The wedding industry in Nigeria is a fast-growing one. If you’re somewhere between the ages of 21 and infinity, chances are you’ve attended a wedding party recently and wondered just how much the couple spent to give you a great time. We’ve also been wondering the same thing, more so from the bride’s perspective.
Every other day, couples come on Beyonce’s internet to let us know how much they enjoyed their weddings, or advise us against making the decisions they did. We asked four 2025 brides what their initial budgets were for their weddings and what they eventually spent. One thing they all have in common is not having any regrets about the money they spent.
‘Nigerian designers tried to charge me ₦4.5 million for a wedding outfit’—Desola*, 31
What was your initial budget for the wedding?
I wouldn’t say I had a budget when I started planning. But I also didn’t think things would be above ₦25 million max. We ended up exceeding that by miles. At some point, the cost was going into ₦100 million. That was when I was like maybe we should relax.
How did you fund the wedding?
My husband and I received a lot of support from our parents, which we’re really grateful for. It’s funny because I was concerned about my guests having a great time, not theirs. The only things we paid for ourselves were our outfits. Nigerian designers were charging as high as ₦4.5 million for outfits. Some of them were even giving consultation quotes in USD. Thankfully, my sister is a bargain hunter so we scaled through.
What in the budget cost the most, besides the outfits?
Top four for me would be decoration, food, photography, and drinks. Decoration was just over 10 million and this was because we had a relationship with the vendor. Food also costs about the same thing. Drinks were ₦3 million. And photography (not videography) was about ₦3.5 for two days. To be honest, I wasn’t as impressed as I thought I would be with the quality of their services. Sometimes, I even think I deserve a refund. But the guests said they had a great time, and our parents have no regrets so it’s all good..
I took a loan for my wedding because I knew I would pay back- Amanda*, 29
Did you have any non-negotiables for your wedding?
Absolutely. Decorations and videography were priorities for me. I had initially started with a budget of about ₦10-₦15 million. But decoration alone was about 10 million. I think the industry tries to set that as the standard price. The cost of decoration was even separate from lights. That one alone was about ₦2.5 million. My photography and videography didn’t come close to them, but I worked with people I was familiar with.
How did you raise money?
I took a loan, but only because I knew I would be able to pay back with money I was expecting. And it wasn’t a crazy amount. The money I had at the time, including help from family and friends, just wasn’t enough, and I needed to realise my wedding dreams, please. The money I received from my family and friends made up about 30% of the wedding budget, which isn’t so bad I guess.
Do you have any regrets?
Not at all. I didn’t have any issues with my vendors, and my guests had a great time. I’d say it was 100% worth it.
Also Read: 7 Nigerians on Wedding Guests Who Shouldn’t Have Been Invited
‘My wedding hack was going for affordable vendors rather than popular ones’- Tejiri*, 25
What was the most shocking thing about planning your wedding?
It was probably the cost of makeup. I mean it was great, but it was also really expensive. About N600k for day. Also food and drinks. Food and drinks cost about #32 million combined, and I had friends who still didn’t get food. The wedding industry is honestly crazy.
How much was your budget for the wedding?
My budget for the wedding was initially ₦50 million, but we surpassed it by a lot. Food took half of that. The venue and decor cost ₦14 million and then my hair and outfits, excluding make-up, was exactly ₦6 million. And this doesn’t even cover the rest of what we did. I didn’t take any loans, but we had a lot of help from family and friends running in the tens of millions, so we had a lot of our savings left after.
Were you happy with your decisions?
I was very happy with them. Especially because I didn’t go into debt or use most of my money to execute the wedding. I’m grateful to the people who helped out as well. Even the makeup, hair and outfits. Really expensive. But those things were a priority for me.
‘My husband and I invested most of the money we got for our wedding’- Jemila, 27
Were you stressed about the wedding planning process?
I wasn’t stressed at all. Regarding planning, I had an excellent wedding planner. As for budget, I think it helped that we were already aiming high. Our initial budget was ₦60 million, but we spent a bit more than that. I think we aimed high because we knew exactly what we wanted. So music, pictures, and videos. It was all about the experience for us.
What aspect of the wedding took most of the budget?
It was probably decoration. That cost about ₦15 million, then the venue was ₦10 million. Photography and videography together was ₦8 million. I’m not sure I remember but food came somewhere in between these. The most shocking thing to me was probably bridal hair styling and make up. I paid ₦400k for hairstyling alone and ₦600k for makeup. It made me reconsider my career choices, honestly.
How did you and your husband fund the wedding?
My parents contributed some money and sorted out some of what we needed like souvenirs and logistics. My office was also generous. Then family members, friends, church members, departments in church. We received gifts (money) from a lot of people. The figure came into double digit millions and we invested most of it. But before then, my husband invested some money years before we met and he kind of just kept it aside to liquidate for the wedding. Thank God he was able to do that.
Another thing that probably helped was sticking to our guestlist. Our parents were supportive and respected the number of IV cards we gave them. So, there wasn’t any pressure to increase numbers. It was a great wedding, and it took a while for our finances to recover. But I’m glad we did it anyway.
Our Tip
One thing we’re taking away from our brides is to prioritise what means the most to you during the wedding. Maybe also invest some of the money you receive as gifts, and leverage relationships. At the end of the day, your joy matters most.
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