

—Nikki
A sneak peek at The Dress. —Nikki
My unofficial bridesmaids, Tenique Bernard and Janell Hickman-Kirby. —Nikki
It takes a village to get a bride ready. A few from mine pictured here: Camara, Shiona, and Hanna at the 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge. —Nikki
One last button to be done. —Philippe
He’s got the best smile, huh? And looks so handsome in this Fear of God suit!

—Nikki Close-up on the details, including architectural waves

—Nikki
Close-up on the details, including architectural waves created by the one and only Jawara. —Nikki
It’s almost showtime. —Nikki
But before that, a little bit more gloss. —Nikki
Our photographer Jillian scouted this spot for our first look. I’m such a millennial, so you know the the gown had to have pockets. —Nikki
Family photo with my brother Tayo, and sister-in-law Zahra.

I was so thrilled to have my niece Jasmine and Janell’s daughter Rowe as our flower girls. —Nikki
A moment for the moms. —Nikki
We love a statement earring! Absolutely obsessed my pair from Mateo. —Nikki
With the veil on, things felt really real. —Nikki
My brother-in-law Deen, ready to officiate. —Nikki
Here we go! Tayo walking my mom down the aisle. —Nikki
Jasmine and Rowe take the stage.

—Nikki
I think Rowe was ready to throw a few more petals. —Nikki
Lucky to have someone as supportive and talented like Shiona as both a dear friend and a stylist. —Nikki
The lighting was so major. —Nikki
Time for Dad and I to hit the aisle. —Nikki
Brandon [Maxwell] is the one who told me that we should go long on the train. He was right! —Nikki
The perfectly executed handoff.

—Nikki I don’t know if my smile could’ve

—Nikki
I don’t know if my smile could’ve been bigger throughout the entire weekend. —Philippe
The crowd goes wild! Our first kiss as husband and wife. —Philippe
I couldn’t stop crying. —Philippe
Thank you so much to Brandon and his team for this incredible gown. Truly a dream come true. —Nikki
What can I say? I love a bow. —Nikki
Husband and wife. —Nikki
Last looks before we head to cocktails.

—Nikki
Joe, Kevin, and Eric looked so handsome in their formal gear. —Nikki
I think they really loved my train. —Nikki
Jasmine says her dress made her feel like a princess. —Nikki
My nephews and ring bearers Elias and Kessington. —Nikki
My trainer Ngo, pictured here with his beautiful wife Kindra, is the one who got me down the aisle feeling stronger than ever. —Nikki
My birthday twin and best friend Janell Hickman-Kirby.

—Nikki
Face card never declines for Tenique Bernard. —Nikki
Friends turned family: Janell hugging my dad. —Nikki
Mom and Dad are ready to party. —Nikki
I’ve been told the question of the summer was “What are you wearing to Nikki’s wedding?” But my friends, like Ronald Burton III and Julia Gall, knew exactly what to do. —Nikki
Love that Jenny and Sally chose color and print for my big day.

—Nikki August Sage and Violet made the most

—Nikki
August Sage and Violet made the most beautiful tablescape from a mix of flowers and fresh fruit like grapes and figs. —Nikki
Minted also made our day-of stationery. The simple and elegant menu cards were perfect. —Nikki
My cousin and niece taking in the tablescapes. —Philippe
Our first dance, to “Your Love Is King” by Sade. —Nikki
Laughing through my first dance with my father to “Fly Like a Bird” by Mariah Carey.

—Nikki
A toast to the bride and groom. —Nikki
Our wedding planner Fallon came up with a great idea to use a coffee-table book as our guest book. The New Black Vanguard by Antwaun Sargent seemed fitting for the occasion. Thank you to Tony’s Chocolonely, who made custom wraps for our late-night goodbye snack. —Nikki
A simple cake that matched the one from our engagement party.

—Nikki
A watermelon and feta salad, for the lady? —Nikki
I know nothing about flowers, but I did know that this would be beautiful. —Nikki
All I had to say was “formal dress code” and my girls knew what time it was. —Nikki
And no, they did not coordinate on purpose! —Nikki
Finally, the dance floor is open! —Nikki
A night shot of our venue from the bridge. —Philippe
My mom gave the most beautiful speech.

A cheers to her! —Phillipe Elias commanding

A cheers to her! —Phillipe
Elias commanding the dance floor. —Nikki
One thing about us, we’re going to dance. —Nikki
I dreamed of this moment from the day we first saw this venue: my pals taking advantage of the absolutely perfect weather that night. — Nikki
Dancing to—most likely—“Wipe Me Down.” —Nikki
Leke getting us ready for our big change. —Nikki
Mom and Dad re-enter in their traditional attire.

—Nikki
Now it’s our turn. —Philippe
Let the spraying begin. —Philippe
Thank you to Cartier for the perfect finishing touch. —Nikki
A close-up on the embroidery of my father’s agbada. —Nikki
Green is one of my favorite colors. —Nikki
Now you know where I get my cheekbones from. —Nikki
Elias asking for his own spray money. —Philippe
My mom got in on the spraying action too.

—Philippe
Mom and Dad looking as regal as ever. —Nikki
Couldn’t have planned this without my mom and sister. —Nikki
Elias owning the dance floor. —Nikki
Mateo earrings that matched my eyeliner perfectly. —Nikki
Cheers to us and our friend, chef Michael Elegbede. —Philippe
More dancing at Dick and Jane’s Bar Room

Source: www.vogue.com