YAY! I think I’m conquering procrastination! I said I was going to upload photos the and talk about Yoruba engagement marriage based on my different planning since but I never got around to doing it. Today I have overcome! LOL. In case you missed the parry, the traditional wedding was on the 18th of March, 2017…..Instead of just showing you pictures I will explain a bit of how it went in case you’re not familiar with Yoruba weddings.

The event is usually flamboyant, Yoruba people like to party. If you've been to any yoruba wedding ceremony you know its the same process everywhere. There's usually two Alaga's who I will liken to MC's, 1 to represent each family. One is Alaga Iduro (grooms family), and the other is Alaga Ijoko (brides family). These Alaga's negotiate and make sure the evnt flows seamlessly. They can sing, and dance very well...the funnier and well experienced an alaga is, the better. You dont want a dry wedding. Another thing...these alaga's know how to collect money trust me. They will collect almost every 5 minutes.

THE GROOM's ARRIVAL
In a Yoruba traditional wedding, the groom is always the first person to arrive, the first part of the whole marriage ceremony is to meet the families and pay bride price. Payment varies based on the bills given to pay.

It is customary for the groom to arrive with his friends and prostrate before the father inlaw 3 times, receive acceptance and prayers from them, then go to his parents and prostrate to receive their own prayers. If you never exercise, don’t dare join the grooms parade because those alaga’s go take your eyes do ween! Some will ask the groom to raise hands, stand at attention and start marching. I love Yoruba weddings.…oh yes, he begged to marry this bride. No shakara.

THE PROPOSAL LETTER
The grooms family presents a proposal letter. This proposal letter is presented to the brides family.

The bride's mom will receive it then shows it to the rest of the family, and then she kneels in front of her husband to collect money from him. She then brings out an acceptance letter which you can see her carrying and dancing, people come out to spray money again and then she hands it over to the inlaws.

The proposal letter (which is in a frame) is hung on the wall in our house)…imagine if you have 8 daughters…you’ll just display a long line of proposal letters. LOL

THE BRIDE's ARRIVAL

Now that things have exchanged hands it’s time for the bride to come out. A white transparent veil will be used to cover the face while the bride dance in. I had to go first to my parents, they prayed for me, I sat on their laps and kissed them each then I was escourted to my inlaw’s seat. I knelt down there, they prayed for me, opened the veil, I sat with them and dash them kiss too. Then I proceeded to go behind them to greet my inlaws family as you can see.

ERU IYAWO SECTION
The bride was later asked to go to the Eru Iyawo section, which is a small place set aside and decoragted with our photos, the items brought to pay the bride price i. e yams, fruits, drinks, jewelry etc and I was asked to pick what I like there. Traditionally the only thing you should pick there is a bible which is what I did, I danced with the bible to where the groom was.
I had to place his cap properly on his head as part of the traditional wedding, I swing the cap on my finger to show everybody before placing it on him. I knelt down, he prayed for his new bride and I asked him for garri money…he had to bring money from his pocket to give to me.
And that was the end, the rest was reception.


I have to give credit to the company (perfect budget events) that planned the whole events and coordinated it also perfect budgets events that transformed the hall with the latest and creative engagement deco, The hall looked very contemporary traditional. The cake was made by D pawn cakes, I called him only a few days to the wedding and he managed to deliver, even though that weekend was his dad's birthday Thank you

Kudos

GUIDE TO YORUBA ENGAGEMENT PARTY by PERFECT BUDGETS EVENTS {08083373302}
We love traditional weddings, with their vibrant colours, rich food, playful banter and more, what's not to like? Okay maybe the chaos that sometimes comes with the territory, but hey, something has to give. As residents of Lagos, we've certainly attended our fair share of Yoruba Engagements, they are beautiful symbolic occasions (albeit usually lengthy) that mark the 'official engagement' between a couple. The entire event usually plays out like a well rehearsed play with two narrators representing both families, the 'Alaga Ijoko' (the sitting MC) for the brides family and the 'Alaga Iduro' (the standing MC) for the grooms family. Prior to the engagement, both families meet in the 'introduction' where amongst other things, wedding dates are set and both families get to know each other. So what happens next?

Step 1: Welcome

The arrival of the grooms family signals the start of the ceremony, they are required to be on time (no 'african' time here) and can be sent back or fined for being late. Once inside, they are introduced by their Alaga and proceed to kneel and greet the brides family.

Step 2: The Proposal and Acceptance

This elaborate proposal 'letter' is presented by the grooms family and read out loud by the youngest member of the brides family. After which an acceptance letter is given by the brides family.

Step 3: Meet the Groom

The groom typically makes his appearance by dancing in with his friends then proceeds to prostrate two times with his friends and once alone to his new in-laws. During the third prostration, both families stretch out their arms and pray for the groom. He then prostrates once with his friends for his family before proceeding to his seat.

Step 4: Meet the Bride

The veiled bride makes her appearance escorted by her friends who dance her in. She kneels in front of her parents for their prayers and blessings, then does the same with her future husbands parents after which she is unveiled and joins her future husband. Though not compulsory, some brides put the grooms hat (fila) on his head, this demonstrates her acceptance of the proposal.

Step 5: Bling Please

On instruction from the Alaga Ijoko she picks the gift she wants from the usually dazzling selection brought by her in-laws (a list with the required items would have been given prior to the engagement). She is expected to pick the Bible or Qu'ran to which her engagement ring is attached. She gives her selection to her husband who puts the ring on her finger and watches happily as she shows off her ring to the world.

Step 6: Bride Price

Various envelopes containing everything from the bride price to money for the wives, children and elders in the her family are handed over to the brides family. It is very common practice for them to the envelope containing the bride price, the belief is that both families have become one and are giving their daughter away versus 'selling' her.

Step 7: Cut the Cake

The engagement cake also known as 'Akara Oyinbo' is a symbol of happiness due to its rich and sweet ingredients. The more recently introduced cake cutting ceremony is usually for photo opportunities.

Step 8: Party Party Party

Final prayers are said and the occasion is ended with lots of love, eating, music and dancing!

Yoruba Engagement List (varies slightly from family to family and Yoruba state to state)
42 Big Tubers of Yam
42 Big Cola Nuts
42 Big Bitter Cola (Orogbo)
42 Pieces of Dry Fish
42 Pieces of Alligator Pepper (Ata're)
2 Bottles of Honey
2 Pairs of Shoes and Bags
2 Scarves
1 Wrist Watch
1 Bible or Qu'ran
1 Engagement Ring
1 Big Suitcase
1 Traditional Aso-Oke
1 Big Dish of 'Aadun'
1 Bag of salt
1 Bag of Sugar
1 Umbrella

This event was extremely cool and fun

WEDDING BUDGETS
Budgeting should be among the first smart things to do. If not the very first, should be somewhere between announcing to your folks, friends and picking a date. I've known a few who weren't solvent enough, that picked a date and then waited on a prayer, only to be disappointed in the end, and felt really embarrassed before their friends.

There are several options to creating a wedding budget that you can afford;
1. Folks can decide to contribute a specific amount, and then the couple decides on a wedding budget and makes up any difference themselves.

2. Folks can say that they want to pay for specific items such as the bride's attire, the catering or the wines. The couple then has to figure out how to pay for everything else.

3. The couple can set a budget and then ask to split it evenly. This way, the mothers and fathers of the bride and groom, can each contribute N500000, for a total of a N2,000,000 wedding budget. This is not a bad idea at all for fams, where the parents have split.

Then, depending on your area and taste/class (if you know what I mean), budgeting about N1,500 (for an average Naija wedding oo) per wedding guest will give you a good start. This allows for about N750 a head for catering, and the remaining N750 goes towards everything else – flowers, attire, etc. Of course, if you are only having 10 guests, you may have trouble paying for everything else with only N7500, but it is a good point to start. This starting point fits with the general rule of the more guests, the more formal and lavish the wedding.

So to figure out a basic wedding budget, you can start off by using a basic budget planning worksheet to figure out the basics. Don't get fuddled just yet. cheesy Here's what one should look like;

Your Total Budget ___________

Expenses;

Ceremony
Location fee, officiant fee, marriage licence, musician's fees, ring pillows____________
Reception
Reception Site, Food, Drinks, Rentals, Cake, Favors____________
Attire
Dress, Headpiece/veil, undergarments and hosiery, shoes, accessories, jewelry, hair and makeup, Groom's Tuxedo or Suit, shoes, bow tie, cuff links, studs, suspenders____________
Rings
Yours and Groom's rings, engraving____________
Flowers
Ceremony, bride's bouquet, maid-of-honor and bridesmaid bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres, centerpieces, flower-girl basket e.t.c.____________
Music
Ceremony Musicians, Band and/or DJ, cocktail hour musicians, sound system rental____________
Photography
Photographer and Videographer's fees, albums, additional prints, disposable cameras for candids____________
Transportation
Transportation for wedding party, guest shuttle and/or parking attendants____________
Stationery
Invitations, response cards, thank you notes, postage, calligraphy, guest book____________
Gifts
Bridesmaid and groomsmen, parents, welcome baskets for out-of-town guests.

Put the amounts you consider fit or that you already know (e.g cost of the hall rental), against these first (individually and then sum them up), even though their total sum might spill over your intended round figure. And then you make adjustments, so they can fit your plan. For instance, 150 chairs can be reduced to prolly 140, cos exactly 150 people might not attend, or you can trust children and even some adults, to not wanna be held down on a spot, by no force in this world. Lol. As well, you can ask other brides around you, what they spent on vendors to figure out if these numbers you fix are realistic, or need to be adjusted.

Again, adjustment of your budget numbers should only reflect your priorities. While it is likely that you may die to have a photographer from mars, you could be a hundred percent certain that you would die and kill to have that J-lo's kind of wedding dress.

Lastly, you still have to try saving on your wedding budget. You're going to have to do more than just reducing those things you need, by actually crossing off the excesses. I mean, while it may sound wonderful to serve Rice and Soup, it isn't exactly brilliant to serve Jollof, White Rice, Coconut Rice, Fried Rice, Rice Pudding, Puffed Rice and any other miraculous Rice alongside only Egusi soup with eba. You could even trim your wedding guest list, save money on the church decorations, ask recently married friends how much they used and paid for stuff, ask friends in the wedding industry to help you out; giving discounts where possible and even change the day of the week to maybe having the observance on a week night! cheesy


If these numbers still do not work out, ask or remind yourself of what's really important to you. Perhaps it's better to have a small wedding now, and then renew your wedding vows in two, five or ten years when you can or might have been able to save for the big party.

Once you've set a budget, stick to it. It's easier to say than do, I know. But an important thing it is, to do in

Nice

Wow

Mr. perfect Events got you covered on your budget.