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Afrocentric Wedding Guide: Ceremony Elements
By Signature Bride Magazine
The Bridal Bouquet
The bridal bouquet is usually hand tied with ribbon or fixed in an “oasis” (a water-soaked Styrofoam-like substance) inside a plastic holder and is coordinated with the flowers worn or carried by the rest of the wedding party, as well as with the floral arrangements on the site. “Traditionally,” the bouquet is white, but there are many creative alternatives and various shapes, sizes and styles to choose from. Some brides select a combination of flowers whose first initials spell out her groom’s name or a romantic message. If you’re after fragrance as well as appearance, freesia, daffodils, gardenias, lilacs, jasmine, roses, and lilies are among the most aromatic flowers.
Ruth Oliver, owner of the Black Orchid in Harlem, has found that calla lilies, roses, and orchids as well as bouquets of field flowers, are the most popular choices for Black brides. She has also observed that, “reds, yellows and blues -- the stronger colors -- are more apt to be chosen for Afrocentric weddings.” She has observed that Afrocentric weddings use “the same floral styles, but with bolder colors and different ribbons. They (those having Afrocentric weddings) don’t like colonial styles,” she adds.
“Dried field flowers are very popular at Afrocentric weddings, especially for the bridal bouquet,” comments Vietta Wright of Vietta’s Creative Designs in Newark, New Jersey. “In a wedding of an African couple, the bride’s bouquet was made of raw rice. It looked like wheat. I wrapped the stems of rice with satin and put on pearls, bugle beads, and appliqués. Her attendants carried colored baskets with fruit. For the ring bearer, I created a basket with one kola nut and two cups for wine.“
When selecting your bridal bouquet, keep the style of your gown in mind. If the front of your dress is beautifully embroidered, you won’t want to carry a cascade arrangement or wear a flower boa that may obscure the detail. If your dress is ornate and colorful, you might want the design of your bouquet to be less complex. On the other hand, if you’re wearing an elegant sheath, you might choose a dramatic wired bouquet to offset its simplicity.
Seven Innovative Ideas for Decorations and Favors
1. Release butterflies instead of balloons at the end of the ceremony.
2. Line the entranceway to your reception with easels displaying pictures of yourself and your bridegroom as children on through your dating days.
3. Use a “wedding scroll” in place of a guest book at your reception. Hang it on an easel and have a member of the wedding party collect signatures. It can be a keepsake suitable for framing.
4. Put a wine or champagne glass etched with your names and wedding date at each place setting. Your guests can toast you and keep the glass as a souvenir.
5. In Kenya, swords are given to newlyweds as symbols of marriage and fertility. Use decorated swords as centerpieces for the head of the table at the reception.
6. Order a pyramid-shaped wedding cake with a fountain that spouts water from “the Nile.”
7. Give your guests mugs with your names and wedding date, each containing a packet of African coffee. | | |
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Afrocentric Decorations
Afrocentric fabrics and symbols can add special meaning to your wedding and reception, either on their own or combined with other decorations like flowers or balloons, or as decorative accents that double as favors, such as printed matchbooks and cocktail stirrers or African beads and charms. Your florist may have experience with Afrocentric weddings that can save you a lot of legwork and enhance your creative vision. Traditional African cloths -- kente, Adinkra, and aso oke, among others -- offer an abundance of decorating options. They can be used as table cloths or runners, decorated with matching ribbons and flowers, as backdrops to the head table, or as a colorful setting for the wedding cake.
In many parts of Africa, bowls, baskets, stools, and cooking vessels traditionally celebrate union, shelter, and nourishment. In Ghana, the bride receives a cooking pot to symbolize her new role as homemaker. Use handsome pots as centerpiece containers that might hold wedding favors for your guests. Or distribute decorated baskets with a boxed piece of wedding cake that your guests can take home. Tie the increasingly popular ritual of jumping the broom into your décor by including a miniature broom tied with kente cloth in each reception centerpiece and giving one to each of your guests as a keepsake.
Whether you decide to send up balloons, simply toss the bouquet, or both, decorations can create the fantasy setting for your wedding celebrations and reflect the new beginning that flowers, fresh or fabricated, so gloriously symbolize.
Reprinted from “Going to the Chapel” by the Editors of Signature Bride Magazine. Copyright 1998 by The Philip Lief Group, Inc. and KLCS Communications, Inc. (Signature Bride Magazine). Permission granted by G.P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc. All rights reserved.
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