Dress Me for the Wedding: A Complete Guide to Showing Up Right

What you will experience

You've been invited to an African wedding. Maybe your friend is marrying a Nigerian. Maybe your partner is Ghanaian and the introduction ceremony is next month. Maybe you're the one getting married and you want to understand what's about to happen to you because your mother keeps mentioning traditions you've never heard of and the panic is setting in. This experience prepares you for everything. I'll walk you through what actually happens at an African wedding. Not the Instagram version. The real version. The introduction ceremony where your family has to formally ask for your partner's hand and what that involves. The engagement process and who pays for what. The traditional outfits and what each one means. The role of the MC and why they control the entire event. The dancing. The spraying. The food. The expectations from both families. The things that will go wrong because something always does and how to handle it with grace. Then we get into the clothing. What to wear as a guest. How to choose the right level of formality because overdressing and underdressing at an African wedding are both offences. How aso ebi works and why refusing it is more political than you think. How to tie a gele if you're female. What colours to avoid. What to do when you don't know the dress code and you're too embarrassed to ask. If you're the one getting married, we go deeper. How to blend traditions when both cultures need to be honoured. How to handle family members who have opinions about everything. How to make the day feel like yours even when a hundred people think it's theirs. This is for anyone attending their first African wedding and wanting to avoid embarrassing themselves. For non African partners entering African families who need a cultural briefing. For couples planning a wedding that honours both sides. For anyone who's ever shown up to an event underdressed and never wants that feeling again. Show up knowing everything. That confidence will be visible the moment you walk in.

Access and participation

Meeting point