A Bride for The Season: The Faith-Filled, Delulu Christmas Romance We Absolutely Needed

If there’s one thing I take seriously, it’s romance on page and on screen. Nigerian, Korean, Chinese, Indian, Thai, European… I consume love stories like water, and at this point, I’ve earned my stripes as a romance connoisseur. I’ve seen every trope, every cliché, every “will they/won’t they”, and every seasonal romance formula known to man.

So when Omoni Oboli (actress, scriptwriter, director, producer, and YouTube royalty) dropped a new Christmas feel-good romance titled A Bride for the Season, my interest piqued immediately.

This is, after all, the woman behind The First Lady, Wives on Strike, and the social-media-breaking Love in Every Word Parts 1 and 2, which collectively boast over 44 million views on YouTube. If anyone knows how to serve heart-fluttering romance to the Nigerian audience, it’s Omoni.

So I settled in, ready to judge, critique, smile, roll my eyes, and feel everything in between. The film gave me plenty to talk about.

At the heart of the film is Ayoola Badmus, CEO of Numera, a data analyst and pattern coder, played by the always-charismatic Timini Egbuson. Known for his “resident bad-boy” energy on screen, Timini surprises this time with a softer, more vulnerable character.

Ayoola is down bad in the love department with four heartbreaks in one year. Worse still, his faith is shaken following his father’s death. A church sermon about trusting God without logic becomes the catalyst for a rather… bold decision.

The preacher talked about how faith isn’t mathematics and how you climb steps even when you can’t see the next one. Ayoola describes that moment as “a spark in a dead circuit.” In that moment, he decides to break every rule of modern dating.

Instead of waiting to meet the girl, date the girl, fall in love with the girl, propose to the girl, he jumps to the final step and decides he’s getting married on Christmas Day, without actually having a bride.

We later meet Teniola (played by Bamike Adenibuyan), an event planner dealing with her own relationship drama. Her fiancé, Femi, is ghosting her while claiming he needs his parents’ approval, despite the fact that vendors have been booked, invites have gone out, and the wedding is fast approaching.

Ayoola hires Teni to plan his “miracle wedding,” and from the very first meeting, their chemistry is insane. They like the same things, think the same way, and accidentally show up in matching outfits. Their corporate looks match the first day, their wine-toned outfits match the second day, and even when they go to tour the beach wedding venue, their colours are in sync. It’s giving divine alignment. It’s giving “our souls know each other.” It’s giving “God handpicked this pairing.”

Let’s start with the obvious: Ayoola and Teniola are well-paired. Their energy bounces off each other naturally. Their convos feel lived-in, playful, and sometimes deeply emotional, especially when Teni unknowingly narrates her own heartbreak as a “client story,” leaving Ayoola furious on her behalf. It’s tender, it’s sweet, and it works.

From their first meeting till the end, their outfits always aligned. Sometimes in colour, sometimes in tone, sometimes in style. Corporate neutrals at first, then rich wine tones, then airy beach aesthetics.

This tiny detail reinforces everything the story wants us to believe, which is that these two are aligned. They match literally and emotionally, and we can see the thoughtfulness in that detail.  

The film isn’t a Christian drama, but faith is woven through the storyline in an organic way. The sermon that inspires Ayoola’s decision is genuinely stirring. His reference to Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” sets the emotional tone for the entire film.

Likewise, Teniola’s belief that God handpicks her clients adds meaning to the two of them meeting each other without becoming preachy. 

The beach walk, the ice cream moment, the heart-to-heart conversations… These are the scenes you replay in your head because they’re simply lovely. Watching Ayoola and Teni plan this wedding, especially the scene at the beach, gave me a warm, satisfying feeling as I watched them confide in each other and slowly fall in love. 

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Some viewers are calling the storyline delusional, and honestly, that’s fair.

Ayoola planning a wedding without a bride is peak Christmas-movie madness, BUT, Christmas films thrive on healthy delusion, and this one stays just believable enough to remain enjoyable. So, it works… but you’ll still raise an eyebrow once or twice.

The biggest unrealistic element was his supposed fiancée being barely involved in planning her own wedding. When she finally appears through a staged phone call, it’s only to ask Teniola to stand in for her wedding dress and ring fittings. Is this how weddings work? Probably not, but I understand how that was necessary for the plot. 

If Ayoola actually had a fiancée, then his falling in love with Teniola and getting married to her would’ve given the film a different direction that wouldn’t be pleasant. 

Femi’s storyline with his controlling family, disappearing acts, and emotional unavailability had potential, but the execution was a bit too convenient. His sudden reappearance right before the big reveal feels rushed, even though it serves the plot.

Some scenes rely heavily on emotional impact rather than realism. You accept it because the film is charming, but is it logical? Not quite.

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The irony is spectacular. A data analyst decides that faith equals creating a wedding before finding a wife is the kind of plot only Christmas films allow. Only Ayoola would hear a sermon and conclude, “Let me schedule a wedding and trust that God will deliver the bride.” It’s both insane and hilarious.

Teni doing dress and ring fittings for a woman she hasn’t met is quite off, and the way everyone just moved along with it was comedy gold. 

He goes off about cowardly men who can’t protect their wives, and Teni runs to cry because… her own relationship is in shambles.

It’s dramatic, it’s chaotic, it’s very Nollywood, and I loved every second.

Of course, the wedding happens on 25th December; of course, the bride is the wedding planner, and of course, everything aligns perfectly.

It’s borderline ridiculous, but delightfully so.

A Bride for the Season is everything a Christmas romance should be… Warm, a bit chaotic, slightly delusional, soft, faith-tinged, and emotionally satisfying.

It’s not perfect, but perfection isn’t the assignment. The assignment is comfort, sparkle, romance, chemistry, big feelings, and a little festive magic. In that regard, Omoni Oboli absolutely delivered. If you love holiday romances, you’ll enjoy this.

If you love Timini in soft-boy mode, you’ll enjoy this. If you love a good dose of “God when?” with your December movies, you’ll definitely enjoy this.

Rating: 7.5/10 — It is a warm, faith-filled Christmas romance with heart, humour, and healthy delusion.