Small, intimate weddings with less than 100 guests – such as singer Simi, OAP Toke Makinwa and actress Stephanie Okereke’s intimate celebrity weddings – are becoming common in Nigeria. The advantages of keeping a wedding small and intimate are many.
By the way, did you know that unless you have a hired wedding planner, your wedding event is more likely to be great if you gave fewer guests. The added benefit is that your wedding budget will significantly become lower and you can choose to spend the money saved on things that matter most to you, while down-playing or skipping others, and also giving your guests the best time. In this post, I’ll show 8 more things you can do to organize a classy, low-key and simple Nigerian wedding that will wow your guests.
Image Credit: @DeruStudion/ Instagram
8 Small Ideas to Organize an Intimate & Classy Low-Key Nigerian Wedding
Here are 8 small wedding ideas to help you organize an intimate but classy Nigerian-style wedding with fewer guests:
In a previous article, I told you that there are 2 different types of small weddings – and why you need to be clear on which type you want have, in order to get your planning right. Once you know the type of small Nigerian wedding you want, follow the steps below to plan it:
#1. Set the Wedding Date
You need to have this date at the back of your mind when renting a venue, shopping or hiring vendors – everything must be done and completed in a good time, before this date. Most brides get stressed because of the rush when their wedding date is close by and a lot has not been done. So. it helps to start right after the marriage proposal/ engagement.
#2. Keep the Parents Informed Early
Every Nigerian parent has been looking forward to that day when they would call everyone they know to the wedding ceremony of their child – you know, they love it the-bigger-the-merrier. So, it can be hard convincing a Nigerian parent that their son/ daughter wants to have few wedding guests – why would anyone want to deprive them of the joy of sharing a family celebration with plenty, which had always been the ‘tradition’. To avoid, or reduce, protests from close families, and also ensure that they cut down their guest list, it is advised that you let both families (bride’s and groom’s) know ahead of time that you want a small intimate wedding.
#3: Keep Your Budget Small
Make a spending budget, but keep it small. Prioritize your expenses by spending the most money on the things that matter most to you, and spend the least money on other not-so-important areas – that’s how to have the wedding you’ve always dreamed of, on a small budget. For example: if your top priority is having a designer gown and you’re least concerned about bringing a music band, then you may want to splurge on the designer wedding dress and then hire a DJ instead of a band. Another example: if your top priority is having a World class wedding photographer cover your big day, and you’d rather use your father’s backyard as the wedding venue, then by all means do so. It’s all about splurging on your top priority and keeping other areas low key. Remember, it’s not appropriate to cut corners when it comes to catering for your guests.
My name is Becky
Please I need a plan for a wedding for just 60 -70 guests with a budget of 800 -1M , a mini colourful wedding, probably in a conference hall.
Thanks
Hi Becky. You’re alredy starting well – you have a budget (amount) set and the number of guests fixed. Well done, gal! Plus you have a clear picture of type of venue and the look-and-feel (colourful). Bravo!
So, on getting you a plan, we’ll get your wedding budget (each of them) broken down into an expense list, to make it easy to manage and hard to overspend. I created an automatic wedding budget breakdown (calculator) here for you – just click to go to that page, enter your N1m and it will give you a suggested spending plan. Copy it.
Then do same for N800k budget, copy it.
*You may also want to see how other couples did their N1m wedding. In that case, check out this couple’s N1m wedding plan and budget breakdown.
Happy planning. Let me know how it goes!
Hello Stella
My traditional and white wedding is coming up in July a day apart.
I’m looking at a simple but colour event.
My budget is 400k
50 -100 invitees.
Please I need your professional guidance on these.
Hello Hamed, congrats on your upcoming trad wedding. It’s nice that you already know the type of wedding you want and have marked out a budget. Here are my thoughts:
-There are 2 things: If you get a free venue, you may be able to squeeze the money to cater for 100 guests. But if you’re going to pay for a venue (a cheap one. like an open field), your money may only be able to feed 50 guests or less. [Rough idea is an assumption that you can find a caterer that can do food + drinks at about N1,500 per guest, or slightly more. That leaves you with a balance to do the rest of the wedding expenses.
-Get as much free help you can from your loved ones – for example, cook the food in-house to save money. If not possible, you can still outsource to a caterer. Some bukas/ restaurants cook for events on contract. Just ask.
-You’ll have to source for affordable vendors that will fit into your remaining balance: cake maker, venue decorator, photographer etc.
-Get a very good photographer within your budget instead of forcing to get both a videographer and a photographer, as you can’t get 2 good ones at that budget. Avoid making this couple’s wedding photography mistake.
-Don’t provide many types of food, as too many options will blow your money. Keep it minimal – for example, jollof rice, swallow food and one or two soups.
-Your bride cannot afford to buy a wedding gown. She can find a nice place to rent a beautiful, like-new wedding gowns for cheap.
Recommended: Look at our sample N500k wedding budget breakdown to see ideas you can pick to use at yours.
Hope that helps. All the best!
hi, it was really beautiful reading through the list and points to be considered. I picked up a few points which will be beneficial to my big day. However, we are having a hard time deciding on the venue for our wedding cuz we are both in the UK. Do u think a budget of £10000 will be sufficient for about 200 guests if held in the UK or in Nigeria? I sincerely don’t have plans of going over board cuz we have children to cater for and life continues after the wedding ceremony however what’s your expertise advice on the budgeted amount. Thanks in anticipation
Hello Aye, thanks for your feedback. I’m happy to know that you picked up some helpful points to use in planning your own wedding.
I can understand how hard it is deciding on the location for their Nigerian wedding when both couples live abroad. I am sure you’ll soon settle on that, as it’s important to do so at least 6 months to your wedding date. Key considerations include where the bride’s and groom’s parents reside. All the best in choosing the location.
Regarding your wedding budget, £10k converts to about N4.5 million Naira. I have no idea what cost of food, venue, and vendors are in the UK, and so, I cannot give you feedback on whether that budget would be enough for 200 guests if the wedding was in the UK. However, if the wedding is in Nigeria, it would be enough, and here is an idea of how to spend it:
POUNDS (£) OR NAIRA (N)
£3,800.00 OR N1,710,000.00 food/ drinks/ cake — including optional small chops/ finger foods
£2,000.00 OR N900,000.00 venue hire & décoration, Canopy Tents, chair n table rentals | bouncers/ security, ushers
£1,200.00 OR N540,000.00 couple’s outfits/ fashion, wedding rings
£500.00 OR N225,000.00 invitation cards, reception programme, souvenirs
£2,000.00 OR N900,000.00 DJ/ live music band, MC, photographer, video coverage, D-day coordinator
£500.00 OR N225,000.00 Miscelaneous/ anything that comes up, or that you forgot
£10,000.00 OR N4,500,000.00 (TOTAL AMOUNT).
*NOTE: The above breakdown means you’ll spend/ budget N8,550 or an equivalent of £19 per guest (for food and drinks) – keep that in mind when searching for a caterer.
>>To find out whether that budget will be enough for 200 guests in the UK, would £19 pounds be enough to cover a plate of food food and a drink per guest? Only you can tell. For the other costs in the UK, request a quote from your UK vendors and compare it with the above Pound Sterling breakdown.
Hope that helps. All the best in your planning, and keep reading our other wedding planning articles and wedding fashion ideas.
Hi, I’m Victoria. Thanks for the post.
How feasible is it to plan for an average wedding between now and December? Plus (I honestly don’t know why I’m asking you this) , how do I deal with the sudden nervousness (and anxiety, quite frankly) I feel from the mere thought of planning for and having a wedding? Is it even normal?
Hello Victoria, thanks for coming around to read our post, and thanks for your question. Here are my thoughts:
-Planning a wedding on short notice is stressful but it’s feasible. I wrote you detailed steps or checklist of things to do when planning a wedding in 3 or 4 months. Be sure to read it.
-On getting anxiety and feeling nervous during wedding planning, the truth is that it is normal. Most brides or anyone getting married or planning their own wedding feels that way, especially close to the wedding date. Seeing that there are many things to do and haven’t yet been done stirs up panic and the feeling of ‘where do I even start from?’; ‘is it even possible to finish the to-dos before the D-date?’.
>Here are some tips (below) that can help you deal with that nervous feeling. I also wrote you a post on it. You can read more tips on how to deal with wedding planning stress and anxiety:
-To-Do List will keep you organized.
-Keep your wedding simpler and smaller than you planned, to make managing and planning easier and less stressful. Consider trimming down your guest count so the wedding (food and drinks) will cost less
-Skip any not-must-have wedding detail or idea that’s stressing you or just delay it to be done later. Start with only the things you enjoy doing and delegate the things you don’t.
-Focus on only the things that really matter and Skip any small-small unnecessary shiny wedding details that are not a must, and which may be giving you stress to figure out how to provide for them at the wedding.
-Involve other people. Don’t try to do everything alone. Ask for help.
-Take breaks in between planning to have fun.
Hello,pls can 1million be enough to host 200 guests in a white wedding?
Hello Mimi, yes, of course. 1 Million Naira can give you a pretty nice white wedding in Nigeria.
I like that you have also fixed your guest count (200). That will make it easy for you to plan for the rest of the things based on that number, like: food and drinks for 200 number of people; hall that can occupy 200 people etc.
>>With your guest count in mind, you also will be able to determine the taste/ class you can afford for every wedding area: e.g. with 200 guests, you will know whether you can afford the high-class hotel venue or the modest garden venue; or whether you can afford the N10k/ plate caterer with more menu options or the N5k or even N3k per plate caterer with fewer menu options.
>You’ll need to start by allocating that money to specific wedding things, so that you’ll have food and drinks budget, couple’s outfit budget, venue budget etc. This chart below may help (it’s our updated wedding budget breakdown GUIDE), but feel free to tweak things to suit you – it’s only a guide:
40% food/ drinks/ cake
12% venue hire & rentals; & décoration
23% couple’s outfits/ fashion, rings
6% invites, prog, souvenirs
15% entertainment & photography – DJ/ live band, MC, photographer, video coverage
4% Miscellaneous/ anything that comes up, or that you forgot
Hope that helps.
how much will be enough for a small traditional and white wedding which will be held in a day and how do I go about it?
thank you
Hello Charity,
The amount of money that will be enough depends on your pocket, your taste, and how many people you want to invite.
-High taste for type of venue, type of food and type of outfits you want will make your cost higher. Each guest costs money (one plate of food plus drinks), and so more guests equal increased cost.
-TASTE: Wedding gowns have high and low prices – if you choose the higher priced gown, your wedding cost would increase. | Some wedding food caterers provide N2k per plate of food and a drink, while some provide N5k for same. Which one is your taste? The one you choose is how much it adds to your wedding cost.
FOLLOW THESE STEPS TO COME UP WITH HOW MUCH TO SPEND ON YOUR NIGERIAN WEDDING:
STEP 1 is to set a an amount you intend to spend, NEXT is to set a number for how many people to invite.
STEP 2: Add FOOD BUDGET: Research how much each guest would cost you (per plate and a drink) and multiply that with the number of people you want to invite. If the amount is too high, reduce the number of guests until you get a number that your money can afford.
STEP 3: Add venue cost (go around and price some venues, and choose the one that meets your taste and pocket).
STEP 4: Add bride and groom’s attire cost
STEP 5: Add the cost of MC/ DJ/ hall decorator etc.
That’s how much your wedding will cost. No one can tell you how much will be enough, when we don’t know how much you have in your account. Lol. We can only guide you, but you are the one to decide how much to spend, because you are the one with the money for the wedding.
–See our White Wedding Planning Checklist (Things to Do)
–Nigerian Traditional Wedding Planning Checklist
Hope that helps.
Hi Stella, thank you for your post. I’m really looking at having a low-key, small but classy wedding in November(because the rains are over then). I need ideas on the important things to get at the early stage like type of boxes, items to be in them etc.
Thank you
Bimbo
Hello Bimbo, thanks for the feedback. Congrats on your upcoming November wedding.
Can you rephrase your question? I don’t understand the last part.
My name is Kemi am about to get married but the problem now is I was told to have a mini wedding engagement which will b done in a sitting room and a court wedding but dont know aw to plan this
Hello Kemi, and Congrats. Thanks for reading and for your question. It’s similar to planning a wedding, but really scaled down and can be planned in a week or less, or a few more weeks, if it’s going to be bigger than a sitting-room arangement. Here’s a sample checklist:
Fix a date > Decide location > Decide how many guests AND write down names of people to invite > Food & Drinks: what will you serve + who and who will cook OR which caterer to use OR where will you order the food >Notify caterers or helpers of the day > Notify guests via text or whatsapp or call or Invitations > Decide what to wear and get outfits ready > Book a photographer for the day (a professional and/ or friends/ family).
Hope that helps.
My name is Kemi am about to get married but the problem now is I was told to have a mini wedding engagement which will b done in a sitting room and a court wedding wedding but dont know aw to plan this
Hello Kemi, you didn’t tell me whether the two events would be same day, or not. Well, let me assume they would, as that is how most couples do it. If so, you’d be having one single reception party for both the Court wedding and the engagement.
>In that case, the sitting-room-size wedding engagement does not require any special preparation – just plan to have food and drinks for the small number of people there.
>For the combined reception party, it’s still same planning steps like any other wedding, starting with you SETTING a BUDGET (how much do you want to spend for it).
>Next is to make a list of things to spend the money on – usual things are outfits, photo and video coverage, MC, DJ, venue decoration, food and drinks, wedding cake, venue (See our full list of usual expenses during wedding planning).
>Once you have your list, next is to allocate an amount limit on each item -to guide you not spend your whole money on a few things only. A rough idea is to spend half of your total wedding money on your outfits/ fashion, photo/ video coverage, MC, DJ or Live Music band, venue decoration, bride’s hair and makeup.
>Allocate the other half to Catering (food and drinks), Venue, Wedding Cake and Invitation cards (you may even text out the invites if the guest number is very few)..
You did not tell me how much you have to spend for the Court wedding reception party, but if it’s small, you should feel free to take out some unnecessary expenses that do not apply. For example, if you would use your backyard, then, you’ve got extra savings. If you’ll use a friend for MC and/ or DJ, that’s extra savings for you.
Hope that helps.