A wedding ceremony in Nigeria is now a big deal. Many
families invest their all in weddings it is so difficult for the bride to have
a say in the matter.
Most brides who crave for quiet weddings often get chanced
by parents and family members who often insist that the extended family must be
a part of the wedding ceremony. If you have seen the movie 'Our family wedding'
then you would understand the saying 'our wedding, their marriage'.
These days, a wedding done in Nigeria is more about the
family than the couple who are getting joined. Mothers see it as a time to get
paid for all the 'owanbes' they have attended. They expect their friends to
turn up and celebrate them too.
For some families, a wedding is a political affair. It would
be the time to have political figures assemble at an event and generate as much
as possible from the event.
In view of all these, there are certain things you should
take into consideration when planning a Nigerian wedding as it would help you
at the long run.
Here are some of the things you should know about what
people expect to find at your wedding and what you should do:
1. Jollof rice is the main food
Please do not deceive yourself by going after all the
assorted foods and drinks in the world. Nigerians basically want to see jollof
rice at your party. There could be other delicacies though, just make sure you
have more coolers of rice.
Not all your guests are diabetic so discard the idea of
having beans cooked. It would probably waste.
2. Guest control could be done with your 'aso-ebi'
We are used to having 'ankara' picked for weddings. If you
do not want many people to crash your idea of a classy wedding, then the
'aso-ebi' set for N300k would do the trick.
This would, however, make everyone start talking about you
at once. But on second thoughts, you may have to enforce security officials at
the ceremony as people would naturally think moneybags would be coming for the
wedding.
3. Make provision for
more guests
If you think you can decide the number of people that would
come for your wedding and make plans for just them, then the wedding is
probably not happening in Nigeria.
Nigerians are known to be wedding crashers. Uninvited guests
would turn up by saying they could not afford to be wicked to your family by
not gracing the occasion. 'Abeg' who send them?
4. You do not need a big church for the church programme
If you are thinking of having your church blessings in a big
cathedral, please think about it twice. Nigerians do not attend church weddings
as such, save yourself the agony of seeing an empty church.
Most people would be waiting for you at the reception. That
is where being in front really matters to most people. The cameraman is bound
to capture them from all angle there.
5. Accept the fact that you are a Nigerian
We have seen a lot of classy weddings in Nigeria, and they
still follow the basics. A large well-decorated hall and your guests would add
the other colors to it. Save yourself the stress of planning a fancy wedding,
your immediate family members are likely to raise their objections.
Nigerians also want lots of noise. A life band will do the
trick.
6. Make your wedding
outfit a nice one
The wedding would come and go, you would be left with
memories of the day captured in photographs. Therefore, make sure you look your
best so you would at least be proud of the pictures you share on social media
for your friends.
7. Consider the financial status of your friends
Your friends definitely love you and they want to see you
happy. Be nice to them in turn by putting their finances into consideration
when choosing clothes for them.
Most couples give their friends crazy bills and expect them
to pay up in no time. Most of the friends are usually under the impression that
part of their money is being used to buy souvenirs at the wedding.
Written by Temitope Popoola
No comments:
Post a Comment