The algorithm of a wedding (part 1)
Ramadan Mubarak dear readers!
I am sorry it took me this long to post back in here. But to make up for it, I have two long posts for your pleasure. Today's topic is wedding guests attire and how much it cost.
Wedding season was upon us. Every year, around Mid November to December, it is wedding season in Senegal. Actually all year round is wedding season. But there is an increase of weddings before the end of the year. According to a friend, it is all because of taxes. When a single person becomes married, he or she pays less taxes. Therefore by marrying at the end of the year, they can deduct the taxes for the entire year.
Today I wanted to talk about a different kind of maths when it comes to wedding. Organizing a wedding in my country can be very costly but I do not want to dwell on that. I want to tell you how expensive it can be to attend a wedding.
Ever since I got back in this country, I got invited to a handful of weddings. It is not enough for me since I love all things wedding (I must have been born into Bollywood in another life). But attending them made me realize that it was very expensive. Let us break down all the expenses a wedding guest has to make. For references 1 US dollar is equal to 590 CFA francs (which is the currency in Senegal). 1 Euro is equal to 655 CFA. Do the maths below.
You are invited to a wedding. If it is a Muslim wedding, the invitation probably came two weeks before the wedding itself. If it is a christian wedding, you probably knew about it one month prior. As a guest, you have to get prepared and by prepare I mean you have to have a proper attire. Wedding guest attire is usually Senegalese traditional attire particularly for a Muslim Wedding. If it is a Christian wedding or a reception, women tend to wear cocktail dresses or gown, and men, suits. The dress you plan to wear has to be brand new which means you either have to go buy a suitable fabric, get it to your tailor for him to make you something trendy and dashing. Or you could visit those fancy boutiques and buy a ready made attire. A suitable fabric for a wedding will cost you around 20 to 50.000 CFA (6 meters of fabric), the tailor will cost you between 10 to 25.000. There, you already spend 75.000 CFA for a dress. To that dress, you have to add the proper accessories that you will buy new because, the ones you already have, do not match the new dress. For starters, you have to get a clutch and matching shoes for 40.000 CFA. Then you buy a headgear ( a traditional dress is nothing without the proper headgear) at 3 to 5000 CFA, the jewelry which will cost you depending on the material (gold and diamonds being the most expensive). Let us just go for the cheap stuff at 20.000 CFA an entire set. Let us not forget the hair and make up that you will have to have made at the salon to be extremely fabulous for about 115.000 CFA (hair is expensive around these parts and I even gave you the cheaper version). If you add all that up, so far you spent 255.000 CFA just to dress yourself.
Now you have to go to the wedding and you need to bring a gift with you. You can either give cash or buy a wedding gift. Depending on how close you are to the person getting married, you can spend between 20.000 to 50.000 CFA on a gift. Then if you do not have a car, you have to pay a taxi to get you to the destination and back home so there goes your 5000 CFA for transportation. Once you arrive at the wedding, you will meet griots to whom you will have to give some money, so another 5000 or more goes down the drain.
In total, being a guest at wedding in my country will cost you around 315.000 CFA (around $600) which in itself is an average salary around these parts. So as much as I love wedding, I am glad I do not get invited that often.
Stay tune for part II on how to reduce the expenses as a wedding guest.
I am sorry it took me this long to post back in here. But to make up for it, I have two long posts for your pleasure. Today's topic is wedding guests attire and how much it cost.
Wedding season was upon us. Every year, around Mid November to December, it is wedding season in Senegal. Actually all year round is wedding season. But there is an increase of weddings before the end of the year. According to a friend, it is all because of taxes. When a single person becomes married, he or she pays less taxes. Therefore by marrying at the end of the year, they can deduct the taxes for the entire year.
Today I wanted to talk about a different kind of maths when it comes to wedding. Organizing a wedding in my country can be very costly but I do not want to dwell on that. I want to tell you how expensive it can be to attend a wedding.
Ever since I got back in this country, I got invited to a handful of weddings. It is not enough for me since I love all things wedding (I must have been born into Bollywood in another life). But attending them made me realize that it was very expensive. Let us break down all the expenses a wedding guest has to make. For references 1 US dollar is equal to 590 CFA francs (which is the currency in Senegal). 1 Euro is equal to 655 CFA. Do the maths below.
You are invited to a wedding. If it is a Muslim wedding, the invitation probably came two weeks before the wedding itself. If it is a christian wedding, you probably knew about it one month prior. As a guest, you have to get prepared and by prepare I mean you have to have a proper attire. Wedding guest attire is usually Senegalese traditional attire particularly for a Muslim Wedding. If it is a Christian wedding or a reception, women tend to wear cocktail dresses or gown, and men, suits. The dress you plan to wear has to be brand new which means you either have to go buy a suitable fabric, get it to your tailor for him to make you something trendy and dashing. Or you could visit those fancy boutiques and buy a ready made attire. A suitable fabric for a wedding will cost you around 20 to 50.000 CFA (6 meters of fabric), the tailor will cost you between 10 to 25.000. There, you already spend 75.000 CFA for a dress. To that dress, you have to add the proper accessories that you will buy new because, the ones you already have, do not match the new dress. For starters, you have to get a clutch and matching shoes for 40.000 CFA. Then you buy a headgear ( a traditional dress is nothing without the proper headgear) at 3 to 5000 CFA, the jewelry which will cost you depending on the material (gold and diamonds being the most expensive). Let us just go for the cheap stuff at 20.000 CFA an entire set. Let us not forget the hair and make up that you will have to have made at the salon to be extremely fabulous for about 115.000 CFA (hair is expensive around these parts and I even gave you the cheaper version). If you add all that up, so far you spent 255.000 CFA just to dress yourself.
Now you have to go to the wedding and you need to bring a gift with you. You can either give cash or buy a wedding gift. Depending on how close you are to the person getting married, you can spend between 20.000 to 50.000 CFA on a gift. Then if you do not have a car, you have to pay a taxi to get you to the destination and back home so there goes your 5000 CFA for transportation. Once you arrive at the wedding, you will meet griots to whom you will have to give some money, so another 5000 or more goes down the drain.
In total, being a guest at wedding in my country will cost you around 315.000 CFA (around $600) which in itself is an average salary around these parts. So as much as I love wedding, I am glad I do not get invited that often.
Attending the wedding reception of a colleague's sister
Stay tune for part II on how to reduce the expenses as a wedding guest.
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