1920s High Society Weddings
Are extravagant weddings in Lagos a modern invention, or have they always been a tussle amongst the wealthy elite as to who can afford to celebrate harder? In the article Lagos High Society Weddings of the 1920s researcher and gender data analyst Tayo Ogunbiade delves into the history of lavish weddings in Lagos. She describes how when the daughter of the secretary to the Egba native Administration got married in 1921 there was “a procession of cars from Broad Street to the Race Course led by the bridal car.” And at Oyinkan Ajasa and Moronfolu Abayomi’s wedding reception two years later, 300 guests showed up, including the Alake of Abeokuta and the Da Rochas, at the time one of Lagos’ wealthiest families.
Tayo Agunbiade is a member of Legacy and author of the book Emerging From the Margins: Women’s Experiences in Colonial and Contemporary Nigerian History.
