All Nigerian wedding ceremonies are astonishingly beautiful, but the Kalabari marriage ceremony is one of the most breathtaking ones. Find out more about the Kalabari culture and tradition for weddings and check out these photos of Kalabari traditional marriage attire!
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1. Kalabari traditional marriage
The Kalabari traditional marriage list is very long and includes every possible aspect of the wedding ceremony and everything that comes before it. Here are the most interesting facts about the traditional Kalabari wedding.
There are three types of marriage in Kalabari: Igwa, Iya, and Waribiobesime. The Waribiobesime marriage is the least prestigious one, the Igwa marriage is relatively cheap but more high-end, while the Iya is the most expensive and highly respected form of marriage.
One of the most important facts about the Kalabari wedding is that there are no forced marriages in this culture. Only two people who are willing to get married will proceed to the marriage ceremony.
All marriages in Kalabari are preceded by the introduction of the future spouse to the parents. The spouse does not come empty-handed to the introduction: usually, he will be given a list of items he should bring to the next meeting.
The two parties will negotiate every aspect of the marriage ceremony and the bride price. Only when every question is settled, the families can move on to planning the wedding ceremony, where the Kalabari traditional dressing plays one of the most important roles.
2. Kalabari traditional wedding attire
The Kalabari people are very specific about their wedding attire – there are names of Kalabari traditional attire for nearly every item worn during the marriage ceremony. For example, there are several types of beaded hats worn by Kalabari brides: Angara Sun and Kiliali Suon, while the groom’s hat is called Ojubulu.
Check out some photos of traditional Kalabari dressing for the wedding ceremony.
This beautiful Kalabari bride decided to combine the traditional wedding wear with another popular Nigerian fabric, kente.
These two newlyweds went for a complementary colour scheme for their wedding outfits, and it’s a great choice – blue and gold go extremely well together.
Burgundy and peach colours are very popular choices for a Kalabari wedding, and both of these colours make perfect backgrounds for coral beads.
Although coral beads are an indispensable part of a Kalabari wedding ceremony, these white beads and matching hat on the bride also look fantastic.
It’s not uncommon for couples to go through outfit changes at their wedding, and this couple’s second look is even more impressive than the first one.
Kalabari grooms often go for colourful patterns and bold images, but this lion-themed wedding outfit will surely inspire a whole wedding trend.
You can’t help but admire the amount of detail and hard work that went into designing this gorgeous beaded hat.
This is how you dress your whole wedding party in style – the wedding photos will be simply breathtaking!
Velvet is a very rich and stylish fabric that will instantly make you and your future spouse feel like royalty!
On first glance, this couple couldn’t be dressed more differently. However, a closer look reveals that their outfits actually have a very similar colour scheme, which only emphasizes their strong bond.
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