Yoruba weddings last months, not days. There is a party when families are introduced. A bigger one follows for traditional marriage rites and the presentation, from the groom’s family to the bride’s, of everything from yams to jewellery. Last comes the religious ceremony and a reception. The betrothed can cycle through over ten bespoke outfits during the celebrations. But as a cost-of-living crisis bites, people across Nigeria are learning how to party on the cheap.

For the couple, cramming all these events into a single day is a good start. Even if you insist on the myriad of costume changes, that at least saves on venue fees. Perhaps you do not need Grammy-award-nominated King Sunny Ade to perform his jùjú classics live. A tribute band should sound good enough on the dance floor.

Guests usually buy matching aso ebi (“cloth of the kin”) from the couple’s families. Doing so brings aesthetic cohesion and, crucially, helps raise money to pay for the wedding. But do you really need to buy another pink and royal-blue headtie if you have a mauve and periwinkle set from your nephew’s nuptials last year?

When the waiter takes your order, it may be from a shorter menu. King prawns have been swapped for shrimp. Multiple speciality caterers are no longer the norm. Those hoping to wash everything down with a glass of Moët & Chandon should bring their own.

A chaotic currency redesign last year means cash is hard to come by. So “spraying”, the smothering of celebrants in crisp naira notes as they dance, is less common (a recent high-profile conviction has also reminded Nigerians that the tradition is in fact illegal). Agents with point-of-sales machines will sidle onto the dance floor to help those who still want to offer a discreet financial gift.

In years past, wedding guests would stagger out, weighed down by kettles, coolers, three-tier food steamers and even mobile phones, colourful with stickers bearing the couple’s names. Today, party favours are more likely to be bags of rice, oil and pasta. More modest, but arguably more welcome.

The Economist