Many African families in the UK celebrate a marriage twice: a traditional engagement that brings the two families together, and a white wedding with a church or civil ceremony and a reception, on the same day, on consecutive days or weeks apart. For photo and film, each is its own event with its own rhythm, and planning them separately is the key to covering both well.
This guide covers the traditional engagement, the MC’s programme, aso ebi, money spraying, outfit changes, a two-day schedule and film audio over loud music. It sits within our guide to photography and filming rules for every kind of UK ceremony.
A word first: Africa has many countries and many more cultures, and families within one culture do things differently. The descriptions below are brief and general, and your family’s elders know your traditions best.
What happens at a traditional engagement?
The shared idea is that marriage joins two families, not just two people. The forms differ.
- Yoruba (Nigeria). The engagement is usually run by two MCs, often called the Alaga, one for each family. The groom and his friends prostrate to greet the bride’s family, letters of proposal and acceptance are read, and the bride enters to find the groom and place his cap on his head.
- Igbo (Nigeria). The knocking and bride price discussions usually come first, often privately. The traditional wedding is known for the wine carrying, when the bride searches the crowd with a cup of palm wine and kneels to offer it to her groom.
- Ghanaian. Many Akan families begin with the knocking, when the groom’s family formally asks to be received. At the engagement, spokespersons speak for each family and the groom’s family presents the items the bride’s family has asked for. Kente is often worn.
- Zimbabwean. Roora (in Shona families) or lobola (in Ndebele families) is negotiated between the families, often through a go-between. Many families keep the negotiations private and invite cameras for the celebration afterwards.
- South African. In many families, including Zulu, Xhosa and Sotho, lobola negotiations come first, followed by ceremonies such as the Zulu umembeso, when the groom’s family brings gifts.
Tell your photographer which parts, such as negotiations or family prayers, are private.
The MC runs the day
At most traditional engagements and many receptions, the MC runs the programme: the families, the entrances, the prayers, the gifts, the dances and the spraying. For your camera team, the MC is the most important person in the room after the couple.
- Share the programme a week ahead, with the names of key family members and speakers.
- Introduce us to the MC on arrival, so they will hold a moment while we get into position.
- Ask the MC to call the family photographs. A strong voice on the microphone gathers people faster than any photographer. Our guide to planning a family photo list for a big wedding shows how to group people by household.
Aso ebi and colour
At many Nigerian weddings, family and close friends wear aso ebi: fabric in colours chosen for the occasion, sometimes a different colour for each side. Coordinated outfits at Ghanaian, Zimbabwean and South African weddings do similar work.
Tell your photographer the colours for each family and each day. We group family photographs by colour, keep the colours true under hall lighting, and know who belongs to which side in a crowded room.
Money spraying: how to photograph and film it
Spraying is joyful, fast and loud: guests dance up to the couple and shower notes over them, while helpers gather the money. To get it on camera:
- Ask the MC to call spraying in rounds, family by family, so each becomes its own moment.
- Keep a clear circle around the couple, so the camera can see faces as well as notes.
- Brief the helpers to gather money from the edges, not between the couple and the camera.
- Keep the lights up. Spraying under a dark, coloured wash photographs poorly. Our cinema cameras handle movement and low light well, but faces still need light.
Outfit changes
Brides often wear two or three looks across the two events, and grooms change too. Each change takes longer than expected, especially with a gele to tie.
Allow 45 minutes to an hour for each change, plan ten minutes of portraits in each look straight after it, and use the gap as a break for guests, with food or a family dance led by the MC.
A two-day schedule: traditional engagement and white wedding
A sample for a Friday traditional engagement and a Saturday church wedding in June:
| Day and time | What happens | Photo and film |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 11.30am | Bride’s preparations, gele tied | Details and family |
| 1.00pm | Guests arrive in aso ebi; MC opens; introductions | Arrivals, colour, both families |
| 2.30pm | Groom’s entrance; bride’s entrance and the finding of the groom | Two positions: one on each |
| 3.30pm | Gifts, prayers and blessings | Close, quiet, as the family allows |
| 4.15pm | Couple portraits in traditional dress | Outside if the light allows |
| 5.00pm | Food, then dancing and spraying | Spraying in rounds, called by the MC |
| 7.00pm | Coverage ends | |
| Saturday 9.30am | Preparations for the white wedding | Getting ready, both sides |
| 12.00pm | Church ceremony | Positions agreed with the minister |
| 1.15pm | Family photographs at the church | MC or a relative calls the groups |
| 3.00pm | Drinks, then grand entrance and food | Candids; entrance from the front |
| 6.30pm | Speeches | Microphones on, audio from the desk |
| 7.30pm | Cake, first dance, second outfit | Portraits in the second look |
| 8.15pm | Golden hour portraits | A short walk outside |
| 10.00pm | Dancing and spraying; coverage ends |
In June, golden hour in London starts around 8.15 to 8.30pm, based on sunrise-sunset.org times; in mid-December the sun sets around 3.50pm, so take winter portraits straight after the ceremony. Doing both on one day? Our guide to two ceremonies in one day covers the timing.
The white wedding: church, register office or venue
The white wedding is usually the legal marriage. In England and Wales you give notice at your register office (for most Church of England weddings, banns replace this), then marry at a register office, a council-approved venue, an Anglican church or another place of worship registered for marriages, according to GOV.UK. A traditional engagement on its own is not a legal marriage. Our guide to getting married legally in England and Wales has the steps.
In a Church of England wedding, the vicar has the final say on photography and filming; see our church photography and filming rules.
Long days and big guest lists
The Bridebook UK Wedding Report 2026 puts the average UK wedding at 80 guests. In our experience, many traditional engagements are much larger, and long programmes run over, as at any big wedding.
- Book coverage around the programme, not the invitation time. A two-day celebration is priced event by event.
- Consider a second photographer. Bridebook’s photography price guide suggests one for weddings of more than 80 guests.
- Feed your team, ideally while guests eat.
Film audio when the music is loud
Speeches, prayers and the MC’s commentary are the heart of the film, and they compete with a loud sound system. We take an audio feed from the DJ or band desk where they agree, and put small microphones on the main speakers. Ask your DJ to drop the music under speeches and prayers, not just turn it down.
Commercial tracks in films posted online often get copyright claims or muted audio, so highlight films use licensed music. See how we film speeches properly and what our wedding films include.
From behind the camera
At a traditional engagement, I always ask for ten minutes with the MCs or spokespersons before the doors open. They know the programme best and can hold a moment for us. I also ask who in each family must be photographed with the couple, because at a large wedding the people who matter most are not always the ones who come forward. On film, the families’ voices, the MC’s jokes and the singing during the entrances carry the story better than any soundtrack.
Frequently asked questions
What happens at a Nigerian traditional wedding?
It depends on the family and the culture. A Yoruba engagement is usually led by two MCs, with the groom and his friends prostrating to the bride’s family and the bride finding the groom among the guests. An Igbo traditional wedding often centres on the wine carrying, when the bride searches the crowd with a cup of palm wine for her groom.
Can you have a traditional wedding and a white wedding on the same day?
Yes. Many UK couples hold the traditional ceremony in the morning and the white wedding later, with an outfit change in between. Allow at least an hour for the change and travel, and plan portraits in both looks. Spreading the two over a weekend is gentler on everyone.
Is a traditional African wedding legally recognised in the UK?
In England and Wales, a traditional ceremony on its own is not a legal marriage. To be legally married you give notice, or have banns read for most Church of England weddings, and marry at a register office, an approved venue, a church or another registered place of worship. Most couples treat the white wedding or a civil ceremony as the legal part. Check with your register office.
Do we need two photographers for a big African wedding?
For a large engagement or reception, it usually helps: one covers the programme at the front, the other the guests and the room. Bridebook’s photography price guide suggests a second shooter for weddings of more than 80 guests, and in our experience many traditional engagements are well beyond that.
Keep reading
- How to plan your family photo list, even for 300 guests: big family photographs that run quickly.
- Register office weddings: great photos in 30 minutes: if your legal ceremony is a short civil one.
- Fusion weddings: two ceremonies in one day: two ceremonies, two outfits, one day.
Planning a traditional engagement and white wedding?
Tell us about every event and we will price them together. See how we photograph and film African and Caribbean weddings, or get a price for your dates.
