Planning a Nigerian or African wedding from the US or Canada works best when you plan around the time difference, appoint trusted people on the ground, keep every vendor agreement in writing & give guests time to sort out flights & documents. The same approach applies whether you are marrying in Nigeria or hosting a Nigerian or African wedding where you live.
Couples in cities such as Houston, Atlanta, New York, Toronto & Calgary often juggle two sets of relatives, two calendars & a long flight. Here is how to keep it manageable. You can also see our pages for couples in the United States & in Canada.
First decision: where will your Nigerian wedding happen?
Start with the big question. Will you marry in Nigeria, where many relatives live, or in North America, where your friends & daily life are? Some couples do both: a traditional wedding in Nigeria, & a church or civil ceremony & reception at home.
Think about:
- Where most of your priority guests live, & who can realistically travel.
- Which ceremonies each family considers essential, & where they must take place.
- How much time off you can take for travel & recovery.
- Where your marriage needs to be legally recognised, & what that requires.
If you are leaning towards Nigeria, our guide to a destination wedding in Nigeria covers choosing a city & planning guest travel.
If you are hosting in North America, look for caterers who cook Nigerian food well, venues that allow the late finishes & live music a Nigerian party enjoys, & an MC who can bring guests from different backgrounds together. Aso-ebi fabric may need to be bought in Nigeria & carried over by relatives, so allow time for travel & tailoring.
Time zones: plan your calls
Nigeria keeps West Africa Time all year, while the US & Canada change their clocks for daylight saving. As a rough guide, Lagos is five to six hours ahead of New York, Atlanta & Toronto, six to seven hours ahead of Houston, & seven to eight hours ahead of Calgary, depending on the time of year.
That leaves a fairly narrow window when everyone is awake & free. Many couples use early mornings in North America, which are afternoons in Nigeria, for calls with vendors & family.
- Set a regular weekly call with your planner or family coordinator.
- Send calendar invites that show both time zones.
- Re-check call times when the clocks change in March & November.
Our demos are booked in Nigerian time & held by WhatsApp video call or a video call link. The Nigerian evening slot usually falls in your morning or around midday.
Vendors & deposits across the Atlantic
Most Nigerian vendors work on WhatsApp, & many are used to working with couples abroad. Still, a few habits protect you:
- Get every quote, inclusion & price in writing, & confirm call summaries by message.
- Ask for recent work, references & a video walk-through of the venue.
- Agree the currency before you pay, because exchange rates move & many Nigerian vendors quote in naira.
- Pay a deposit against an invoice, keep every receipt & agree on a schedule for the balance.
- Confirm any change of bank details by phone before sending money.
Voice notes are convenient but hard to search later, so when something important arrives that way, reply with a written summary. Leave some room in your budget for transfer fees & exchange rate movements, too.
A trusted planner or relative on the ground is invaluable for site visits, tastings & fittings. Agree in advance what they can approve on your behalf. Our list of questions to ask before paying a vendor deposit is a useful place to start.
Guest travel, documents & visas
Long-haul flights, connections & time off work all take planning. Send save-the-dates early, & share the practical details in one place. If any guests are flying out of Canada or the northern US in winter, suggest they leave a little slack in their plans in case of weather delays.
Documents need checking well ahead of time. Treat the points below as general reminders, & confirm everything with official sources:
- Guests who are not Nigerian citizens, including partners & friends, should check visa requirements with the official Nigerian immigration service or the nearest Nigerian embassy or consulate.
- Nigerian-born guests travelling on another passport should check which documents they need to enter Nigeria & to return home.
- Everyone should check passport validity, health requirements & travel advice from their own government.
- Couples marrying in Nigeria should check how the marriage will be recognised where they live before relying on it.
Rather than giving guests visa advice yourselves, point them to the official sources.
Keeping both families involved
With relatives in Nigeria & North America, communication matters as much as logistics. Agree early who represents each family, who can make decisions on the ground, & how you will share updates. A short weekly message in the family WhatsApp group, with key dates & decisions, saves many repeated questions.
A wedding website gives every guest, wherever they live, the same information. With our Wedding Website, all your celebrations sit on one invitation with venues, dress code & save-to-calendar, & guests RSVP once. When you approve them, their personal entry pass arrives by SMS & WhatsApp, & you can follow every RSVP from your dashboard.
For example, a hypothetical couple in Calgary with family in Port Harcourt & Abuja might share one link with everyone, so aunties in Nigeria & friends in Canada see exactly the same schedule.
A livestream for family who can't travel
Some relatives will not be able to make the trip, whether that is grandparents in Nigeria for a wedding in Toronto or friends in Atlanta for a wedding in Lagos. A livestream lets them watch, chat & celebrate in real time.
Our wedding website includes a livestream with guest chat, & guests far away can spray you in naira notes from the website. Our livestream crew add-on covers weddings in Nigeria only, & where the crew has to travel, the couple covers their tickets & accommodation. If your wedding is in the US or Canada, message us on +234 907 898 7201 before you book to talk through the livestream for your venue.
Questions people ask
What is the time difference between Nigeria & the US or Canada?
Nigeria uses West Africa Time all year. Depending on daylight saving, Lagos is five to six hours ahead of New York, Atlanta & Toronto, six to seven hours ahead of Houston, & seven to eight hours ahead of Calgary. Early mornings in North America are usually the easiest time for calls with vendors & family in Nigeria.
Do our guests need a visa to attend a wedding in Nigeria?
It depends on their nationality & passport. Guests who are not Nigerian citizens, & Nigerian-born guests travelling on another passport, should check current requirements with the official Nigerian immigration service or the nearest Nigerian embassy or consulate well before booking. Rules can change, so ask guests to rely on official sources rather than advice from friends.
How can relatives in Nigeria watch a wedding in North America?
A livestream on your wedding website lets relatives watch the ceremony & chat as it happens, wherever they are, & spray you in naira notes. Our livestream crew add-on covers weddings in Nigeria only, so for a wedding in the US or Canada, message us on WhatsApp before you book to talk through the livestream for your venue.
