Wedding invitation suite designed by Hadiya Williams
date: label: Date
content: 2016
name: label: Designed by
content: Hadiya Williams, American, born 1978
label: Subject of
content: Shantrelle P. Lewis, American, born 1978
label: Subject of
content: Tony Oluwatoyin Lawson, born 1978
notes: label: Caption
content: With their shared personal and professional focus on design and the diaspora, Lewis and Lawson sought to create what they described as "#TheBlackestWeddingEver" by concentrating their aesthetics on African diasporic influences and by working with primarily African American vendors. These desires connected them to designer Hadiya Williams. The wedding blended the couple’s New Orleans and Nigerian cultures. The couple used the hashtag #jollofandjambalaya in the wedding materials—Jollof refers to the "Jollof rice" common in West Africa (including in Nigeria) and Jambalaya refers to the stew of rice, vegetables, and meat associated with New Orleans.
label: Caption
content: The "Z" and lion insignia are tributes to Zamunda, the mythical African country depicted in the film Coming to America, referencing the iconic pop culture film in a celebration of the bride’s African-Americanness and the groom’s African roots, just like Lisa and Akeem. This inspiration carries into the wedding suite materials, which designer Williams says is a blend of "pop culture" and "the merging of …worlds across the African Diaspora."
label: Description
content: Wedding invitation suite designed by Hadiya Williams for the wedding of Shantrelle Lewis and Oluwatoyin Lawson. The suite consists of the following pieces:
label: Description
content: 2018.30.1a: (1) large black outer envelope with circular gold stamp at front center, with [Z] at the center surrounded by [11 / 19] on the left and [20 / 16] on the right. In the outer circle of the stamp is [SHANTRELLE & OLUWATOYIN / NEW ORLEANS, LA]. The envelope is closed by a gold foil sticker with lion insignia.
label: Description
content: 2018.30.1b: (1) invitation with attached RSVP envelope. The navy blue invitation has gold printing with art deco styling. A decorative [Z] is at the top, followed by an invitation from the parents of the bride and groom in small block font. At center of the text is a large [Shantrelle / & / Oluwatoyin] in a script font, followed by details of the ceremony in small sans serif font. Attached below the text is a small white envelope with gold foil lion insignia sticker, to hold an RSVP token (c). The obverse of the invitation has an all over gold foil art deco style ornamentation, with the letter [Z] in the center of a skyscraper building at top center and a lion insignia in a round medallion at bottom center.
label: Description
content: 2018.30.1c: (1) RSVP token from envelope adhered to invitation (b). The circular token depicts the silhouettes of Lewis (right) and Lawson (left) in the center with the [Z] wedding logo between them with geometric tribal ornamentation surrounding. [RSVP BY SEPTEMBER 15] is printed at the top and [WWW.JOLLOFANDJAMBALAYA.COM] at the bottom. There is a linear border around the outer edge of the token.
label: Description
content: 2018.30.1d: (1) invitation without attached RSVP token envelope. The invitation is identical to (b) with the envelope removed to display an art deco waterfall skyscraper design.
label: Description
content: 2018.30.1e: (1) invitation without attached RSVP token envelope. The invitation is identical to (d).
label: Description
content: 2018.30.1f: (1) maroon invitation envelope with gold stamped return address on closure flap. The circular stamp has the [Z] wedding logo in the center and the return address printed around the outer border.
label: Description
content: 2018.30.1g: (1) gold tissue paper invitation sleeve with black string wrapping adhered with wax stamp with lion insignia on one side and tied on the other.
label: Description
content: 2018.30.1h: (1) RSVP token from maroon invitation envelope (f). The token is identical to (c).
label: Description
content: 2018.30.1i: (1) wedding program with maroon outer cover with gold wax lion insignia on the front. The inner pages consist of two white sheets folded and bound with black string to make four pages. Printed in silver ink on the front page is the silhouette illustration of Lewis and Lawson with the [Z] wedding logo in the center, followed by [Shantrelle / & / Oluwatoyin] in script font. The following pages have the ceremony schedule, the wedding party list titled [THE / ROYAL COURT OF / ZAMUNDA], thank you notes and a list of additional vendors.
label: Description
content: 2018.30.1j: (1) royal purple wedding handkerchief with gold metallic silhouette illustration of Lewis and Lawson with the [Z] wedding logo in the center, followed by [Shantrelle / & / Oluwatoyin] in script font, [NOVEMBER 19, 2016] and [#JOLLOFANDJAMBALAYA] in smaller sans serif font.
place: label: Place made
content: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
label: Cultural Place
content: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
label: Cultural Place
content: Nigeria, Africa
label: Cultural Place
content: Africa
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Africa
label: Topic
content: African diaspora
label: Topic
content: Communities
label: Topic
content: Families
label: Topic
content: Film
label: Topic
content: Graphic design
label: Topic
content: Identity
label: Topic
content: Social life and customs
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Hadiya Williams
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2018.30.1
objectType: label: Type
content: programs
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © 2016 Hadiya Williams
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: cotton paper with gold foil, tissue paper, wax and string