Are you planning on getting married soon? Then you have to read this article to the end. In this post, you’ll not just learn how to plan a successful wedding in Nigeria; I’ll also be showing you all you need to have the perfect wedding ceremony, how to plan your honeymoon, a customizable wedding calendar, and more.
A successful wedding in Nigeria is usually known for big spending. An average wedding in Nigeria costs about ₦800,000 to ₦3,000,000. That is over $3,000 for just 6 hours of festivities, dancing, and eating.
Although it is usually a once-in-a-lifetime event, it is a very big business in Nigeria. If you are a wedding planner with frequent jobs, I’m damn sure that you always smile on your way to the bank after meeting each client.
In Nigeria, there are so many places you can get married. You can get married at a hotel or an exclusive event center. The best thing about hotels is that they do not require much decoration, since they are already beautiful on their own. Event centers in Nigeria are also very beautiful, but most need some decoration for the wedding ceremony and reception.
If you and your spouse-to-be want something different from a regular wedding, you can always look into outdoor weddings while getting married in Nigeria. They are perfect for those who like simplicity and are not into the glitzy pageants associated with an indoor wedding in a hotel or event center. Outdoor weddings in Nigeria allow the bride and groom to show off their creativity with flowers and outdoor decorations.
Some people even go over the edge during weddings. Folorunsho Alakija, one of the wealthiest women in Nigeria, spent over $6 million setting up a wedding party for her son at the Blenheim Palace in the UK in June 2017.
I don’t believe lavish weddings are about big spending but the experience. Since this is my belief, I decided to share a step-by-step guide on planning the perfect wedding in Nigeria, even if you are on a low budget.
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How To Plan a Perfect Wedding In Nigeria
Like I said earlier, I don’t believe that an extravagant wedding with 1,000 guests and 250 bridesmaids makes a successful wedding. I’ll show you that there are more that meets the eyes when planning your wedding ceremony in Nigeria.
Proper planning is the first factor that should be put in place when counting the success of a wedding ceremony. Here’s how you plan a successful wedding in Nigeria:
Pick A Good Date
Most couples don’t know how to set a date for their wedding. Even when they do, they sit back, let time fly, and start jumping up and down as the wedding approaches.
This causes unnecessary stress, tension, and a poorly performed wedding ceremony.
After you’ve been engaged, you should start planning your wedding, even if it’s two years ahead. You should have your wedding date on paper so you don’t procrastinate. Only you and your family members have the right to pick a date. But make sure you start all planning and preparations 4 – 5 months before the actual date.
Your wedding date will dictate all your actions and will prepare you. If you pick a date six months ahead, you have a lot of time to prepare for the ceremony and have a successful wedding celebration.
Invitations & guest list
Bridal train, guest list, VIP list, master of the ceremony, bridesmaid, flower boys, and girls… Be sincere, are you going to invite many people to your wedding? Well, if you are, you’ll need a lot of people on the ground for crowd management.
You have to invite people from work, school, church, mosque, and relatives residing overseas; you don’t need to invite the whole school, work, church, or mosque. You only need meaningful people that would add value and positively impact your wedding. One of the untold secrets of every successful wedding is inviting and assigning roles to the right people.
Plus, when you create your guest list, stick to it. Write the names of guests you wish to invite on the invitation card, and don’t allow the number of printed invitation cards to be greater than the names of people on your guest list.
Draw A Budget
When making a wedding budget, try to make it small and stick to it. Take notes of the crucial areas and spend money on the matters. You should highlight the unimportant areas and learn how to manage expenses in those areas.
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This is another significant step to having a successful wedding in Nigeria. Planning a wedding in Nigeria on a small budget is one of the best ways to have the wedding you have always dreamt of.
Skip the unnecessary extra and stick to the budget. A small-budget wedding is not the same as a low-budget wedding or management. A small budget allows you to think of life after the wedding ceremony.
You can minimize cost by renting a wedding gown instead of buying one, wearing the same wedding gown for both your reception & church ceremony. Hire a DJ instead of a live band or guest artist. But in all, focus on giving your guests a wonderful experience, good food, and pleasant music.
Style
You should consider the style of dressing required for your guests; this will save you from undue stress and expenses on the wedding day. You can decide on traditional or contemporary styles for them to wear depending on their preference and taste. If you do not want them to spend much money on their outfits, choose a simple style that will make them look good without burning a hole in their pockets.
Hire A Professional Planner
Planning a wedding in Nigeria is super hectic. The process is made even worse if you hire a quack planner. Believe me; your wedding will be a total disaster. The first step to having a successful wedding in Nigeria is hiring a professional planner.
In Nigeria, the bride’s mother usually plays a role in wedding planning. But if you want things to try out better than expected, hire a professional wedding planner. Your wedding planner saves you time, stress, and money. You can find a good planner on Planit.ng.
If you don’t feel like hiring a planner, you can create a wedding workbook where you can highlight your wedding checklist, budget, high-table guest, entertainment, food, and rentals. Try to make it look as professional as it can be.
Send out Invitations
There are also less formal ways to do this, though—if you want to save money, you can send out invitations online or create your designs using templates found online. You could also ask friends and family members to help you make invitations or other decorations for the big day. It’s a great way to show off the family’s social status and make the wedding seem more refined and elegant than it would be otherwise.
Organized Wedding Party
After moving from the court to the church or mosque, your guests need genuine entertainment, especially those traveling long distances. Make sure you give them a super entertaining event they will remember.
When setting up a wedding party, pick a spacious location; if you invite many people, select a venue with a lot of parking space. You should also make sure that the decor and lighting are lit. This will make your guests feel at ease on arrival.
Make sure you hire a professional DJ that will change the mood with lively tunes, An MC that will cheer them up and assure them that they are in the right place, and a caterer that will listen to your guest before complaining.
If you run this kind of wedding, you will be the talk of the town no matter your budget. Make sense, right?
Arrange for your Honeymoon
Whether planning a wedding in Nigeria or another international destination, a honeymoon is essential to the overall experience. If you’re planning to have your wedding in Nigeria, it’s even more critical that you carefully plan for your honeymoon. You’ll probably want a few weeks (or months!) to relax, unwind, and explore each other as newlyweds—but if you’re looking for somewhere to take your new spouse, here are some tips to help you plan.
Nigerian Wedding Calendar
I’ve said much, but you still don’t understand a thing. Do you still want the perfect wedding? I’ve broken down the entire wedding process into a 1-year calendar that should be your adviser after your partner has accepted your proposal.
Okay, let’s say you’re engaged and want a classic wedding; follow my wedding calendar step by step, and I assure you that you’ll have a successful wedding on D-day.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on wedding planning in Nigeria. Here’s a one-year wedding calendar that would help host the perfect wedding:
12 – 9 Months To the Wedding
First of all, congratulation, you are engaged. There is still a lot to do before you can take it public. You create your wedding checklist, guest list, calendar, and budget at this stage. Pick a date at least eight months away for your traditional and white wedding.
This is where you should begin your search for a wedding planner, reception venue, Aso Ebi colors, wedding dresses, and suits. You should start booking or making a gown at this stage because it takes time to prepare a wedding gown.
For the groom, if you have a jealous ex, settle here now! Nigerian women have 3 Mami water spirits that give them the power to scatter any wedding. I repeat, if you dated any lady with nasty character, visit her with your wife-to-be and get things over with her for good.
9- 6 Months To the Wedding
This is when you start taking engagement pictures, and romantic ones are the cutest. Your wedding souvenirs, invitations, and thank-you cards must be ready by now. You should also start making plans for your bachelorette party and bridal shower.
You should also finalize your guest list to ensure everything is in place. Book your chef, caterer, DJ, MC, photographer, and videographer. Pay them if possible, just to avoid unnecessary excuses.
Most of all, sew your Aso Ebi. Have you ever given a Nigerian tailor your cloth? You know how the story goes. You will hear “Madam na tomorrow” until the night before the wedding.
Three months before the wedding
Start planning for the honeymoon and making reservations for flights and hotels if you plan to spend quality and romantic time overseas; this is when you make a budget. This is also the stage where the couple goes shopping.
Write your vows and make them as romantic as possible, so your partner knows it is you. You should also start your wedding and dinner rehearsal and vehicle arrivals. The bride should also start looking for makeup artists and hairdressers.
Find a shopping mall near you and buy stuff like wristwatches, purses, rings, shoes, bouquets, jewelry & accessories, and most of all, the wedding outfit for the couple, bridesmaids, and groomsmen. You must shop around this time so that a slight change in weight or height won’t make you panic. It will still fit perfectly.
30 days to the wedding
You should have done your traditional marriage, and one part is clear. Make a reservation in a good hotel for the wedding night. Alert your DJ, photographer, venue manager, and caterer of your big day, so they can get their game face on.
Go over everything again and again. Ensure that everything is in place. Go to the spa and get good skin therapy and facial treatment so you look and shine like the sun on that day. Prepare for your honeymoon and relax.
The day before the wedding
The bride, run to your hairdresser and gets your hair in the perfect shape. Relax, pamper yourself. Tomorrow is a big day. Groom, call your guys and allow them to sleep over so they can help dress you up.
Also, take the wedding vehicles to the car wash and tell your designer to design the vehicle with an about-to-wed and newlywed plate number.
Wedding Day
Bride, wake up early. Get your makeup on and your hair with a lot of glitter and sparkle so that you will shine. Take a snack or water, just enough to satisfy you before you go out. Don’t take too much, so you have a running stomach or too little to feel hungry at the altar.
Once that’s over, dance all the styles you can dance at the reception and fly to heaven for your honeymoon. I know I missed some things, but once you personalize this calendar, a perfect wedding is assured.
Wedding Colours And Aso Ebi For Nigerian Weddings
If you are having a problem choosing Aso-Ebi and other ceremonial colors for your wedding, I uploaded a color gradient image that can help you pick the perfect Aso-Ebi color for your wedding. Just pick a color for your Aso Ebi or pick one from the left and one from the right if you want different colors for up and down.
Cost Of Weddings In Nigeria
There are over 100 factors that can determine the cost of a wedding in Nigeria. Some of them include the location of the ceremony, the number of guests, food & drinks, decor, souvenirs, and other paid services.
If you need my help estimating the cost of weddings in Nigeria, we’ve done all the research for you. So, here is the average cost of a standard wedding, hosting 200 guests in Nigeria.
- In Lagos, the average cost of weddings is between ₦1,800,000 – ₦2,500,000.
- In Abuja, the average cost of weddings is between ₦1,200,000 – ₦3,000,000
- In Rivers State, the average cost of weddings is between ₦1,600,000 – ₦2,200,000
- In Oyo State, the average cost of weddings is between ₦1,200,000 – ₦2,000,000
- In Anambra State, the average cost of weddings is between ₦1,700,000 – ₦2,800,000
- In Edo State, the average cost of weddings is between ₦1,600,000 – ₦2,100,000
- In Kwara State, the average cost of weddings is between ₦1,800,000 – ₦2,500,000
Popular Food in Nigerian Weddings
To be sincere, anything goes to Nigerian weddings, especially those with buffet service. You can see dishes like rice, beans, Puff Puff, Egusi, Moi Moi, African Salad, Sauce, Stew, and other tasty delicacies on the table.
But at all weddings, some food and meals stand out. These foods are a necessity and are present at most Nigerian weddings. Some of the most popular foods in Nigerian weddings are listed below.
Jollof Rice
Jollof rice is the king of celebration in Nigeria. No wedding is complete without the guest having that great-tasting Jollof rice in their stomach. The thing will na make sense if it has small carrots, liver, Kanda, or green beans inside.
Fried Rice
Fried rice and Jollof rice no be the same thing. Fried rice n the senior brother of Jollof rice when we talk of sweetness. Although fried rice can easily replace Jollof rice in any wedding, most guests prefer to have the two side by side.
Pounded Yam, Fufu, or Semo
Yes, you also need to have a swallow if you want to properly welcome elderly guests at your wedding. Most elderly guests and men at the high table don’t like eating rice at weddings, they prefer real men’s food.
Most weddings should also prepare starch or swallow like Eba, wheat, Semo, pounded yam, or fufu for guests that want the main thing.
Soup
You should also have a soup that will go well with the swallow. Some of the best soups for weddings are bitter leaf [Ofe Onugbo is #1 in the Igbo land], Egusi, Ewedu, Vegetable, Nsala, or Okra. If you serve any guest any of these great-tasting meals, they will love you for life,
Moi Moi
Some guests are never satisfied with rice, chicken, and salad. They like it top-notch with Moi Moi on top, so the balanced diet will be complete. Every good wedding should serve any or all of this food.
Nigerian Wedding Checklist
It’s not easy to plan a successful wedding in Nigeria. The stress, expectation, and expenses are too much. If you are about to wed, here are some key features you should take note of to have a successful wedding.
- Set your budget
- Selecting the location
- Printing and sending invitation cards
- Shopping for wedding dresses, suits, and Aso Ebi
- Shopping for rings, sovereigns & Merchandise
- Pick honeymoon location
- Hiring photographers, videographers, DJs, Makeup artists, chauffeurs, and caterers
- Buy souvenirs
- Plan the wedding party
- Celebrate
what about planning a wedding in jos
aproximate cost of planning a wedding in jos