Traditional African Wedding – Part 1

Unathi & Bongani - Mount Nelson, Langa & Paarl

The Two Ceremonies – Traditional Wedding and White Wedding

Unathi & Bongani’s wedding that we covered in December was one of the biggest we have covered to date. The wedding spanned over 4 days. It started with a Welcome Party at the Mount Nelson in Cape Town on Thursday. On Friday the same venue hosted the White Wedding. On the Saturday Unathi’s family welcomed Bongani in Langa and on Sunday the celebrations moved to Paarl where Bongani’s family hosted the traditional wedding for Unathi’s family.

In this blog post, we cover the Welcome Party and the Traditional African Wedding days in Langa and Paarl. In Part 2, which will be posted next week, we’ll cover the White Wedding at the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town.

Unathi is a Capetonian (Langa) by birth and Bongani from Paarl. Even though Bongani first laid eyes on his future wife in 2001, it was only in 2010 that they met again.

I turned him down at first, but at the back of my mind, realized that there was just something about him, and we managed to stick together till now.

Photos by Jo-lizna Botha, Reynard van As & Elandi Coetzee

Article by Stefan Steenkamp

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Traditional African Wedding Ceremony

For the Welcome Dinner on the 1st evening, the couple invited their closest family and friends. A sit-down dinner in the Grand Ballroom of the Mount Nelson with about 50 guests attending. The two traditional wedding ceremonies took place on Saturday and the Sunday.

South African traditional weddings is a spiritual and social affair and involve the merger of not only two lives, but also two families, cultures and communities. The traditional ceremony is a rich display of African custom. Every moment you experienced South African traditions, music, food and dancing.

The first occasion was held in Langa and hosted by Unathi’s family. Bongani’s family presented gifts to the brides family that was specifically requested based on the brides family’s culture. On the Sunday in Paarl, the roles were reversed and it was time for Unathi’s family to do the gifting. Typically, the gifts are presented to the grandparents, parents, siblings, aunts and uncles of the bride and groom. This provides an opportunity to introduce the two extended families to one another.

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