Getting married in Nigeria is not a small thing. In this part of the world, for weddings… It’s go big AND GO HOME.
It is expected in Nigeria that when you are getting married, you throw a very big party. This is where most magnitude of your wealth is spent, it is an occasion that measures up how wealthy your family is. Not to talk of the wealth of two families combined.
Lol. Don’t go bankrupt o.
Wedding preparations are not easy, the good thing is the family of the bride or the family of the groom always battles that one out. You the bride or groom just have to sit down and watch them get it done -the food, decorations, planners, caterers, music, outfits etc.
The mothers always have a way of getting the hall filled up with people, so don’t worry about people not coming. Worry about too many people coming.
In Nigeria, a court wedding is really important. And, as for Christians so it the church wedding.
There is a saying in Yoruba, “oò wo Ankara, òo je semo.” This is always said in relations to holding traditional events in Nigeria. It means, “If you don’t wear Ankara, you won’t eat semo.” This Ankara we are talking about here is called “Aso Ebi”.
Normally, any Nigerian party is called “OWAMBE“.
This is how exactly you get to know who was invited, and who wasn’t. I mean, a Nigerian wedding reception is always so rowdy and overflowing that literally anyone can just stroll out and stroll in. This action called “Mo gbo, mo branch.” Anyone literally just hears the sound of music from a building or the voice of a MC from down the roadside, and decides to walk in and settle down whether he/she was invited or not knowing that you can get a plate of food.
The Aso Ebi/Colour Code is the only way anyone can differentiate between who was actually invited/who is actually a family member vs who only walked in just because he/she heard they are sharing food there..
We are just getting started.
For any lit Nigerian Wedding Reception, there is a need for an outspoken master of ceremony. For Christians, the reception is often after the church wedding.
The MC comes up with many creative and funny games for the guests, bride and groom to do. Games for the guests players like finding a virgin in the crowd, bringing a man’s shoe to him, searching for a particular scarce or difficult item in the crowd (Eg; ATM Card, wig, face cap etc).
This reception always includes cutting of wedding cake, the couples feeding each other the cake, doing their first dance together and also a dance off between the bridesmaids and the groomsmen.
In some particular Nigerian culture, for example and Igbo traditional marriage, the wife dances round with palm wine in a cup until she reached where are husband sits -then she kneels and feed him the drink.
In a Yoruba wedding, the part where the groom do a “DOBALE” is very important. They all prostrate and face the ground, this is the Yoruba way of for boys to greet their elders. In this wedding, the groom and his men won’t stand up from the floor until the bride’s family approves. It is a symbol of formally requesting for to take the bride home with them. For the groomsmen, they willingly join for the sake of their friend’s happiness. It is usually a beautiful sight.
Every tribe in Nigeria have a significant thing and food on display for weddings. But, what all these share in common is the PARTY JOLLOF. This is the most popular food in every occasion in Nigeria, read our article about the Nigerian JOLLOF.
Just come hungry, in NIGERIAN WEDDING food flows. Drinks and music don’t stop. Everyone goes home happy and full, wishing the newly married couple happily after.
