Ghanaian engagement invitations: the knocking, the ceremony and the guest list
The short answer. A Ghanaian engagement usually starts with the knocking, a small visit between the two families, followed by the traditional marriage ceremony, which many more guests attend. Invite the families to the knocking by phone or message, and send everyone else an invitation to the ceremony with its date, venue and colours. If a church wedding follows, give each event its own guest list and reply.
What are the knocking and the engagement?
Customs differ between Akan, Ga, Ewe and other families, and from one family to the next, so ask your elders how yours does it. Broadly:
| Ceremony | What happens | Who is usually there |
|---|---|---|
| The knocking (in Akan, kɔkɔɔkɔ or kokooko) | The groom's family visits the bride's family, often with schnapps or other drinks, to ask for her hand | Close family and the elders speaking for each side |
| The engagement, or traditional marriage | The groom's family presents the drinks and items the bride's family has asked for (in Akan custom, including the tiri nsa or head drink), and the marriage is agreed and celebrated | Both families, their friends, and often your friends too |
| Church or registry (the white wedding) | A service, sometimes the next day, sometimes weeks or months later | Often a smaller list, set by the church |
| Reception | The party after the church | Everyone invited to the church, and often more |
In the UK many couples hold the knocking and the engagement on the same day, one after the other. If yours are separate, the knocking stays small and is arranged between the families, and the engagement gets the invitation.
Who do you invite to a Ghanaian engagement?
The engagement is a family occasion first. In many families the parents, aunties and uncles invite guests of their own, so collect their lists early and add them to yours.
- The knocking: the families and the people who will speak for them. Usually invited personally, without a formal invitation.
- The engagement: both families, family friends, church members, and the couple's own friends. Often the biggest list.
- The church and reception: your choice of tiers, limited by the building and the caterer.
Keep one list of people with a tick for each event. That way your friend who comes to everything is counted at every event, and the elders invited only to the engagement aren't told about an after-party. The multi-day guest list guide shows how to set it out.
Ghanaian engagement invitation wording
Many Ghanaian invitations come from both families. Swap in your own names, and the ceremony name your family uses.
The families of Mr and Mrs Kwame Mensah and Mr and Mrs Kofi Asante cordially invite you to the traditional marriage ceremony of their children, Abena and Yaw.
Akwaaba! Abena and Yaw, together with their families, invite you to celebrate their engagement on Saturday 5 June.
With joy, the Mensah and Asante families invite you to the knocking and engagement of Abena and Yaw. Colours of the day: royal blue and gold.
Please join us in traditional dress or African print in royal blue and gold. If you don't have either, come smart in our colours.
Hi Auntie Efua! You're invited to Abena and Yaw's engagement on 5 June, and to the wedding in August. Everything is on your link, and you can reply for each one: ourguestlist.co.uk/i/your-link
If you use a greeting in Twi, Ga or Ewe, ask an elder to check the spelling. Guests who speak it will read that line first.
What should the invitation say about dress and colours?
Many Ghanaian couples choose colours of the day. The couple and close family often wear kente, and guests a chosen print or their own traditional dress in the colours. Say the colours on the invitation, and whether a particular fabric is being sold to guests. If it is, a separate message with the price, how to order and the deadline works better than squeezing it onto the card. The Nigerian aso-ebi announcement messages adapt easily for this.
If the engagement and the church have different colours, put each event's colours with that event, so nobody arrives at the church in the engagement colours.
When to send the invitations
| When | What to send |
|---|---|
| 4 to 6 months before | A save the date to guests who will travel, especially from Ghana or elsewhere abroad |
| 3 months before | The colours, and any fabric guests can order |
| 6 to 8 weeks before | The invitation to the engagement, with a reply-by date |
| About 4 weeks before | Your reply-by date |
| 2 or 3 days after the reply-by date | A reminder to anyone who hasn't replied |
Guests coming from Ghana for a UK engagement may need a visa, which takes time. See inviting wedding guests from abroad.
How to do it with Our Guest List
- Add each event. Open the Celebration step and press + Add event for the engagement, and the church and reception if they follow. Put each one's colours in Dress code.
- Add your guests. Paste your list, bring people in from your phone's contacts, or type them. Numbers from Ghana go in with +233 in front.
- Choose their events. Open a guest and press Choose their events. A guest invited only to the engagement sees only the engagement.
- Send. Each household gets its own message on WhatsApp or iMessage from your phone, and replies to each event on its own link, with a headcount and any dietary needs.
- Tell everyone the details once. Every plan comes with a website showing each event's time and place. With Tailored you can build your own, with sections for What to wear, Getting there and Where to stay, so guests stop asking by message.
The free plan covers 50 guests and two events: enough for the engagement and the wedding of a small celebration. Bigger celebrations need a package, from £65: Tailored, a one-off £65, covers 400 guests and every event. Or see the engagement party page and the wedding page for sample invitations.
Questions people ask
- Do you send invitations for the knocking ceremony?
- Often not. The knocking is usually a small meeting between the families, arranged by phone or in person. The engagement that follows is where most guests are invited with a written or digital invitation.
- Is a Ghanaian engagement the same as a wedding?
- For many families the traditional marriage ceremony, often called the engagement, is the customary marriage itself, and a church or registry wedding may follow. Ask your families how they see it, because it affects who expects to be invited.
- What do guests wear to a Ghanaian engagement?
- Often traditional dress or African print in the colours the couple has chosen, with kente usually worn by the couple and close family. Guests without traditional clothes are usually welcome in smart clothes in those colours. Say so on the invitation so nobody has to ask.
- Can the engagement and the church wedding share one guest list?
- Yes. Keep one list of people and tick which events each is invited to. Each event then gets its own headcount, and each guest sees only the events they are invited to.
Last updated 30 October 2026