By Oghenekeno Akpoili
Getting dressed for a Nigerian wedding has never exactly been a low-effort affair. There has always been the fabric to buy, the tailor to chase, the gele appointment to book and the inevitable last-minute search for the right shoes and bag. But somewhere along the way, what used to be a fun fashion ritual became a rather expensive one.
These days, aso-ebi at some weddings can cost anywhere from ₦250,000 to ₦1 million, depending on the fabric and the crowd. And that is before your tailor has touched it. Add sewing, embellishments, hair, makeup, gele, accessories, transport and a wedding gift, and one invitation can take a very respectable bite out of your bank account. If you’re a celebrity or public figure, you may also need to consider photography, video, and content creation because, for better or worse, the look now has a life beyond the wedding.
Of course, none of this has stopped us from showing up. We still want the lace, the pictures and the dance-floor moment. We just need to become a little smarter about what all that fabulousness is costing us. So how do you survive the aso-ebi economy and still look like you came to play?
1. Calculate the Outfit, Not Just the Fabric
That ₦300,000 lace isn’t a ₦300,000 decision.
Before paying, mentally add tailoring. Does the style you’re considering require extra fabric, beading, feathers, stones or hand embellishment? Will you need a particular bra or shapewear underneath it? Does it demand shoes you don’t own? Are you booking gele and makeup?
The real price of aso-ebi is what it costs to get you from folded fabric to wedding-ready.
2. Choose a Style With a Second Life
If you’re spending serious money on fabric and tailoring, ask your designer one important question: how will I wear this again?
A dramatic blouse can later work with plain trousers. A lace skirt can be separated from its corset. Detachable sleeves, trains, overskirts and embellishments can turn a wedding showstopper into something considerably simpler afterwards.
Designing for the wedding and for life after the wedding is far smarter than creating another beautiful outfit condemned to the back of the wardrobe.
3. Build a Wedding-Guest Accessories Wardrobe
You don’t need a new bag and shoes every Saturday.
Invest over time in a small rotation of evening bags, metallic or neutral shoes, statement earrings and jewellery that can move between different colours of aso-ebi. The same gold clutch might attend ten weddings without anybody caring.
This is where cost-per-wear should be doing some serious work.
4. Swap the Expensive Extras
Your best friend’s wardrobe may contain exactly the bag your outfit needs.
Borrow bags, jewellery, fascinators and even shoes if you’re lucky enough to share a size. A group of friends can effectively create a much larger occasion wardrobe by swapping pieces rather than everyone buying versions of the same things.
Nobody needs to know the Bottega has joint custody.
5. Be Strategic About Glam
Hair, makeup and gele can easily become another substantial part of the bill, particularly when you’re booking sought-after professionals.
Decide where professional help will make the biggest difference. If you can do your own makeup well, perhaps you only book gele. If your hairstyle already works with the outfit, don’t invent another appointment because it’s wedding Saturday.
Save the full glam team for the occasions where you genuinely want the full production.
6. If You’re Paying for Content, Plan the Content
For celebrities, influencers and public-facing guests, a major wedding can function almost like a red-carpet appearance. That may mean professional photographs, video, detail shots and Reels before you’ve even left home.
If you’re paying for that, don’t treat it as an afterthought. Decide what you actually need. Can one creator shoot both stills and video? Can several looks be photographed during one booking? Do you really need a photographer and videographer for every wedding?
If content is part of your brand, it is a business expense worth planning. If it isn’t, find the friend with the best iPhone and excellent patience.
7. Repeat the Outfit — But Change the Story
Aso-ebi is particularly difficult to repeat because the styling tends to be so specific. So dismantle the original look.
Lose the gele. Change the hair. Separate the skirt and blouse. Remove detachable details. Wear different shoes. Take an elaborate piece that originally attended a traditional wedding and make it considerably quieter for a dinner or another celebration.
The aim isn’t to disguise the fact that you’ve worn it before. It’s to prove the outfit has more than one idea in it.
8. And Yes, Sometimes Skip the Aso-Ebi
Not every invitation requires buying the fabric.
There will be weddings where being part of the aso-ebi is meaningful: family, close friends, people whose big day you genuinely want to participate in fully. But if your calendar is packed, prioritise.
Wear a beautiful dress you already own where the dress code allows. Buy the fabric for the weddings that matter most. Send a thoughtful gift when you cannot attend.
