THE IDEAL AFRICAN WEDDING OUTFIT

Weddings in Africa strike a beautiful chord in the ears of everyone who hears of it. Unlike in the European world, weddings are largely celebrated as one of the biggest social events, with every age brackets having a role to play at the event.

For traditional weddings - The African Wedding, the bride is expected to be the object of attention for the entire event. In some traditions, she could change her outfit a record FIVE times, before the end of the ceremony.

For this blog, we have taken our time to research SEVEN THINGS that the ideal African bride should consider at her traditional African wedding.

1. HER COLOR AND SKIN TONE

Colours such as white sit well with nearly every skin tone. Others - like green and cyan for instance, are very picky with the skin tone of who wears them.

You should consider this when picking the outfit for your traditional African wedding. As a guide, pick outfits that bode better with your complexion. Dark skinned brides should wear more of brighter colours to accent their melanin poppin' beauty.

2. HIS OUTFIT - THE GROOM

I know the African wedding is all about the bride. From being set in her hometown to being built all around her, the bride is set at no the pinnacle of the ceremony.

But then, no bride would want to appear so different from her groom. Your outfit should blend seamlessly with whatever the groom puts on. Anyone who sees you and the groom - whether in the same frame or not, should be able to tell that you are the couple of the day.

Colour, Style, Glam and everything pizzaz, your grrom should not be left behind.

3. THE GROOM'S CULTURE

The culture of the groom should be paramount in the bride's outfits. She should show the groom that her beautiful frame would still rock in his traditional outfit.

Consider a Yoruba groom and a bride all the way from southern Nigeria, Calabar. Both tribes are very proud of their cultural heritage and boast of a large array of cultural regalia, not to mention music and style.

For an African wedding ceremony held in Calabar, - the bride's community takes precedence - there is no doubt that the Yoruba groom would eventually don an agbada. If the sticks to her traditional outfit with corals, beads and colors all over her body, they'll never be in sync, fashion-wise.

4. HER CULTURE

The bride should by no means forget her cultural attire. It takes a fusion of fashion and charm to blend two cultures into one. But if done properly, this could easily bridge a wall between these two cultures.

An African bride should feel free to don the Kente outfit of her people on the day of her traditional marriage ceremony.

5. EASE AND COMFORT

Lots of dancing would be required. Lots of it. The more comfortable you are in that outfit, the better for you.

While checking for style and glam, also test for ease and comfort. Your body is designed to function best under the right conditions. Knowing this, and the fact that there would be countless eyes and cameras watching, you should never be caught un-fresh.

6. BODY TYPE

Yes, your body type matters. Although in nearly every African traditional outfit, bride's are expected to wrappers around their waist. This doesn't bode well for bride's with very trim waistlines. But have no fear, there are ways to get by this.

In other cases, there are outfits that flatter a lady's bust without giving much detail to her hips. A-Line dresses are primed this way. Slender ladies would find it uncomfortable wearing dresses that are primed this way.

They would be better suited for a better fit flare outfit, with or without corsets.

Pewr shaped ladies would however find the A-Line dresses perfect for them, whereas slipping into a more traditional skirt and blouse would not be as perfect.

7. COMPLEXITIES 

There are a ton of other factors that could emanate as regards a bride's choice of outfit on her traditional marriage ceremony.

Outfits that are too technical to put on, like the Calabar traditional ekombi attire should come first in the order of outfits. This is because the time taken for 'in-between' preparations would be too much of she were to change into the attire later on.

Also, the weather should also be taken into consideration.

There is typically no specific length deemed perfect for a traditional marriage ceremony. The bride can dress up as many times as she wants. As long as there is enough food to go round, the party never ends.

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