Over the years in America, I have noticed a dangerous trend--the number of Nigerian weddings in which they serve only American or foreign food over Nigerian food have been increasing appreciably. I despise this behavior on all fronts. First, most of the time, this menu choice does not cater to the taste of an overwhelming number of Nigerian attendees, many of whom are the majority and do not expect to eat foreign food at a Nigerian wedding. Second, it may indicate that the bride or groom has inferiority complex, for they think that serving Nigerian food somehow contaminates the Eurocentric ambience they intend to create in their reception. Third, many foreign weddings, for example when a Chinese groom weds a Chinese bride, do not serve Nigerian food, so why on God's green earth do these Nigerians serve food from other cultures to the exclusion of our indigenous food?

Worse still, in many of the engagement ceremonies, which is supposed to be traditional to say the least, I have also seen American food being served without any Nigerian food, and I think it is a shame that a traditional engagement ceremony features no traditional food. In one of such weddings that I attended, I asked the bride why they did not serve Nigerian food, and she said, "I do not want people to use their hands to eat at my reception; I don't have time for all that barbaric way of eating." The bride actually did say that using your hands to eat, say pounded yam and egusi soup, is actually "barbaric," and she apparently did not want to contaminate the aesthetics and ambience of her reception with such behavior. Shame shame.

While it is undeniable that the bride or groom possesses the right to decide the menu that will be served in their wedding, it is important that they cater to their attendees, especially the friends of their parents, many of whom are old school and do not particularly prefer foreign foods over Nigerian foods. It seems that the bride or groom forget sometimes that the essence of serving food in a wedding is to feed the attendees, so it is unreasonable to serve food that the attendees do not care for as much. Even non-Nigerian guests who attend Nigerian weddings have a reasonable expectation that Nigerian food will be served at such wedding, and it would be a wonderful opportunity for that bride or groom to showcase our culture to those foreigners. With all these behaviors, no wonder Nigerian food is not mainstream.

I have never seen this at a wedding here just yet where they only serve American at a Naija wedding. The last wedding that I attended had both Nigerian and American cuisine.

Then swallow your garri and Ogbono soup at home before attending these weddings
Leave people to serve whatever they want at their weddings
longer throat.

@Poster, you have a very good point but unfortunately we are slowly and gradually turning into a people without an identity. We seem to be ashamed to speak our language, wear our clothes and now it is to eat our own food. Shame!

Nigerians self. What is anybody business what people decide to serve at their wedding. The worst part about this is that it is probably people who were not even invited that will complain. You know how your brothers and sisters just get up and invite themselves to someones event SMH