Inter Racial Wedding - African

What are the things you need to know? Send me emails of things you would want to know and i will surely explain things to you. We do not have sites which i know is a shame but i will help in anyway i can just ask what you want to know. Fortunately for you i will be getting married later this year too. I am fully nigerian and so is my fiancee

Kelly unfourtanetly Moji is right there really aren`t any websites where you can pinpoint ideas for nigerian weddings but from my experience from going and attending hundreds (literaly) of weddings I have some fabulous ideas that can help reply back and i can help you. I would love to help. Remember time is an essence.

Http://www.askginka.com/nationality/africancountries.htm

Check this website out, it may help

I have the same question as Kelly had. How can one incorporate Nigerian customs and traditions into a wedding in the United States. Please e-mail me or post your e-mail address so that I can e-mail you.

Well there are so many things you can incorporate into a Nigerian wedding in the usa. You can start by having extra clothing apart from your wedding gown, you can have fabrics called Aso Oke made into what we call Iro and Buba, you can also have a bit of Nigerian dishes, play Nigerian music at the reception, encourage your Nigerian friends to dress up in their traditional wear and so many more. I mean you’ll have to be a bit specific in the areas you’d want the Nigerian themes to be….pls feel free to email me for more info…

Moji,

Thank you for your response. One of the areas that we are trying to figure out is how we can incorporate Nigerian influences into the decorations at the reception. Also, what are the ceremonial pieces that we might include? How can we involve the groom`s family, many of whom will be coming from Nigeria? What Nigerian foods would you suggest for the reception?

Zora

Zora,

With regards to the food you can have things like

Jollof rice served with Chicken or beef
White rice served with normal stew
Pounded Yam served with Spinach in sauce

With regards to decor, there isn`t alot you can really do with that but, you can incorporate things like tie and dye fabric as your table cloth, but because they are quite colourful you may not like the effect at the reception....you can also arrange for your friends to wear the same outfit made out of an african fabric with the headtie. And so on...

With regards to involving the grooms family...uuuuuuuhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmm.... I just got married exactly a month tommorrow and my family had to cater for most things...in Nigeria, the brides family really do most of the spending, but since you are getting married in the usa you may be lucky and you and your partner will contribute towards the success of the big day....what exactly would you want them to do? give me points and i may be able to work better with that....


When is the wedding? where are you from? and also what part of Nigeria is the lucky man from???

Moji,

Thanks for your suggestions. We will definitely use those menu ideas. Are there traditional Nigerian dishes that would be appropriate as cocktail foods for the cocktail hour before dinner?

I am the bride`s mother. We are from Virginia, and the wedding will be held in rural Virginia in November of 2004. The groom is from Benue State.

In addition to doing things that might actually be done at a Nigerian wedding we wanted to incorporate things that represent Nigeria. For instance, the flowers on the Nigerian coat of arms. However, these are not likely available in this country. Are there other items that might be? Are there items/symbols that are reflective of Nigeria that might be incorported into the centerpieces or otherwise into the decor. We were thinking of having the groom`s cake be green and white bands like the Nigerian flag and in the outline shape of the country. We wanted to use Nigerian wedding colors gold and white and were trying to figure out how to incorporate them into the decor for the ceremony and the reception. Are there Nigerian symbols that would be similar to adinkra symbols from Ghana that might be stenciled onto the tablecloths and the aisle runner?

Thanks,
Zora

I forgot to mention that with regard to the families we want to do some version of the exchange that would go on in Nigeria between the famlies. This is where my knowledge is lacking. Which family presents a written petition to the other family? What does the petition say and how does the receiving family respond. What gifts are given back and forth between the families and how might we structure that part of it. We were thinking of doing that Nigerian part the night before the wedding at the rehearsal dinner.