CULTURE
Modern love, ancient traditions: Inside the boom in African cultural weddings
It's wedding season in some parts of the continent and African couples are increasingly choosing cultural ceremonies over Western-style weddings. Rooted in community and identity, these celebrations blend tradition with modern elegance, challenging perceptions around cost, meaning, and what it truly means to say “I do” in contemporary Africa.
Noluthando Buthelezi
Social media lit up earlier this year after television and radio host Anele Mdoda shared images from her traditional isiXhosa wedding ceremony. The intimate celebration, attended by close family and friends, marked her union with Xhosa royal and lawyer Bonelela "Buzza" James.
Clad in intricate isiXhosa beadwork, the couple was photographed strolling through a scenic outdoor setting, an aesthetic blend of cultural heritage and modern elegance that immediately drew wide praise online.
The ceremony, known as ukuvunywa kwabakhwenyana—the formal welcoming of the groom and his family—was only the beginning. In isiXhosa tradition, a marriage unfolds through a series of stages, each carrying symbolic meaning. Mdoda's ceremony served as a preview of a much larger cultural celebration still to come.
Image: timeslive.co.za
A growing shift toward cultural weddings
Anele and Bonelela are part of a growing wave of couples choosing to honour traditional African customs over Western-style weddings. In 2019, Brides.com profiled a Xhosa–Jamaican couple, Sandiswa Sotashe and Kwabena Shange, whose forest wedding in the Eastern Cape celebrated both cultures through ritual, music, and communal joy. Their focus, they said, was preserving heritage, not adhering to the aesthetics of a white wedding.
Xhosa–Jamaican couple, Sandiswa and Kwabena wedding ceremony in 2019 - Image: brides.com
The question emerges: Are cultural ceremonies making a comeback?
According to Mokone T.'s paper, "Reclaiming Culture: The Rise of Traditional Weddings Among African Youth," more young Africans are returning to heritage-based ceremonies to reconnect with lineage, strengthen family bonds, and craft celebrations that feel more meaningful and inclusive.
These weddings often centre community over spectacle, prioritizing connection, ritual, and cultural symbolism rather than rigid formalities.
The cost debate: cheaper or more expensive?
Image: borrowingmagnolia.com
With the average Western-style wedding in South Africa costing between R250,000 and R1.2 million, many assume traditional weddings offer a more budget-friendly alternative. Without venue hire, costly decor, or travel arrangements for guests, cultural ceremonies appear lighter on the pocket.
But wedding planner and founder of The Fortress Venue, Mabutla Innocentia Modiba says this perception is misleading.
She recalls planning a traditional wedding where the couple had to buy 137 blankets for the uMembeso ceremony alone—just one example of the significant customary obligations families must meet. These expenses, she notes, often extend far beyond the wedding day itself.
Modiba emphasises that in African cultures, a wedding is not merely about two individuals; it is about merging families, which comes with a wide range of traditional duties.
Tips for couples choosing the traditional route
To help couples manage costs and expectations, Modiba offers several practical strategies:
- Keep the ceremony intimate.
- Limiting the guest list to close family and friends reduces catering and logistical expenses.
- Learn to say "no."
- Parents and elders may have expectations that exceed your budget. Setting boundaries is essential.
- Hire the right wedding planner.
- Not all planners understand the intricacies of traditional ceremonies. Choose one who specialises in cultural weddings to avoid unnecessary stress and missteps.
Image: Aj Collins Artistry, Pexels
Cultural weddings on the rise through 2025
According to data from The Planner Co., the trend toward cultural and cross-cultural weddings is expected to continue, as multicultural unions become more common and more young couples seek ceremonies that reflect their identities, the demand for culturally rooted weddings is set to expand.
Whether for reasons of heritage, inclusivity, or personal meaning, this generation of Africans is increasingly embracing traditions long overshadowed by Western norms. And as Anele Mdoda's celebration shows, these ceremonies offer not only deep cultural resonance but also breathtaking beauty.
