Trad and white wedding planning checklist

Planning one wedding is a lot. Planning a traditional wedding and a white wedding, often in different places, with different guest lists and two families who each have opinions, is something else.

This checklist is for Nigerian, Ghanaian, Cameroonian and other couples planning both, whether you're getting married at home or in the diaspora with half your guests flying in. Customs vary hugely between families and cultures, so take what fits and skip what doesn't.

9 to 12 months before: the big decisions

Agree the events. Write down every gathering: the introduction, the traditional wedding, the church, mosque or registry ceremony, the reception, any after-party. Decide which ones are really happening.
Talk to both families early. Ask who leads on the traditional side, what's expected of each family and what they'll be paying for. It's far easier to agree this now than in the week of the trad.
Set dates and places for each event. The trad might be in your parents' hometown and the white wedding in Lagos, Accra, London or Houston. Put them in the same calendar so everyone can see the whole picture.
Set a budget per event, not one big number. Catering for a 400-person reception and a 120-person trad are very different bills.
Book the venues for each event.

6 to 9 months before: guest lists and suppliers

Build one guest list, with a column for each event. Not two spreadsheets. Each guest gets a yes or no for every event they're invited to. This is the single most useful thing you'll do.
Agree numbers with both families. Give each side an allocation per event, and ask for names and phone numbers, not "my church people".
Collect WhatsApp numbers with the country code (+44, +234, +233, +237 and so on). A number without a country code is a message that never arrives.
Book suppliers for each event: caterer, decorator, photographer, MC, DJ or band. Check whether one supplier can cover both days.
Choose your colours for each event.

4 to 6 months before: aso ebi, website and guests abroad

Sort aso ebi. Decide the fabric and colours for each event, who's coordinating orders, the price and the deadline to order. Write it down once.
Set up your wedding website. Add your story, the schedule for every event, the dress code and colours for each one, travel information and FAQs. Guests should only see the events they're invited to, which saves a lot of awkward questions.
Help guests travelling from abroad. Share dates early, list hotels near each venue, and add airport and transport tips. Anyone who needs a visa will need time.
Send save the dates to guests who'll be travelling.
Plan gifts. If your families prefer cash, decide how guests can give and add it to your site, so people aren't sending bank details to each other on WhatsApp.

2 to 3 months before: invitations and RSVPs

Send personal invitations, not a flyer. A poster dropped into the family group gets forwarded far beyond your list, and you can't tell who's actually coming. Send each guest or family their own message, by name, with their own link.
Collect RSVPs per event. One yes for the reception tells your caterer nothing about the trad.
Ask the useful questions once: names of everyone coming, meal choices, dietary needs and anything else you'll need.
Set an RSVP deadline a week or two before your caterers need final numbers.
Decide on gate control. Who's on the door, what they check, and what happens when someone turns up who isn't on the list.

1 month before: chasing and numbers

Remind only the people who haven't replied. Never chase the ones who've said yes.
Take phone RSVPs seriously. When an uncle calls to say he's coming, add him to the list there and then.
Send final numbers per event to each caterer and venue.
Do your seating plan for the reception, and the family seating for the trad if needed.
Brief your door team. Give them a way to check names quickly from a phone, rather than a printed list nobody can find.
Confirm timings with every supplier, for both days.

The week of the wedding

Send a day-of note with the address, start time and parking for each event, to the guests invited to that event only.
Check that confirmed guests have what they need to get in at the gate.
Hand over. Give your coordinator or a trusted cousin the supplier contacts and the run of show, then let them handle it.

After the wedding

Say thank you. A personal message within a couple of weeks means a lot, especially to guests who travelled.
Match gifts to names so your thank-yous are specific.
Collect guests' photos before they disappear into camera rolls.

How WeddingBeacon helps with a trad and white wedding

WeddingBeacon is a wedding website builder made for exactly this kind of wedding.

Pricing is a one-time payment in your local currency, including naira, CFA francs, pounds and rand. WeddingBeacon is Free to start, then Basic £62, Standard £118 or Season £513 for planners running five weddings.

For more, read the guide to a Nigerian wedding website, how a traditional and white wedding works on one guest list, and WeddingBeacon vs Zola or the best Zola alternatives for UK couples.

Up to six events on one site. Each guest is invited only to their events and RSVPs to each separately, so you get a number for the trad and a number for the reception.
Personal WhatsApp or email invites. Each guest is named, sees your photo and opens their own page. You can send through WeddingBeacon or from your own phone.
Dress code with photos for each event, so your aso ebi colours are clear.
Guest list import from Excel or CSV, with phone numbers cleaned before sending.
QR guest passes and phone check-in. The Check-in role can mark arrivals and see who is coming. It cannot open gifts, guest notes, or the rest of the wedding.
Event times stay on that event's clock. If an event has no zone of its own, the wedding's clock is used. The time is labelled with the country clock, such as Cameroon time (WAT), and it does not shift to the visitor's local time.
English or French, chosen per household, which helps Cameroonian and mixed families.
Gifts by card, including cash funds such as a honeymoon fund, with each guest's note.
Reminders and thank-yous on the Standard and Season plans: confirmations, reminders only to guests who haven't replied, a day-of note and thank-you messages.

FAQ

Should the trad and the white wedding have separate guest lists?

Keep one list, with a yes or no for each event. That way nobody gets missed, and you can see every guest's invitations at a glance.

How early should we start planning a trad and white wedding?

Nine to twelve months is comfortable, especially if guests are travelling from abroad or the events are in different cities.

Can we put the trad and white wedding on one website?

Yes. With WeddingBeacon you can run up to six events on one site, and each guest only sees the ones they're invited to.

How do we stop gate-crashers?

Send personal invites rather than a flyer, collect RSVPs per event, and give your door team a quick way to check names. WeddingBeacon gives every confirmed guest a QR pass for this.

Where should aso ebi details go?

On your wedding website, on the page for each event, so guests see the colours and order deadline for their events only.