Nigerian wedding traditions ideas

As I'm not Nigerian, I don't feel comfortable speaking on the traditions of that culture, but I like that you're incorporating elements!

A Vietnamese friend of mine (grew up on my block in America, married a girl he met while visiting family in Vietnam) had both a "Western" and Vietnamese wedding. They handled the different attire by wearing the suit and white gown for the ceremony, but changing into traditional Vietnamese wedding attire for the reception, similar to your idea. I know the bride's grandmother really appreciated it.

They solved the "how do we get pictures in both outfits" dilemma by doing a wedding photo shoot in a studio the day after(?) their wedding ceremony, and had pics in both outfits there. That's on top of having a photographer capture candid photos at the wedding itself.

Not sure if that's feasible for everyone, but that was their solution.

I have only been to two, both in Michigan, and loved them.

I love the clothes, the hats and the money dance

See if you can incorporate some of the music and food.

Can't wait to see your bam!

Do not make the WP buy two outfits for the wedding.

Changing midway through the reception is a great idea! Maybe you could do it right before the cake cutting? Then you can have photos in both attire if you take a few after it.

As far as having your BP change, I'd skip it. You're already asking them to wear something special for the ceremony so let them relax (especially - and most importantly - since you don't really want them to!)

ETA - thanks everyone for introducing me to something new! Happy to admit when I'm wrong, so thanks @Nonna for being helpful and explaining it (instead of just saying "you should Google things" - Googling money dance will get you the American version). OP, it might help to indicate it's a Nigerian money dance to help out people like me who are wholly unfamiliar with it! So different than what I was thinking of. You definitely want to be rocking traditional attire for that!

Mrs Ski, it's more like a "make it rain" dance. You have to see it to believe how sweet it is. And it will happen. It just springs up, seemingly out of nowhere

"Nigerians spray dancers or special individuals with money during celebrations, delicately placing each individual note on the head of the subject. A bride, for instance, can be overwhelmed by the amount of bills placed on her head while dancing away at her wedding. So much so that a family member is usually required to be on standby with a box into which the sprayed money will be collected."

If you are not familiar with a Nigerian money dance google it before you comment about how tacky it is.

Miss Keisha, making sure you knew I wasn't calling it tacky

Here is one of my favorite former students...

No Nonna not you. I know money dance crusaders are coming to say it's tacky. It was more of a pre warning lol.

I figured but I love you to bits and wanted to make sure. I already pissed off one person on here today (that I know of, but maybe more).

Isn't my Joy a creation? This is her saying "I love my daddies!"

I love when couples have traditional things added to their wedding. It makes their wedding special paying tribute to their heritage. We did a big Greek wedding a couple of weeks ago and they also do a money dance. Family member come and pin money to bride and grooms or throw money at them. It is not tacky at all. @Noona, I love that picture!!! My daughters friend married a man from Kenya this past June. Their first dance was a traditional one from Kenya which was awesome. His family came from Nairobi for the wedding and dressed in traditional clothing. Loved it. Over the weekend a worked a wedding that had a Korean tea ceremony. Here are a couple of pictures from it. I always find it so interesting to see the different traditions people have.

@Nomna who can be pissed at you?? Your are way to sweet. I love the Nigerian money dance and what it represents. It is a sweet gesture. My favorite is when the groom showers his bride. Sadly I am not Nigerian so I'm stuck watching videos

Thanks for all your comments!! Yeah, I told my fiancé we would likely skip The whole bridal party changing thing. I don't want it...so decision made! Haha! That's a great idea to have a wedding shot after...I've seen some suggestions on other similar blogs where people to pics a few hours before the wedding but that may make me a little stressed with timing.

Chinwe can you have them wear a bridesmaid dress and the traditional head wrap? I think that would be a nice blending of the two cultures and cost effective. Material should not be too expensive for the head wrap and they don't have to worry about getting their hair elaborately done.

I'm, I have seen the Greeks throw money everywhere, if they like the music, etc.

So much fun!!!!!!!!!

Keisha, one person told me to stop trolling and why was I still here. I sometimes say I try to leave but it's like the Mafia--just when you thought you were out, they pull you back in!" xoxoxoxo

Oh my @NonnaT, worked a Greek wedding last year and the band literally came from Greece. We swept money up the entire night. I am sure we almost had enough to fill a trash bag. But, that money went to the band not the bride and groom. (which they said was what would happen if wedding was in Greece) I loved it!!!! I love the idea of your BP having a head wrap for pictures. They would be so beautiful.

All of the Nigerian weddings I've seen involve a wardrobe change during the reception.

@Chinwe,

We are having Nigerian food in addition to American food, we will also be changing into our traditional wedding attire during the reception then doing the money dance. Something else you might want to look at is the kola nut ritual. This will be incorporated into our reception at the beginning.

I have been to one Nigerian wedding and the bride and groom had three outfits each lol...the traditional clothing was worn by them during the money dance and the bridesmaids wore gele's that matched their outfits. It was so fun. I would also check out munaluchi bride, black bride and bellanaijaweddings on instagram for more inspo.

I have no advice but think thats awesome!

BellaNaijaWeddings for sure! FH is from Southern Africa so we're changing after cake cutting and will re-introduced to start the dance party. Also consider the introduction of your families (they can dance in if they'd like to). I don't know if you're Igbo or Yoruba but I've seen both tribes do very cool traditional elements (ex: Yoruba drumming). If you wedding party members aren't African, a 2nd outfit will be a hard sell. Spraying $ will likely happen no matter what!