African Traditional Wedding Dresses

Source(Google.com.pk)
African Traditional Wedding Dresses
History
Traditional African weddings and clothing gained popularity in the West in the 1960s during the Black Pride movement. According to the Oakland Museum of California, Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, wore kente cloth “during an historic visit to Washington, D.C., in 1958,” thus establishing “the cloth as a potent symbolic image for Africans and African Americans." Elaborate versions of items of African clothing that were popular during the 60s and 70s, like the dashiki, are part of traditional African wedding attire.

Women’s Wear

As in other countries, African brides often wear elaborate and expensive clothes on their wedding day. The West African wrapper set is worn widely in wedding ceremonies. It consists of a buba (a traditional African blouse,), an iro (a long wrap skirt), and gelee (head-wrap). While the wrapper set itself is not considered formal attire, sets worn for weddings are made of fine, embroidered fabrics. Gelees worn for weddings can very be large and elaborate.

• Men’s Wear

  • In traditional African wedding ceremonies, men wear a fila or kufi (a round box hat), sokoto (slacks that tie at the waist and narrow at the ankle) and either a dashiki or an agbada, or boubou (a long flowing robe). In some families, it is a tradition for a man to wear his father's or grandfather's agbada for wedding ceremonies. Both dashikis and agbadas are intricately embroidered for wedding ceremonies.
    Textiles

  • Traditional African wedding attire can be made from cotton brocade, lace, linen and satin, as with Western style wedding dresses. Of course, African textiles are also used in wedding dresses. According to Ghana Bride Magazine, Yoruba Ashoke fabric is especially suited for wedding outfits because of its softness. Brides and grooms wear clothes made of the same fabric.

    Depending on where they are from, the African bride's attire will represent the area with exciting colors and meaningful designs. Some African-American couples choose to convey their heritage through clothing. The possibilities are endless. It can be as simple as bridesmaids wrapped in African shawls and groomsmen with Kente cloth cummerbunds and bowties, or as elaborate as the groom and groomsmen in traditional Nigerian garb called agbada. In Ghana, Kente is used as wedding attire for the bridal party. Nigerian brides and bridesmaids typically don a bubah, an elegant four piece ensemble that includes a long outer wrap and matching headpiece. Today's brides may also choose to wear an African-inspired gown with African Adinkra symbols included in the fabric. The brides may wear their hair in braids with ornaments on their wrists and necks bejeweled. 

    African Traditional Wedding Dresses

    

    African Traditional Wedding Dresses

    

    African Traditional Wedding Dresses

    

    African Traditional Wedding Dresses

    

    African Traditional Wedding Dresses

    

    African Traditional Wedding Dresses

    

    African Traditional Wedding Dresses

    

    African Traditional Wedding Dresses

    

    African Traditional Wedding Dresses
    

    

    
    

    African Traditional Wedding Dresses
    

    

    African Traditional Wedding Dresses