Petit Soirée (Micro Weddings
It is VERY unfortunate that we will no longer be celebrating our weddings the way we have been used to, well for I don’t know how long. African weddings to be precise have always been HUGE when it comes to guest count. We invite not only our family and close friends, but even our friend’s parents, our neighbors, our coworkers, our old friends we haven’t kept in touch with for over 10 years and wider and wider the reach goes. YES, that is our tradition. But now, things have changed. We now have to adjust and LOVE and get used to having smaller weddings also known as MICRO WEDDINGS, this is a very intimate affair with not more than 50 people which will merit the “nearest and dearest” descriptor.
When something is small it’s less hectic, easier to control, more affordable, fewer opinions and people to please. I believe more memorable because it will comprise of those VERY dear to you. So with our current situation, some people are postponing their weddings waiting to do the usual HUGE ones when this pandemic comes to an end. I believe we should not miss the opportunity to celebrate no matter the situation, and that is why micro weddings are slowly becoming the new trend and they still feature time honored traditions that make up a wedding.
So how does this apply in the Tanzanian context? Kwanza kabisa you will relieve people and yourself the load and burden of struggling with michango. YES, this means you are most likely able to fund this wedding on your own without having to go into other people’s pockets. Yes, I know this will be a pinch since you have previously contributed for your friends and relatives, so you were probably also looking forward to michango yao but UNFORTUNTALEY our current situation has interfered with that.
So who makes the guest list of the proposed ideal 50? The nuclear family? You can pick a single person to represent “a group” this applies on both the bride and groom side i.e. pick one cousin to represent your 30 cousins, pick one College friend, (if you are still close to them), pick one or two coworkers, pick one uncle from both mom and dad’s side, one aunty from both sides as well, your parents best friends, and of course two of three of your closest friends and I believe this list will be sufficient. I doubt kutakuwa na lawama zozote because people will understand that it is what it is. One positive thing about having a crowd that you can all identify on your special day, contrary to having 300 guests at your wedding who mostly comprise of your parents’ friends and relatives friends and so on. (TYPICAL TANZANIAN TRADITION)
So here are some steps to take to plan your beautiful “petit soiree “
- Find a venue –This doesn’t mean you should hire a space to do your micro wedding. Make use of your home compound, your parents compounds or any space which will not cost you.
- Hire a photographer – No matter what, photos are lifetime memories
- Hire a decorator – As much as the crowd is small, what will give the ambiance the wedding feel is beautiful décor, and the photos that will be captured behind beautiful décor will be magical
- Get a cake – A couple must get that behind the cake shot and it will definitely be the dessert that you will need for your guests.
- Food- it’s easier to customize the menu because the guests are few, and you might save on having to have a very diverse menu which is always costly.
- Drinks – You can ask all your guests to mention their preferred fave drinks and purchase them and stock them somewhere on that day. It will save you having to purchase so many drinks that people don’t even take. It’s better to have drinks that your guests love, they will actually enjoy better that way, contrary to having to pick from what is available.
- Create a personal experience for your guests – Besides having their fave meals and drinks served, you could add few touches that will make them feel very special, I.e. having name tags on their tables, incorporating some games that will make everyone involved, pretty much making the wedding about the groom and the bride alongside their most closest people.
- PA & MC – you don’t need an MC for a micro wedding, you can have a family member stand and talk once in a while to give some instructions, or better yet the bride and the groom since it is their day could actually be the ones doing that. How unique huh? What you would need is the music which can actually be a playlist of your fave songs, get a small speaker and let it play throughout the wedding, the crowd is small, it doesnt have to be so hectic.
keeping all these factors into consideration, you would have gotten married to your partner, in the presence of your closest and most dearest with you, you will have your beautiful pictures, you would have your first dance, you would have popped champagne , had your cake , had that special meal and drinks and all that sums up a beautiful celebration , YOU WOULD HAVE HAD YOUR WEDDING.
The most memorable micro- wedding we have ever done was for our awesome clients Johnson and Witness. It was exactly 50 people, I remember it being extremely smooth because it didn’t have a lot of things which made it stress free and everyone kept wondering how one possibly manages to do a small wedding in Tanzania, but as of now people will no longer wonder because it might become the new norm.
Let us know whether our traditions will allow us to adopt to this “becoming “new culture.
P.S – DON’T SACRIFICE THE CHANCE TO CELEBRATE
-G-S