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Monica Cheru-Mpambawashe Lifestyle Editor
Although it is still mighty popular with the majority, the white dress is no longer considered a must have item by modern brides who are opting not to limit colour to the bridesmaids, décor and cake on their wedding day.

It is not surprising that people should experiment with other alternatives. Let’s face it. The wedding dress is not the most user-friendly item on the shopping list. A woman forks out around $500 to buy a dress that she is only going to wear for a few hours. Maybe she might be able to hire it out and recoup the cost before it goes out of fashion. Or she herself could be more economical and hire one for $100 or more for the few hours.

Whichever way one looks at it, traditional wedding dresses have to be the most expensive clothing items that most women will ever wear in their lifetime. It is said that every girl dreams of walking down the aisle behind a gauzy veil until life dictates that she must give up that fantasy. The feminists may have something to say about that but what galls is that most of these expensive costume gowns cannot be put to any other practical use for the bride once the big day is over.

So one is left with a bulky and cumbersome item chewing up precious cupboard space and really serving no other purpose except as a sentimental memoir of what is allegedly the happiest day in the life of a woman. It also makes little sense that women as a group are challenging many traditional cultural norms every day but still hold onto a fashion started by an English queen more than a hundred years ago!

If only someone had started a simultaneous trend whereby every former bride would get to wear her own gown to any wedding she attends subsequently, maybe the investment would be worth it. But of course that would distract the attention from the day’s bride who deserves to be the sole centre of attention after spending all those hours and dollars preparing for it.

No wonder why competition in the form of coloured gowns is gradually placing the traditional white gown in the class of boring. Just as the ethnic fabric is trending in everyday wear, the African look is now taking centre stage at weddings.

Right now we will not be sidetracked into the argument of just how African the look is seeing as most of the desirable fabrics are imported from China, like everything else these days . . .

In the past African print gowns were relegated to the also-ran slot as the secondary set of outfits into which the bridal entourage would change into only after that proper solemnisation was over. Then the look got another boost as the favoured design for the mother of the bride.

Now finally, it has come into its own. Naturally the influence of Nollywood and Ghanaian movies cannot be ignored in the renaissance. When the Nigerian movies hit the local screens more than a decade ago, they brought in a plethora of cultural evolutions.

Most of the popular new churches seem to have drawn their inspiration, mannerisms and huge followings from aficionados of the genre. It is not by accident that even their leaders draw spiritual sustenance from Nigeria and Ghana.

Even our English speech has felt the impact as expressions like “my sister oh’’ and ‘‘pregnant for him’’ have become standard, causing much cringing and wrath among members of the grammar police residing in our midst.

Of course the African look as a fashion statement can be traced to exactly the same source. Perhaps even the ethnic wedding style should also be directly attributed to that source as the Nollywood movies usually go to town on the nuptial scene as bride and groom prance for the gathering in outfits made from identical cloth.

Influence from South African traditional weddings has also played a large part with a number of local designers exhibiting a Zulu-inspired ensemble in place of the traditional white gown as the ultimate piece of their fashion shows. This is usually done up with striking bead-work.

Cakes and décor are also increasingly taking the African rustic theme. A cake maker in Harare says the layout of a rural home, where cakes are decorated like huts, is a popular choice even among brides whose weddings are otherwise exclusively designed along the traditional Western lines.

But a wedding planner, who has planned a couple of fully ethnic themed weddings, says the twilight of the white wedding gown and the tux is not quite upon us yet.

“I think that as with most things that really challenge the accepted status quo, it takes a person of style and much confidence to decide on such a wedding style. The wedding planner also has to be bold and with a vivid imagination to bring all together successfully. It is definitely not something that can be done by copycats just yet. Maybe when it is more mainstream, then we will see everyone doing it. But for now it is still an exclusive choice,” she said.

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All images courtesy of Irvine Nemadziva (Rim Light Productions)