Nigerian wedding invitation wording: traditional and church
The short answer. A Nigerian wedding usually needs two invitations: one for the traditional wedding, sent by both families, and one for the church or court wedding and reception. Name both sets of parents on the traditional invitation, keep the church wording formal, and only invite each guest to the events they are coming to. Add the colours if there is aso-ebi.
One invitation or two?
The traditional wedding and the church wedding are often on different days, with different guest lists. The traditional is often much bigger than the church, because it belongs to both families as much as to the couple.
| Traditional wedding | Church wedding and reception | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is inviting | Both families, by the parents' names | The parents, or the couple |
| Tone | Joyful, often with a blessing | Formal |
| Usually adds | The colours, the dress code | The service time, the reception |
| Who gets it | Family, elders, friends of the families | Often a smaller list |
Separate invitations mean the guests invited to the traditional only are never shown the church, and nobody has to explain the difference at the door. On Our Guest List both can sit in one celebration: each guest's invitation shows only the events they are invited to. See how to manage a guest list across several events.
Traditional wedding wording
Church wedding wording
Lines to finish the invitation
There is a whole set of ready messages for the colours, the price and the order deadline in aso-ebi announcement messages.
Getting the names right
- Titles first, as the family uses them. Chief, Dr, Engr, Pastor, Alhaji. Check with the parents rather than guessing.
- Both sets of parents on the traditional invitation. Leaving one family off is noticed.
- Get the dots and accents right. In Yoruba ẹ, ọ and ṣ, and in Igbo ị, ọ, ụ and ṅ, change a word. Our Guest List's invitation fonts include faces that draw every Yoruba and Igbo letter, so a name can be written properly.
- Read it to an elder before it goes. One phone call saves 400 corrections.
Keeping the door for invited guests
At a large owambe, a named invitation is how the door knows who is meant to be there. On Our Guest List each guest has their own invitation for the events they are invited to, and when you turn on door check-in, everyone who says yes gets a pass to show at the door. The person on the door scans it and sees who it is for and which events they are invited to. More in how to stop gatecrashers.
Questions people ask
- Whose names go on a Nigerian traditional wedding invitation?
- Usually both families, by the parents' names and titles, because the traditional wedding is the joining of the families. The couple's names follow.
- Should the traditional and church wedding have separate invitations?
- If the guest lists are different, yes. A separate invitation for each event means every guest only sees what they are invited to, and the headcount for each is right.
- When should Nigerian wedding invitations go out?
- Eight to twelve weeks before, and earlier if guests are travelling from abroad. Aso-ebi details often go out first, because the fabric has to be ordered and sewn.
Last updated 30 October 2026