We thought 2014 was a big year for weddings in Nigeria. Well, 2014 ain’t got nothing on 2015. This year has been huge for Nigerian weddings! With more trends from 2014 coming to stay and new trends arising this year, we have so much to show you. Where do we even begin? Is it the fabulous-ity, the extravagance, crazy budgets, the creativity, the hot couples and amazing vendors? .
It feels just like yesterday when we wrote our first post about Nigerian Wedding Trends in 2014. And you know what that means, we’ll be TWO soon. Yayyyyyy (goes off to do the Azonto, Whip nene, Sekem, Alingo,
We’ll be TWO in February 2016 so start sending in your wishes, cards, and gifts – okay 🙂 Anyways, back to Nigerian wedding trends. Just like we did last year, we’ve decided yet again to sum up this year for you in what we call the top Nigerian wedding trends that rocked 2015 (in no particular order)
Get your popcorn (
1) Pre wedding Shoots … still trending
This was a trend last year and this carried on into 2015. We won’t spend too long on this one, catch up HERE if you missed our Nigerian wedding trends in 2014 post. In summary, having pre wedding shoots is now a given in Nigeria. I had a conversation with someone recently and she thought I was from a different planet because I said I didn’t think it was compulsory to have pre wedding shoots. Make of it what you will, it’s still cool and we’ve seen loads of pre wedding shoots we love.
Check out our ‘Pre wedding shoots we love‘ board on Pinterest for more.
2) Hashtags …still trending but better
This was actually number 1 on our list last year. This year, Nigerian couples went gangsta with hashtags. In fact, wedding guests helped couples create hashtags (with or without their consent) for those who couldn’t be bothered. A lot of couples even already knew their wedding hashtags right from the proposal. Couples also seem to have moved from the norm – making up the hashtag from the bride and groom’s first name. This year, we saw hashtags like;
- #YoruFrench2015
- #DTunes2015
- #BecomingtheRoberts2015
- #TheLASTWedding2015
- #OBI2015
- #funandlove2015
- #TheShelles2015
We cannot wait to see more creative hashtags in 2016.
3) The Solange Inspired Pose
This should have been number one on this list. I’m not sure why it isn’t. Oh I remember, this list is in no particular order… 🙂 Anyways, ever since Solange Knowles got married to Alan Ferguson, she inspired a lot of wedding trends… #TheCape, #AllWhiteEverything, etc but most of all she inspired what we like to call ‘The Solange Bridesmaid Pose‘. We saw a lot of brides and grooms replicate this pose with their bridesmaids and groomsmen. Check out the pictures below
For more ‘Solange Inspired Wedding Poses’, visit our Pinterest board.
4) Bridesmaids in White
We saw a lot of bridesmaids wear white this year.
5) Bye Heels, Hello Boots/Sneakers
Another one that I think should have been number 1. Let’s just forget about the numbering system here. This year, we saw some brides say ‘bye’ to heels. From Nollywood actress – Ivie Okujaiye, who rocked sneakers on her traditional wedding and white wedding to event planner – Asy and many other brides.
6) Personalised Coke Cans
Coca-Cola Nigeria decided to introduce personalised coke cans and coke bottles and this sparked off a trend. Couples had personalised coke cans at their wedding, which was pretty cool actually. Remember, they also had the Share a Coke at my wedding competition where the winning couple got 30 cases of personalised Coke cans with their names on it as well as an all expenses paid pre wedding shoot by Jide Odukoya Photography.
7) Save the date
This was also on our list last year and just like pre-wedding shoots, it went on in 2015. Couples took it up a notch with mugshot inspired save-the-dates, football-themed save-the-dates and more.
For more ‘Save the Date’, visit our Pinterest board.
8) Music Videos
This year we saw couples make their own music videos. Remember the Nkiru & Patrick’s Golibe traditional wedding video by Samon Films. and Tolani & Ibukun’s pre-wedding video for #IBKTolani2015. Check it out below.
We also loved the Instagram 15 second videos of brides and bridesmaids shooting their own music videos.
9) Forget tossing my bouquet, I’ll give it to whoever I please
We saw a few brides break the tradition of tossing the bouquet and giving it to someone special – a sister, a friend. We love the idea!!
10) Silk floral bridal robes
Last year, we saw loads of pictures of brides and bridesmaids in bridal robes. This year, while a lot of brides and bridesmaids still wore bridal robes but this time, silk, floral robes seemed to be the in-thing for 2015 brides and their bridesmaids.
11) Not everytime bridal robes…
Following on from bridal robes to silk floral robes, other brides in 2015 thought ‘not every time bridal robes, sometimes denim, dashiki’s, African prints, dress shirts, etc.
12) Weekday Weddings
This year, a lot of couples said ‘I Do’ on weekdays. And we’re not referring to weekdays that were public/bank holidays. Just weekdays as in Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. This may be something to consider for couples who want to limit the number of wedding guests.
13) Memorable Proposals
Gone are the days when proposals were either boring, straight-forward or non-existent. In fact, there are now Nigerian companies such as LoveBugs Proposals that specialise in planning the perfect proposal. We love this trend, I mean if you’re going to ask someone to spend the rest of their life with you, make it memorable. Check out some proposals planned by our vendor – LoveBugs Proposals in 2015 below.
14) Strictly by Invitation
In 2015, the Mo Gbo Mo Ya Association of Nigeria (MGMBAN) had major issues. Some couples went all out to point out that ‘Gele does not permit entry’ neither does the very popular Nigerian question – ‘Do you know who I am?’
15) Lace buba and Iro…
Usually, brides would wear a buba made of lace and the iro (wrapper), ipele (extra piece of material placed over the shoulders) & gele (headtie) would be made from aso-oke. Some 2015 brides decided to go with lace iro & buba’s and sticking with aso-oke for the gele and ipele.
16) Aso Oke Buba & Iro
Other brides decided to go for Aso Oke all through – buba, iro, gele
17) Themed Bridal Showers & Weddings
Another one from last year’s list. There were a lot of themed bridal showers and weddings this year. See some below;
18) Two – in – 1 Wedding Gowns
Rather than having separate gowns for the wedding ceremony and reception, some brides opted for 2 – in – 1 gowns.
19) Destination Weddings
We recall a number of couples who had their traditional wedding in Nigeria but travelled abroad for the white wedding. Gbenro Ajibade and Osas Ighodaro had their traditional wedding in Benin and their white wedding in New York. Dr Sid’s sister – Tobor Esiri and her husband – Victor Akinyooye also had their traditional wedding in Nigeria and travelled to Budapest for the white wedding.
GBENRO AJIBADE and OSAS IGHODARO wedding trailer -HD 1080p.wmv from Lanre Forward on Vimeo.
GbenrOsas 2015 Wedding from DJ TUNEZ on Vimeo.
20) Monochrome traditional
We spotted a lot of brides in the same color from their gele’s (head ties) to wrappers.
21) Awesome Centrepieces
Self explanatory, we think 🙂
22) Pant Suits/Jumpsuits for the After Party
We’ve been saying it for ages that bridal jumpsuits are in. We still haven’t seen a Nigerian bride walk down the aisle in a jumpsuit/pant suit yet but we sure saw a few brides change into them for the after party in 2015.
23) Bridal Party Army
Yes… Bridal Party Army. The bridal trains in 2015 were long sha… See what we mean below
24) Wedding Logos
We also saw a lot of wedding logos. Event planners such as 2706 Events offered wedding logo designs as an add-on service for couples who booked their services. See a few logos we loved in 2015 below.
Check out our ‘Wedding Logos’ board on Pinterest for more.
25) Epic Father Daughter Dance
Fathers did the ‘whip nene’, shoki, etc on their daughters big day this year.
26) Illustrations
We wrote an article in September about why illustrations are uber cool, read it HERE if you missed it. Well, well, well, we think we can say we accurately predicted that this would be a trend or maybe we inspired couples 🙂 Whatever the case, illustrations were definitely IN this year.
For more ‘Wedding Illustrations’, visit our Pinterest board.
So… what do you think? Did we miss any trends you noticed this year?
Let us know. Drop Your Comments Below. We might have more volumes… so Stay Tuned…
Read our African wedding trend reports here
Featured Picture Credit: Modernwedding.com.au
very cool – thanks Seyi. 🙂
Love this!! Very spot on!
Thanks Manola Luxe 🙂
Thanks Wani 🙂