But one of these days, it would be nice to get a wedding invitation that reads like so
Instead of like this
The Cleland and Sunkwa Families respectfully request your presence on this joyful occasion of the solemnization of holy matrimony between their daughter
Esi Woarabowodzin Cleland and their son James Panyinnyiwofie Sunkwa
On this day November 19th, 2009 at the St. Thomas Acquinas Catholic Church, Accra
RSVP
Girls Father
RSVP
Boy's Father
Why do Ghanaian wedding invitations all read, look, and feel the same? Why are our wedding invitations boring when we're not? Like our living rooms, why do they all look like one person thought it up and the rest all just copied it?
hahahahaha!!! i kno most GH invites are so boring eh. me i only go to weddings with interesting invites oh, cos at least dat one u kno d food at d reception will be interesting chale..not chips and doughnut with coke and fanta, and if you are lucky some meatpie and jollof. lol
ReplyDeleteSo that you this same Esi will make fun of the tacky invite?
ReplyDeleteNo... let's stick to boring.
Sheesh Faf, looks like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. You alright?
ReplyDeleteMs. Cleland here is just saying that righdee everyone uses the same old invitation. Surely, something new and fresh every once in a could not hurt. It doesn't have to be tacky. Just you know, something that's a little bit more personalised, and captures the couple's spirit and personality?
And yes, you're right, if people experimented more, i'd have much more to play with when talking about Ghanaian wedding invitation. How could that be bad? I'd have a field day:) chuckle.
@Shels, lol @chips and doughnut with coke and fanta. hehe. I bought some asaana at the market on saturday. I hadn't had that ish in so long. I even asked the seller to give me blog (aka ice blocks).
ReplyDeleteLol at "blog". Our people are kings and queens of "see and copy". Dare to be different? Naaaaah!
ReplyDeleteIt has been so bad, you'd think our motto on the coat of arms is "Copy & Paste".
ReplyDeleteThis article might challenge a few people planning their weddings to dare to be different.
So Esi, how will your invitation be come december.Will it be the same cut and paste or esi w brand. We are waiting for your invitation so we can make our dancing shoes ready. We hope everything will local.
ReplyDeleteWhat is all this wedding talk lately? Are you heading down an isle soon?
ReplyDeleteLol, Esi, lots of Ghanaians don't/can't/won't dare to be original. Originality will almost certainly cost you something: your standing in society, your creativity, or even better still your sanity!. Case in point, my mum attended a wedding over the weekend and left slightly shocked by the rude and frankly derogatory comments passed by a woman who sat next to her. She apparently complained about the unusual colors used for the wedding program (a little green and aubergine booklet which I thought was quite funky-looking and fresh) and attributed the "bad" choice of colors to the fact that the groom used to be a "pepe" (Muslim). My jaw dropped when I heard that one! (And there were other ones that almost gave me a locked jaw ) Now how does being a Muslim translate into choosing "bad colors", Esi? How?.... How? And I'm sure the woman wouldn't have hesitated to say all of this within earshot of the newlyweds if she'd had the chance.
ReplyDeleteThat would certainly discourage a lot of people from doing something different.
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ReplyDeleteFor argument's sake I'll take the other side. Sometimes (well, to me at least) originality isn't always what's it's cracked up to be, and traditionalism/boringness (or whatever you want to call it) isn't as boring or lackluster as it seems.
ReplyDeleteFor me, when i choose to do something simple/traditional/unremarkable/commonplace, it isn't about copying anyone. It is simply because I sometimes I enjoy dong things that people have done before me. It gives me a sense of the common human experience - whether I pray formulaic prayers, or play ampe or send a simple, formal wedding invitation with trite wording. That's not to say that adding a touch of personality or creativity means one isn't sharing a common human experience or anything. Sometmes, it's not my personality that I want to shine through; it is also okay to rejoice in the commonness of things sometimes.
I believe every printer or invite maker or whatever they are called, has a template they copy. Seriously... we have blindly copied so many things that they have become the norm. And besides, the "bigger" the English sounds, the better.
ReplyDeletehahahahahah!!!!!!!!!!! Ghanaians ARE boring lets be honest. Say it loud and proud. lololol!!
ReplyDeleteI go with Yawa, and I'm ashamed to say I used the template, LOL.
ReplyDeleteAh na so! Whether you beautify or send me a sheet of lined paper, so far as the food is in abundance, Here I come!!!
ReplyDeleteThanx you vry nice post alışveriş
ReplyDeleteAh, speaking of boring weddings. I was at a traditional marriage ceremony on Sat. (Mind you, that is it. No white wedding or anything. They took the vows etc.) The wedding cake was apapransa shaped as hearts! It was really cool. Can't post it here so I'll try and post it on my blog so you all see!
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that we[ [Ghanaians] don't want change. I've lived in Atlanta years and I see the big difference in wedding invitations and how the weddings are done. We should try something different for a change. A wedding invitation with Kente or something traditional embossed on it could be nice.
ReplyDeleteThe wedding invitations are the only things you can pick on? Let's be honest: we Ghanaians are not creative and very boring! Especially the older generation. The only time they lighten-up is during soccer games and when they're talking politics.
ReplyDeleteKan-did you are so right. Especially the older generation. Yawn. And we get a tad envious and threatened by those who make changes. Even outsiders have noticed.What can we do to change ooo?? We need some spice.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love your example of a "different" kind of invitation. If I did something like that, the fun half the family would applaud and the ____ half would think I'm nuts... and this would be before I proceeded to show it to Mr. Right's family. Depending on the arguments that are put forward, I would go ahead with radical or succumb to conventional. For my sister's wedding (I design invitations from time to time) I went with a simple:
ReplyDelete"Mr. & Mrs. ABC and Mr. & Mrs. XYZ joyously invite you to celebrate the marriage that unites their children D and E. etc."
That way, we wouldn't avoid the usual boring words but remain "proper." We didn't care about responses anyway so none of the RSVP stuff came in.
Now the kɔpi-kɔpi characteristic that is woven into our society... I just don't understand. It is everywhere! e.g.:
Selling of call credit/making sachet water/selling bread - it's not an improved product; the bread is often from the same bakery.
People are either not creative enough or afraid to think outside the box. Creative minds are still in the minority and when they do surface with their ideas, you might hear something like, "Dedaada nyinaa saa ara na yɛ yɛ no (We've always done it like this)." However, all is not lost. You just have to have the courage to do it once and then you'll see.
E.g. Sis's wedding again. Months before the event, there was "war" over things such as:
1. church premises vs.our home (home)
2. veil vs. no veil (no veil)
3. gloves vs. no gloves (gloves)
4. bridal party vs. no bridal party (no bridal party)
5. sermon vs. no sermon (no sermon)
Check out
http://picasaweb.google.com/mbirbaamuasi/DanAndSaakoaTheCeremony?authkey=Gv1sRgCKnPiKqssrrj7wE&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/mbirbaamuasi/DanAndSaakoaMixII?authkey=Gv1sRgCN6Ft9jOqsO-owE&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/mbirbaamuasi/DanAndSaakoaFoodAndDrinks?authkey=Gv1sRgCNKMs6-o466DAw&feat=directlink
for a few pics.
Sometimes the copying thing ends up just putting people in debt (http://mbirbamuses.blogspot.com/2008/08/keeping-up-appearances.html)
Surely the idea of some fancy invitation is in itself un-Ghanaian? Shouldn't we just go visit everyone we intend to invite and invite them properly, in person, in the traditional way?
ReplyDeleteYeah yeah Ghanaians are not creative with wedding invitations, BUT going 5 miles further just to have a 'different' invitation smacks of the wedding-obsessed bridezilla-behaviour Hollywood women are known to display. I have known weddings to almost not materialise over arguments about stupid little things like invitations.
A is marrying B. A & B want everyone to know the when and the where. A & B may be inviting their parents' friends so need their parents' names on the invitation. Also, it is a family affair (hence the folks' names). The standard format suits the purpose and like any formal document has a preferred layout.
What's the huge wahala with that?
Yes, Asabea. I def feel you on this. I don't think we do invitations for traditional weddings. At least I don't intend to. But if you're having the white wedding, methinks, since u're gonna do it anyway, make it fun for everyone, no? They say the best ideas are not expensive to execute. So you could actually do something creative and fun, but spend the same amount as you would on the "boring" invite.
ReplyDeleteBut personally, i'm skipping the invitations as i'm not having a white wedding.
Nothing wrong with boring at all.
ReplyDeleteIf everyone tried to be "original" we'd have to come up with progressively more silly ideas until we end up with Star Wars weddings where the ceremony becomes a joke.
"Hey look at me, I'm getting married and I love Concert Party so much I'll dress as Bob Okalla and my wife will dress as Araba Stamp, and our invitation will via text message and twitter because I know Okalla has a twitter account"
What is this constant need to change things that work?
Are we now going to say writing from left to write is so old and boring so swap it and write diagonally from top to bottom?
When writing a formal letter, will we try to swap the salutation to the middle and the ending in the middle of the text because it's old and boring?
Someone already said it... That structure is simple and works. It is boring but it is formal and respectful for a very formal occasion.
@Esi... still on the same side of the bed. And I hope you dont try any funny of your invitations if you do have to send some, it's not worth the hassle from all the talk back and call from people that might not even understand the invitation as in the example above [you need a little bit of a techie in you to see the light side of that]
I think it is fab!!! I like it. It is different, Funny and certainly Hip!!!! You see, i think this infact could be an inexpensive and exciting way to send or make an invite, it is personal, straight from the heart and simple.
ReplyDeleteHahha- i think it shows that the couple have spice in thier lives and ofcourse the relationship.
We ghanaians- we copy and paste way too much. The wedding is about the groom and bride, hence should it matter to have the names of the parents on the invite too- naaahh
This does not show disrespect. Infact, enlightened parents would not mind because they know their job is to now support the couple. !!!!
I like it Esi!!!! Fanatastic
What do you thinK your mama would say???? My dad won't mind!!!!
Talking about inexpensive invites- why not send it my email, twitter. etc. ( to all your professional friends) The point is to reduce your carbon foot print.
ReplyDeletethen the paper bits to your family who do not access to the internet!!!!
I did two sets of wedding invitations during my wedding 3 years ago. One had the usual boring 'ABC family and XYZ family requests the pleasure of the company of blah blah blah...'. I sent this to the older folks we were inviting. The second one was witty and romantic and different and didn't mention any parents names and I sent that to my friends and peers. Problem solved! Needless to say they all loved it. But that didn't stop my uncle who happened to see a copy of the 2nd type of invitation from expressing his displeasure that I was being disrespectful to my parents by excluding their names. lol!
ReplyDelete