Every bride has a creative side or should at least attempt to tap into it. This week, we are going to define authentic weddings. First stop, Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa~ a muslim wedding for Hawa(bride) and Albert(groom).
African muslim weddings are quite challenging for brides as they have the arduous task of keeping everyone happy: their family, the groom's family and friends. Half of the guests at your wedding reception will be your parents', so you can just imagine how chaotic seating arrangements could be.
I decided to post this wedding because I admired the way this bride used her creativity to express her personality(her authentic African bridal outfit) as well as the couple's appreciation for all around them. The bride and groom both hold leading positions in the banking and construction industry respectively, and for them it was important to include their colleagues in the celebrations. So they threw 3 Evening receptions: one for the bride's family and friends in Freetown( the city), another for the husband's side of the family in Bo(the country) and one for her colleagues and friends(again in Freetown). They literally entertained a record 1,500 guests over the 3 day event.
Fasten your seatbelts as we take off to West Africa! Enjoy! O and I forgot to add, Africans love speeches!
Here's what the bride Hawa shared with us...........
What inspired your three day event celebrations?
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The bride and groom~ Hawa and Albert
As a well known hardworking and admirable young Sierra Leonean, I had to satisfy various guests of different statuses and characteristics. It was also very difficult to get a venue in Freetown to host a thousand or more guests.My husband as a young and popular businessman also had a very long list of guests
which would double my guests hence the need to hold the different sessions at
different places for different set of guests..........
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| ......and more speeches |
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| sister of the bride |
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| She wanted something very African, comfortable and creative~ Love her fascinator which she designed herself with inspiration drawn from this blog. YAY! |
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Bridal Party in theme colours Orange and brown
The following week we had our Christian/white wedding in Bo which was done for the respect of my husband and his parents. Also because most of the residents of Bo could not attend the muslim wedding in Freetown we had to do a reception and party at Bo Sports Club to crown all the events..............
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Vibrant and embroidered Brocade Outfits~ Bride's sister in yellow
The muslim wedding was done as usual -the man goes the brides way.
A traditional reception followed which was meant for people from my community (Fourah Bay)
most of whom do not consume alcohol. Therefore the reception was alcohol
free.Because of issues of transportation and to fulfil our community traditions
we also held a traditional party in Fourah Bay on Good Friday popularly called
Ashobi dance which was also well attended by over 200 guests all dressed in the
same cloth called ashobi
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Dapper MC and bridal party on another party event
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| Cake no 2: Love her second outfit~ again styled be herself. She wanted sleeves, a buttery colour and some serious West African bling! |
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| Mingling |
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| More mingling with family~another sister of the bride in black |
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| Boogie time in beautiful West Africa |
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Colleagues~ Bearing gifts in beautiful locally crafted African baskets. love this guy and his idea of a gift
The muslim wedding was held on Thursday which is a working day, it was
impossible for a majority of my collegues to attend as our operations would have
been distracted.As a result we had to organise a party at Shangrila to entertain
guests from the Corporate world and also those from abroad.
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| Happy Groom |
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Bride's Colleagues showing their support by wearing the same outfits
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| Party |
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final outfit
The following week we had our Christian/white wedding in Bo which was done for
the respect of my husband and his parents. Also because most of the residents
of Bo could not attend the muslim wedding in Freetown we had to do a reception
and party at Bo Sports Club to crown all the events
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cake no 3
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I would like to thank Hawa and Albert for sharing their beautiful day with us and wish them success in their marriage.
Love,
R x
i have admired Hawa since primary school and cannot imagine how happy she was on that joyous occasion. i pray that God blesses this union and Albert know that your wife has always and will continue to be a star.
ReplyDeleteWe had a blast
ReplyDeletethe bride will really like such lovely comments!
ReplyDeleteVery much impressed!!!!!!!!! Elegant wedding my dear....may God bless your marriage Hawa and bless you with children. It was quite a scene on that I must say. I was in Fourahbay during the wedding.
ReplyDelete