Groom Stylists, the 360 Video Booth, MisMatched Bridesmaids, The Couple’s Signature Cocktail Mix & More | 2018 Nigerian Wedding Trends
2018 has been another beautiful year for Nigerian weddings in Nigeria and abroad. It’s that time of the year when we show you how busy we’ve been all year. If you missed any of our previous Nigerian wedding trends reports, catch up on 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. We’ve been
Enjoy!
BRIDE Balloon Set up: This is officially a THING now for brides to have a balloon set up at the hotel room while they get ready for their big day with their bridesmaids in robes. We spotted this trend at Gabi & Funmi’s wedding in Dubai, #HappilyEverAbbe, #ForeverPutPut18, #BTA2018.Â
Gabi & Funmi’s wedding in Dubai | Photo: Alakija Studios 
#HappilyEverAbbe 
#ForeverPutPut18 
#BTA2018 | Photo: Freez Photography
The Fashion Forward Bride: This year saw a lot of brides standing out in their individual style. From Salewa’s stunning Victorian bridal look for #ForeverSNO, Ayo’s stunning bridal look in Alonuko, Nowe’s (#CupidsMasterPiece) avant-garde bridal look by April by Kunbi and more. A lot of the bridal gowns looked like they came straight off a bridal catwalk show and we love how these brides showed off their individual style.
Brides looking beyond white, ivory: A lot of brides this year looked beyond white wedding gowns; we saw pinks, blues at a lot of Nigerian weddings. Linda Ejiofor wore a stunning pink bridal by Mai Atafo for #ISquared18, Anita from #BanksDale18 wore a pink toned Elizabeth & Bridal bridal dress; Hadiza from #HU2018 wore an icy blue bridal dress from Elizabeth & Bridal for her aqua themed wedding.
A lot of bridal fashion shoots and bridal collections also reinforced this trend of wearing colours outside the usual white, ivory
Short Hair, No Problem: A lot of brides stepped out in short hairstyles. Who says you need a wig, weave, or braids to say ‘I Do’. Nigerian bride, Stephanie Anyamele from #Kelenna18 looked stunning on her wedding day.
First Looks: This year was arguably the year of first looks; more couples embraced this trend, which we totally love. From Jide Kola and Cynthia’s #CJLoveStory, Hodo and Emeka’s #HN2018, Chidinma & Christian’s #CC2018 to Ope and Olamidun’s #OOJ18.
Bridesmaids & Groomsmen Gift Boxes: We love gifts and we love thank-you’s here at LoveWeddingsNG so this is one trend we absolutely are here for. Nigerian couples handed out lots of gift boxes this year; whether it was to invite them to join the bridal party or say thank you for being a bridesmaid or groomsman; here are a couple of examples from some Nigerian weddings including #NkemDarling2018,
Mismatched bridesmaids: This is where each bridesmaid chooses a style she feels comfortable wearing and can vary from fabric,
The Bridal Clutch: Whether it spells Wifey, Miss-2-Mrs, Bride2Be, Bride; 2018 brides rocked their bridal clutch purses from the pre-wedding shoot to the wedding day.
Groom Stylists: Yes, the bridal stylist came last year and the year before and took over BUT the grooms this year had none of it. This year, we saw Nigerian groom’s hiring their own stylists too to make sure they look sharp and on par with the brides. We saw this at a number of weddings from #FAMIL2018 where the groom was styled by Jeremiah Obodo (Swanky Jerry), Denola Grey styled Mayowa Mosuru for his wedding. At #RoyalFaaji2018 FAAJI2018, the groom was styled by Denola Grey.
The groom from #Faaji styled by Denola Grey 
Simple two/three tiered Wedding Cakes: A lot of wedding cakes in 2018 were simple and mostly between one to three tiers. See these cakes from Makida & Oliver’s #MOx18Forever wedding, Debbie and Femi’s #TheBeecrofts18 #AmourNoir2018, #OverTheMoonToBeAnNoon,
The Grooms Lady / Female Best Man / The Best Woman: I mean, surely you haven’t missed this trend this year. From Gbemi and Femi’s #TheGFShow, #TheVibesWedding18, #JKay2018, #BoluKedei4Eva, #TYTheKnot2018, #ForeverSNO and more.
Photo: Laphy Photography 
Floral Classy Photo Walls: From the #OGLoveStory to #TheBeecrofts18, #TheGFShow, we saw some of the classiest and beautiful floral
Peacock bridal hand fans are definitely here to stay: We told you in 2017 that peacocks were in trouble because Nigerian traditional bridal hand fan makers plucked all of their feathers to make traditional bridal hand fans for all the brides. From #FloRia2018 to
There’s a new traditional bridal hand fan in town and she’s bold, full, grand and elegant: and she comes in different colors. Check her out at #SODAffairs18, #TBanks18
Grand Bridal Robes: Bridal robes were grand in 2018. See some robes we spotted below.
Black Bridal Robes: From #KOKE2018, #Ayowa18, #TheOneForYou2018, #SWTheWedding and more; lots of brides rocked black bridal robes in 2018.
Bridesmaids in Black: Black was not a forbidden
Subtle Nude Bridal Makeup: Brides are loving the nude bridal look. From Uloma’s bridal look for #MULove18, Wendy’s clean look for #WWForever to Ada from #AdaEze2018 and more. See pictures of nude bridal looks created by makeup artists, Bimpe Onakoya, T.A’Lamode Makeup,
Former brides and vendors publishing love, relationship & wedding themed books: This trend started last year and has continued into this year so this is a 2017/2018 Nigerian Wedding Trend. A lot of brides who got married over the last year and wedding vendors published books. Toyosi Makinwa, who won WED Expo’s Dream Wedding competition published her book titled ‘My Dream Wedding Bible‘. Phoebe Dami Asolo from #PDA16 published a book titled ‘Miss2Mrs‘. Modupe Charlotte Alatise published her book titled ‘He’s Not What I Ordered: Understanding God’s Choice in Marriage’ (HNWIO). Nigerian wedding planner, Mosun of IPC Events published a book titled ‘The Magic of Moments’
Illustrations are not going anywhere anytime soon: Just like previous years, illustrations are still big for Nigerian couples. Whether they’re used on social media, on the wedding stationery or for the wedding decor, they’re great and we love them. See some illustrations we loved this year from Ayo & Ruth’s #MeetTheAfolabis traditional wedding,
Super Eagles jersey for pre-wedding photoshoots: The 21st FIFA World Cup held in Russia this year and one thing we won’t forget in a hurry is the Super Eagles Nigeria jersey by Nike. Couples chose this as their outfit for their pre-wedding shoot.
The 360 Video Booth: From Lagos to London and the US, the 360 booth was a trend at a number of Nigerian weddings this year. Almost every event in Lagos had the Cinematics 360 booth and Christiana Andrews launched a similar service called the 360 Scope in the UK. See clips from some Nigerian weddings that had the 360 video booth; #SnR18, #UBash.
Trendy Gele Styles: With the growing trend of
Grand Suspended Wedding Cakes: Even though the wedding cakes were simple this year; we also saw some pretty grand wedding cakes.
The Couple’s Signature Cocktail Mix: We have to give it to UK-based cocktail and drinks provider, Ravissant Cocktails for introducing this unique twist to how cocktails and drinks are served at Nigerian weddings. The trend has since been recreated by other cocktail providers at lots of weddings. This year, we spotted this trend at Stephanie and Soji’s #OGLoveStory wedding, Tomi & Akin’s #AkiTo2018 wedding and more weddings this year.
Studio Pre-Wedding Shoots: This year, most couples just stayed indoors for their pre-wedding shoot. Find out why studio pre-wedding shoots
Surprise Celebrity Weddings: So many celebrity weddings this year were only publicized on the wedding day. Zainab Balogun’s wedding, Mo’Cheddah & Prince Bukunyi’s wedding, Chef Fregz & Kemi ‘Lala’ Akindoju’s weddings were all so low key until the actual wedding day.
Satin Brides: Satin fabric ruled at Nigerian weddings this year. Modele, Kemi ‘Lala’ Akindoju and others rocked satin bridal dresses this year.
Bridal Forehead Headbands:
Shaku Shaku: Self explanatory
Photo: Samuel Falusi Photography 
Let us know if we missed any trends below.
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