African Wedding Traditions

African wedding traditions are all based on the different tribes in Africa. When a young lady says that she wants a wedding in the African tradition she is looking to incorporate old customs and the blessings of the Gods. You can incorporate African wedding tradition into your American wedding in many ways including the wedding music, African American inspired invitations, African inspired dresses of the wedding party, attire of the groom’s party, and wedding cake with seasonings of the African region or an African style wedding gown among other things. An African American wedding may be very beautiful and steeped in African wedding tradition.

It was once an African wedding tradition for a Namwangan young man to pick out his new bride by giving her a token of jewels. His parents would then either approve or disapprove of his choice and he would be free to marry or have to choose another woman. This may be where the custom of a man giving a girl an engagement ring came from. In the Nile it was a tradition for a man who wanted to get his son married to give a sheep to all the people in the girl’s family as a form of invitation in the African wedding tradition. Nowadays we have elaborate gowns in shades of white, but if you are planning to have an African American wedding gown then you may use the traditional colors of Ghana such red, green or brown. In previous African American tradition slim girls from the Ankole tribes were fed milk before they were married until they were quite heavy, but now at an African American wedding the bride’s bite of cake may be the fist fattening food she has had in weeks while planning to fit into her dress. When you are having your wedding photos taken you may follow the African American wedding tradition of jumping the broom. This was a tradition that began in the times of slavery to ward off evil spirits and get a clean start on your new life.

When you are incorporating African wedding tradition into your American wedding choose wisely. Take some time and learn if your family has a link to any particular areas of Africa. Talk to your mothers and grandmothers to see what they had at their wedding. Adding African wedding tradition to your special day will make it all the more meaningful for your friends and family around you.