Notes on running a
Naija wedding.

A 400-guest wedding budget doesn't translate 1:1 between Lagos, Abuja and Onitsha. Here's what actually shifts city to city — venue, catering, traditional ceremony, family travel — with the side-by-side numbers.

Owa Editorial · 11 min

The line items that wreck "we have ₦12M, we're fine" budgets in the final three weeks. Generator, vendor meals, security, cake-cutting fee, room flip, gele change tax — what each really costs and how to plan for them.

Owa Editorial · 11 min

Nine months is the comfortable default. Twelve is generous. Six is workable. Three is rush-rate territory. Here's what fits in each runway and what to give up if your window is short.

Owa Editorial · 11 min

Every Nigerian wedding moves through seven stages, in order. Skip a stage and the next one breaks. Here's what each stage covers, the 3–5 tasks that matter most, and when each ends.

Owa Editorial · 12 min

A 30–50% deposit, balance on the day, receipts in writing, contract terms in writing. The Nigerian wedding-vendor payment ladder that keeps you protected when something goes wrong.

Owa Editorial · 11 min

Twelve weeks, an 80–200 person event, mid-tier vendors, simple Aso Ebi, one ceremony — doable. The week-by-week schedule, rush-rate premium, and the parts of an 18-month wedding you can't replicate in 3.

Owa Editorial · 11 min

Your wedding money lives in seven places — yours, your partner's, your dad's, the joint, Aso Ebi, vendor escrow, the cousin "sorting decor". Here's how to reconcile it weekly without losing track.

Owa Editorial · 10 min

Most couples track wedding spending on a Google Sheet that breaks in month four. Owa's budget module gives you payment tracking, vendor balances, contribution income, and a live net position.

Owa Editorial · 9 min

Lagos top venues book 18 months out. Abuja runs on a government-and-diplomat calendar. Eastern weddings carry a separate traditional-ceremony timeline. How planning pacing differs city to city.

Owa Editorial · 11 min

The same six line items blow Nigerian wedding budgets every year — imported gowns, guest-count inflation, decor florals, vendor stacking, gele changes, and last-mile alterations. Here's the honest tally and the fix.

Owa Editorial · 10 min

The system Nigerian wedding planners use to run 8–15 events a year without dropping balls — multi-event dashboards, templated plans, weekly cadence, and the delegation playbook for your first assistant hire.

Owa Editorial · 13 min

What actually happens at a Yoruba traditional wedding — the introduction, kola nut, eru iyawo list, the dòbálè, and the gele changes. Written for diaspora couples who want to honour the tradition properly.

Owa Editorial · 14 min

Lagos from London, NYC, Toronto, Houston, Dubai. The ground coordinator setup, currency math, vendor video-call protocol, and the two trips home that actually matter.

Owa Editorial · 16 min

WhatsApp threads break above 80 guests. Spreadsheets break above 200. Here's how to run a real RSVP system for a 600-guest Nigerian wedding — including the per-group cap that stops your list from doubling overnight.

Owa Editorial · 12 min

What a Nigerian wedding actually costs in 2026 — broken down by guest count, city, and tier. Including the hidden costs (generator, vendor meals, gele changes) most budgets miss.

Owa Editorial · 14 min

Aso Ebi is logistics, commerce, and aesthetic in one. This is how to price it so you break even, source fabric you can actually deliver, and collect from 300 guests without losing your mind to bank-alert hell.

Owa Editorial · 18 min

The complete operating manual for planning a Nigerian wedding — from the moment they say yes to the morning after. Built around how Nigerian weddings actually run, not how Pinterest thinks they should.

Owa Editorial · 24 min