A money picker at a Nigerian wedding refers to a trusted person (usually female and also a friend of the couple) whose duty it is to make sure every note sprayed is picked up and kept safely in a bag, which will be handed to the couple afterwards.
1. Wear comfy clothes & shoes: You already know you’ll be doing a lot of bending down, walking around, going on your knees, etc… so ensure whatever you wear is comfortable and allows you move about freely. For us, wearing heels is just a big ‘No, no’ for health and safety reasons, get some really pretty and fancy sandals that go well with your outfit and save yourself the hassle. Also, don’t wear tight clothes o… hmmm!!! A word is enough for the wise 🙂
Be conscious of the photographer & videographer and try to stay out of the pictures as much as possible. There’s nothing more annoying when we look through a couple’s wedding album and we see pictures that are beautiful and capture candid moments but then there’s the ‘money picker in the background.
Have your money bag ready: and not just any bag, get a fancy one – This is, of course, assuming you already know this is what you’re going to be spending your day doing. We’ve seen all sorts of bags – poly bags, nylon bags, even ghana must go’s… lol!!! As the money picker, ensure you take time out to look for a really nice bag that’s deep and wide enough to fit in all the money.
Don’t give change or become a forex stand – How annoying is it when a wedding guest (usually an Aunt/Uncle, Mummy/Daddy) walks up to you and says can you change money for me??? Errr not really because I’m busy (side eye)! We’ve seen this happen countless times and it’s the most annoying thing ever. Once they see you with the bag, its like ah, lets go and change money and like that’s not enough. They’d start specifying what exactly they want – Only $1, N500, N1000 notes please or only clean/crisp notes… (insert angry emoji)… Just politely tell them ‘No, mummy sorry’
Empty your money bag at intervals – Have another bag somewhere that’s zipped up where you can pour all the money into so you don’t get your primary wedding bag too full in between the ceremony. This is also a good idea for security reasons so you don’t have too much cash on you at any particular time. Take advantage of breaks e.g. when the couple are cutting their cake or getting changed. Of course make sure the couple are aware of your plan to avoid any awkward situations. You’d probably be someone they trust anyways so they should trust you right.
Money boxes by R’ADE Designs & Handcrafts
Don’t steal – We know we said 5 tips but this 6th one is very important… Don’t steal their money. If you do, hmmm the kain curse that will follow you won’t be funny. At a lot of weddings we’ve attended, we’ve seen several bags full turn into only N20,000 at the end of the wedding and we’re like ‘Ah, even if they were spraying N5, it should be more than that, shouldn’t it.
Anyways, let us know. Have you ever been given the ‘money picking task’. How did you handle it and what tips can you share. Leave a comment below.
“Money picker” aka “Accountant” – that’s the one my sisters and I prefer lol. Two tips I would like to add are –
1. Changing money is allowed, it’s actually very necessary (especially here in the US), because the money comes back to us. People can’t spray a $100 bill or they will prefer to spray 20 $1 bills than 1 $20 bill. So how we ensure we are ready and organized is to designate one person as the bill changer. She seats at an easily accessible spot by the dance floor and holds the bag of change so everyone is directed to her and the pickers on the dance floor are not bothered.
2. Designate roles to everyone involved and to avoid fatigue, people can rotate roles. The money changer can switch places with the picker at the next dance so the picker can seat and rest her thighs. Other roles that can be designated depending on how many people you have are the sorter (she arranges the money – this might be easier here since most people spray only $1 bills, unlike in naija when you might have to sort #200, #500, and #1000), the transporter (she moves the money from the dance floor to the sorter, the changer of the one zipped official money bag).
Very well written Osy, thank you 🙂
Loool at Money picker. I have been assigned the task before. Mehn…….. ko easy. Some people tired to steal the money that fell, I collected the money ASAP.