Houston Nigerian Wedding Photographer

Houston Nigerian Wedding Photographer

Houston Nigerian Wedding Photographer – Being a Houston Nigerian Photographer is such a cool experience. A good friend of mines gave me an invite to shoot a Nigerian Wedding last year. I immediately feel in love with the culture and the traditions. I truly appreciated how the bride and groom placed such a huge emphases on the aesthetics, fashion and the ambiance of their wedding.

Later that night, I text him and asked was that atypical for Nigerian weddings. He told me that it was not an anomaly and for the most part the Nigerian culture really put a huge emphases on the wedding and the cultural traditions. Needless to say, I was hooked. I couldn’t believe how great Nigerian weddings were, and now that I’ve had the opportunity to shoot four Nigerian weddings and I have two more later this year I can firmly say how special they are.

Houston has a huge population of Nigerians, and as a result the opportunities to shoot Nigerian couples is a growing phenomenon. For a photographer who is considering taking on a Nigerian wedding here are 6 customs that most Nigerian weddings have.

1. Double the Fun: Often Nigerian couples have two weddings. One is called the Traditional Wedding (filled with many African customs and rituals) and the second is called the White Wedding (which is a more traditional American wedding)

2. Open Invitation: Generally speaking Nigerian weddings are open invitation. This can lead to some of the most epic party scenes you can imagine; look for your reception images to be filled with smiling faces and tons of dancing. This could be problematic during the formals as you will need to add a little bass in your voice to ensure they run smoothly. Talking in treble is not a good look, and possibly cause things to fall behind schedule.

3. Gifts: The gift giving ceremonies are EPIC! In the Igbo tribes, the bride’s family give the groom a list of different items as a dowry. Gifts can be as cool as a car or can be a simplistic as a tooth of a alligator.

4. Brighter is Better: At the traditional wedding expect to see the brides in Igbo attire that is bright colored patterns with head wrappers. At the White Wedding you can expect more western tradition with tuxes and white wedding dresses.

5. Money Everywhere: You can definitely expect to see money flowing freely. Nigerians spray money onto brides as she dances as a wedding gift.

6. Matchy-Matchy: It’s common at Nigerian Weddings for the couples to wear matching colors. For the extended and immediate family to wear matching colors. This may make it easy to tell who you need for formal shots as all the aunts may be wearing the same pattern.

Okay, as you can tell I have done my homework on the subject. I thoroughly enjoy the culture and I hope my genealogy report come with large traces of Nigerian blood. (Haha) I’m kidding, but I’m slightly serious. Nonetheless, if you get an opportunity to capture a Nigerian wedding do not pass it up; it’s truly one of my most favorite weddings to capture.