“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo Da Vinci
So, keeping in mind Da Vinci’s advice, we move on to décor. The thing about throwing a themed wedding is you have to make sure everyone gains the full experience. Now, for African décor you have two main color schemes that correspond with the tropical and Saharan sides of Africa.
So, today, we will go through the aspects of Afro-inspired décor. And yes, that means that those prints (African and animal), those feathers, beads and the other exotic items we Africans use for decoration will now be considered one-by-one.
The good thing about décor in Africa is that it is rarely country
specific. It probably used to be, though. The main difference is in the texture of native cloth. Here are some examples of African print: the Igbo people have the Akwete cloth, Kente cloth for the Ashanti and Ewe people, bark-cloth for some tribes in Uganda and Kitenge for Kenya (the Kikuyu there wear it) and other regions of east Africa.
The invitation cards are a simple matter, really. All you have 
to do is pick a design for them. Whether it will be animal print, a Moroccan pattern, African print or another pattern of African origin is for you to decide. You can get a number of ideas on-line.
For a natural splash of color, use African flowers (which are in abundant variety). From the hibiscus flower to the African iris you will have a number to pick from. These can actually work for whichever color scheme you are going for. Plus, since we Africans are all about color and patterns of beauty, let the creative juices flow. Instead of using plain old ribbons (no offense if you find those captivating…) and clay as flower-ribbons and stands, why not use some of our cloth printed with African or animal patterns and heavy wooden vases?
Caution: Remember to pick flowers whose time of full bloom is in coincidence with your wedding.
But flowers are not a must. You can use feathers or other African vegetation (like willows, bamboo and aloes). Now, as we all know, birds come in all sizes and colors, so you can have fine playing with how you will arrange them. I came across this pic where they put the feathers in glasses instead of vases – all I can say is: simplicity really is sophistication.
Using table cloths of African design (animal- or African-print) is a cost effective method. If you could also have the table-mats made of beads or actual miniature African mats, then that would be a plus.
As additional decorations, items that could be placed on the wall or table are African masks, baskets, animal carvings, paintings depicting traditional African scenes and mats. The baskets can hold flowers, exotic fruits or some other natural ornaments like cowrie shells and traditional beads.
All in all, picking out the décor may be a bit hard. So keep it simple, natural and you. There is no need to use all the suggestions listed above: you will be making things complicated. And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I will say this one last time:
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
For more African Wedding insights visit – http://ugandawedding.org
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