Nigerian Wedding in South Africa

Nigerian Wedding Ceremony at St Mary’s Cathedral in Cape Town

Ugonna and Ikenna were married at St Mary’s Cathedral in central Cape Town.

The historic cathedral gave the ceremony a traditional and elegant feel. Its long aisle, stained-glass windows and church architecture also created a completely different photographic setting from what would follow later at Lourensford.

Ugonna wore a beautiful wedding gown by Monique Lhuillier, with bridal make-up by Nigerian make-up artist Bimpe Onakoya.

Her maid of honour wore Peridot, bringing another strong Nigerian fashion element into the wedding.

After the ceremony, the couple and their guests left central Cape Town and headed towards Somerset West and the Cape Winelands.

Nigerian Wedding at Laurent at Lourensford

The reception took place at Laurent at Lourensford, situated inside Lourensford Estate in Somerset West.

This is one of the reasons Cape Town works so well for Nigerian destination weddings in South Africa. You can have a traditional church ceremony in the centre of Cape Town and then, on the same day, move into a completely different environment surrounded by vineyards, trees and mountains.

Ugonna and Ikenna’s wedding was coordinated by Melissa from The Aleit Group, with the décor created by a|CREATE.

The result was an elegant reception at Laurent while still keeping all the colour, personality and energy of a Nigerian celebration.

Wedding Photography at Lourensford Estate

While the guests settled into the reception, we took Ugonna and Ikenna out for their couple photographs.

Lourensford has always been one of our favourite estates to photograph because there are so many different locations within a relatively small area.

We started along the tree-lined lane leading towards Laurent and then moved slightly away from the road to a spot where we could use the Hottentots-Holland mountains as the backdrop.

The mountain photographs looked completely different from the images we had photographed earlier inside St Mary’s Cathedral.

That variety is one of the big advantages of planning a wedding in Cape Town and the Cape Winelands. Within the space of one wedding day you can have city architecture, vineyards, old trees and dramatic mountain scenery without travelling huge distances.

Nigerian Wedding Fashion and Style

One of the things we have always enjoyed most about photographing Nigerian weddings is the fashion.

Ugonna and Ikenna’s wedding certainly did not disappoint.

Their guests arrived in an amazing variety of colourful fabrics and beautifully put-together outfits. There was even a set of twins amongst the guests whose outfits stood out so much that we still remember them from this wedding.

From a photography point of view, Nigerian weddings give us an incredible amount to work with.

There are obviously the important formal photographs, but there are also hundreds of smaller moments happening between friends and family throughout the day.

Those spontaneous reactions, conversations and moments of laughter often become some of our favourite photographs afterwards.

Food and Reception at Lourensford

While we were away photographing Ugonna and Ikenna, their guests were treated to food prepared by STIR Food.

The STIR team prepared BBQ meats on site, creating a relaxed start to the reception while everyone waited for the newlyweds to return.

The wedding cake was created by Kanya Hunt.

Then it was time for one of our favourite parts of photographing a Nigerian wedding – the couple’s entrance into the reception.

A Nigerian Wedding Celebration in Cape Town

Anyone who has attended a Nigerian wedding will know that the entrance into the reception is rarely just an entrance.

There is music, dancing, cheering, laughter and an incredible amount of energy.

Ugonna and Ikenna’s entrance into Laurent was exactly that.

Tee A Comedian was MC for the reception, while DJ Boogie kept the music and celebrations going.

These are the moments we particularly enjoy photographing.

Very little needs to be staged or posed. Our job is simply to watch what is happening, anticipate the next moment and capture the expressions, dancing and interaction between the couple and their guests.

Planning a Nigerian Wedding in South Africa

For Nigerians planning to get married in South Africa, Cape Town is a destination worth considering.

The city offers traditional churches, luxury hotels and beautiful wedding venues, while the nearby Cape Winelands adds vineyards, historic wine farms and some of the most impressive mountain scenery in the country.

There is also a large wedding industry in and around Cape Town, giving international couples access to experienced planners, caterers, décor companies, entertainers, make-up artists, photographers and videographers.

Ugonna and Ikenna’s wedding also shows that choosing South Africa for a destination wedding does not mean losing the atmosphere and character of a Nigerian celebration.

They brought their family, culture, fashion and energy to Cape Town.

South Africa simply provided a spectacular setting for it.

Nigerian Wedding Photographer in South Africa

At ZaraZoo Photography we have photographed Nigerian and African weddings in Cape Town, the Cape Winelands and elsewhere in South Africa.

For us, photographing a Nigerian wedding is about much more than the ceremony and couple shoot.

The family matters. The guests matter. The entrances matter. The fashion matters. And once the dancing starts, there is usually something happening in every direction.

Our approach is to capture all those moments while still creating the beautiful couple portraits and family photographs that form an important part of the wedding story.

If you are planning a Nigerian wedding in South Africa, we would love to hear what you have planned.

Ugonna and Ikenna’s wedding remains one of those celebrations we remember particularly well – from their ceremony in the heart of Cape Town to the colourful reception surrounded by the mountains and vineyards of Lourensford.