Castle in Kaduna, Nigeria

I found the Kajuru Castle online while searching for a unique spot to shoot our pre-wedding pictures. I contacted them via email and we were booked for a visit in April, 2014 (this was a unique package for my husband and i as i worked hard to get us booked).

They do day tours and stay overs for a fee.It was absolutely breathtaking and i couldn't believe such a beauty was in Nigeria. I'm glad i did not settle for a studio photo-shoot. It has a serene atmosphere with beautiful views and landscape. We had the time of our lives, as brief as our visit was ('bout 4hours) and even our photographer thanked us for taking him there. Everyone was courteous and pleasant and we were sad to leave. Our pictures also turned out stunning!

 Fast-forward to May 1st 2015, we went back!! We just had to one way or another,

DAY 1

We did a road trip from Abuja to Kaduna as a convoy very early in the morning and straight to the castle. We went  fully loaded with games (Monopoly, Scrabble, Ludo, Couples game, Ayo, Cards), a Karaoke machine & 2 mics, a Shisha bong, lots of food and drinks.We got in around 10am and the 1st call of duty was a tour of the entire Castle by the lovely manager with a brief history lesson on its existence. Once everyone had settled their luggage in the rooms, 2nd call of duty was to hit that awesome pool hard!lol. Those that were not in the pool broke off into sections and picked their games of choice while we all chatted, took pictures and listened to the jams filling the castle. The landscape and serenity was surreal. After lunch and the arrival of our remaining friends (we were 12 in total), it was time to go hiking on one of the hills close to the castle. Back to the castle it was already dinner time, we all had dinner, took a second wade in the pool before retreating to the Cabana area to churn out some tunes from the karaoke machine. It was good fun with loads of laughter at off-key singing. After Karaoke, it was time for drinking games and 'Concentration' was eventually agreed on as the game of choice. I was out by the 2nd rotation.lol. plus i had no interest in drinking any alcohol. Three outdoor beds had been set-up by this time for those that were gonna sleep out. Those of that were outta the game had our jisting session by the pool beds before deciding to call it a night around past 1am. We still left some people playing games out.

The outdoor bed was bliss! It was a proper comfy bed on an iron stand and comes with a Duvet and tent like mosquito net covering to keep any bugs out, i got loads of breeze enjoying the view and got to catch the sunrise. The bed is typically for 1 but can still fit 2 people.

DAY 2

We were up bright and early, chatted and we the ladies got to making a big yummy breakfast (Waffles, sausages, scrambled eggs and baked beans with Hershey's strawberry and chocolate syrup). Next up was playing games, chilling, swimming competition by the guys, taking more pics and vids and jisting. Lunch time we all ate, packed up our luggages into the cars and took in the last bits of the castle awesomeness. We signed the Castle Guest Book with a quill pen and took group pics in front of the castle gates before heading outta the castle. By 3:30pm we were on our way back to Abuja as a convoy and got in around 7pm.

It felt like we had spent an entire weekend at the castle and it was a worthwhile experience. I have a feeling we will be going back again :D

Castle Info:

• Once you have been booked for a date to go there (whether as a couple or group of friends), no other bookings will be accepted for that same day, so you'll have the castle to yourself to tour and take pictures.
• There is a fee attached for visits and spending the night and an extra fee if they will cater to your feeding.
• You pay a 60% non-refundable fee before the scheduled date to confirm your booking
• The castle is secure and guarded by 2 dragons
• They have 1 Master Bedroom in the main house, the remaining are sizeable Dungeon rooms in the tower
• They have a standard kitchen with all the equipments you'll require
• Plan out your activities to have maximum fun
• Take sunscreen!! Sun be blazing out there
• Take along hiking shoes, swim wear and lightweight casual outfits
• Take a good camera along-You definitely wanna capture this, trust me
• Check out this sites for more info, pics, etc. of the castle and to contact them-

http://irenebecker.photoshelter.com/image/I0000UywbOQFJqQU

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kajuru-Castle/141965829210359

http://kajurucastle.com/

http://www.abujafacts.ng/the-amazing-kajuru-castle-of-kaduna/

It's a Batch wedding!

You all know how much i love weddings, well at least from the number of posts i'v put up here related to weddings, you have a good idea! It is quite apparent and if you did not know before i have said it now o. I started out this year with only 3 weddings in view and now i have one to attend for every month from now till November, i know December go soon join in!!I have already attended one in January (was a bridesmaid), one in February, one in March, one in April (was a bridesmaid) and one in June, so i have only been free of attending a wedding in May!I am certain in another life that i am a wedding planner, i should count my bridesmaid dresses also, e go don pass 27 o!lol. Forgive me though as i digress, this post is about a batch wedding i attended in Kaduna last weekend.

The 3 couples

me humble self

3 couples got married in the church at the same time, it was a new experience for me although my friends said a couple of big churches or parishes do it so more of their members can get married in the church. The 3 different couples had their individual sets of Bridesmaids and groomsmen, the groomsmen were just for decoration and pictures though and maybe to dance in with the couple at the reception venue. These were the colors 1^st couple-Peach and Turquoise (the couple I was attending for, their bridal train had the nicest oufit) 2^nd couple-red and gold 3^rd couple-Olive green and all the bridesmaids sat together opposite the couples on the stage. The grooms stood on the stage with one empty seat beside them, the pastor said a prayer and the service began promptly at 10am, the choir began singing, the brides danced in with their fathers on their arm and their train behind them one after the other (the dance was very brief as it was not just 1couple to be joined) before they joined their individual grooms on the altar. There was a brief admonition to the crowd and it was time to join the couples, they were joined one after the other, the fathers came on stage separately when it was the turn of their daughters to confirm they were the ones giving them away, vows were read, rings exchanged, photographs taken and everyone took their seats. After this, there was a super long sermon (I was asleep so I have no idea what was preached), I woke up just in time for the couples to sign the marriage register one after the other and show off their marriage certificates to the crowd, as this was ongoing, offering baskets were being passed around. I left the church after dropping my offering and went into the car to receive some AC and charge my phone. The service finished about 15mins later and we went down to the reception venue. 

It was a nice venue, or so i thought at first glance (green grass, creeping green grass on some of the walls and a water fountain although without water) although they had made no provision for parking so people had to park on the roadside. I entered the area reserved for us and that was when I saw it!!! The décor was tacky and dirty, the t! absolutely no effort had been put into it, it was an eyesore, if not for the couple and my fiancé I was with, I would have left for home after I saw an insect crawling up one of the chairs (not just any insect o, but the famous black&orange skirt and blouse insect that scars u with its toxins if it climbs your skin, especially if you mistakenly try to kill it). The chair and table covers where white and visibly dirty, the satin decoration looked like it had been pulled out of a cup, there was a vase on a couple of tables filled with water and multicolored gels that made me just want to puke! The stage arrangement was rubbish, the high table was placed behind the couple so the parents of the couple who happened to be seated there were watching the chair the couple sat on throughout the event! I stayed however and as I looked around it dawned on me that the venue probably came with decoration, most of these places came with a package deal when you want to rent them, which was the explanation for why they could not be bothered to make the place look nice, or at the very least CLEAN!

The MC did not help matters either making drab jokes (“no dancing of dt asotob (azonto) dance that makes you look crippled here or our security agents will arrest you”  and how a section with a ribbon around it to show it was reserved for guests made them look like cultists and that they were in bondage!! *rme) and absolutely un-entertaining (he was from the church). He made the best man read out the order of photographs so the poor guy only managed to appear in one pic. The music was boring, the church said no secular naija jamz, strictly Christian music, then why not make a selection that the guests can dance to. The only ones played that were a bit nice and that I recognized were Olo mi-tosin martins, Oruka-Sunny nneji, Igwe-Midnight crew and Wifey-Eldee.

They banned spraying of the couples!! One red cap chief that came around ended up spraying the guests who swiftly put the money in their bags. Nigerians are not fans of dropping money in trays, they need that band/dj to make their head swell with music that they just throw money in the air. Couples make a lot of money from this at weddings. It can be naira, dollar, pounds, just name the currency, as long as the music dey enter brain, they will stand up and spray. Enveloped money and dropping money in trays just don’t work. The food was ok, jollof rice, moi-moi and beef. It did not stop me from having goatmeat peppersoup when I got home though.

It was over in an hour and a bit and some woman came to talk about women empowerment for widows, singles etc (really!! Talking about widowhood @ a wedding!!*smh)

I don’t subscribe to the batch wedding though, I mean this day is going to happen only once in my life, so I don’t see why I should share any moment of it with anyone, I want a slow and steady walk down the aisle, not a rushed one. This is one day I want it to be all about me and my man. If you are using a green area for your reception, I advice you get someone to spray the grass with a pesticide before the event so your guests are not itching under the table.

As for the superlong preaching, that thing dey tire me and most guest I believe, would it kill to keep it brief and straight to the point?!don’t bring your own family issues into it, in the name of advice to the newly weds biko!we don do marriage counselling already, we don’t need another long session during the wedding ceremony. Left to me I will jst get a minister to do the ceremony and join us at the same venue as the reception. Brief and straight to the point, and people will move to the reception area from there,enjoy themselves and not have to drive or be stressed locating the reception venue. After eating, dancing and being entertained, everyone one goes home happy with their quality souvenirs (not dunlop slippers o!). It all boils down to planning at the end of the day. 

Toodles!XooX