Never Wear This To A Wedding In Nigeria

In our humble opinion, wearing beautiful dresses to a friends or family member’s wedding is a total blast. You get to pull out your prettiest dresses, most fabulous suits, or the cufflinks you wear only once a decade and show them off to the people who know you best. Sounds pretty great to us.

And while it’s important to always dress in a way that feels comfortable for you, suits your personal style, there are a few rules to keep in mind when dressing for a wedding. You want to look your best and have fun, not be worried about offending the couple or ruining their wedding photos. So read on for our best advice on what not to wear to a wedding!

This one’s probably pretty obvious, but the only person in the room wearing white should be the bride. Any guest choosing to wear a dress should steer clear of white and off-white shades.

A bridesmaid dress

We know, we know, you’ve been a bridesmaid at too many weddings than you can count and you’ve got all those nice and colorful dresses jammed in the back of your closet. But unless you’ve found a way to style an old bridesmaid dress that totally transforms its bridesmaidy vibe, then we suggest saving those for other, non-wedding occasions. You don’t want to be mistaken for a member of the bridal party, or look out of place in wedding photos.

Too Much Makeup

This is a rule that most Nigerian ladies go overboard with, because you have a 20-gram jar of Mary Kay doesn’t mean you should apply all in one go, makeup please make up with moderation. We would love to see the beauty that lies beneath all those chemicals, and not the chemicals themselves.

Denim

To put it simply, denim is too casual for a wedding. Unless you’re going to a wedding where the marrying couple has said “anything goes,” (which is pretty rare in Nigeria) swap out your jeans for slacks or a nice pair of trousers, add a nice blouse or dress shirt, and you’re good to go for a semi-formal affair.

Shorts

This one applies to both men and women. Leave your denim and cargo shorts at home, they’re never welcome at a wedding, Except you want to be looking like the gateman.

Flip-flops (bathroom slippers)

The marrying couple may put out a basket of flip-flops for guests to wear as things pick up on the dance floor, but you never want to start out with a pair of old rubber flip-flops. A pair of dressy sandals is absolutely fine, (especially if you are wearing native) but leave your old bathroom slippers at home.

Sweats, Athletic Apparel, and sneakers

This should go without saying, but with the rise of athletic apparels over the last few years, leggings and sneakers have begun to make more and more frequent appearances at weddings. So we’ll say it once and for all: Unless the couple specifically asks guests to wear gym clothes, avoid them. You can wear them every other day of your life, put real pants on to attend your best friend’s wedding.