Moroccan weddings are famous for their rituals and colours. Each city adds its own touch, but the main steps are shared.
1. Engagement and the Fatiha
The groom’s family visits the bride’s to ask for her hand; the Fatiha is recited and milk and dates are shared as symbols of purity and sweetness. An engagement party with the ring often follows.
2. The hdiya
A procession brings the groom’s gifts — sugar, henna, milk, dates, fabrics, perfume, sometimes gold — on decorated trays, with ululations and drums.
3. Hammam
Days before, the bride goes to the hammam with close relatives in a festive mood.
4. Henna night
The bride, often in green, has henna drawn on her hands and feet by the nekacha among candles and songs. If it is a separate evening, it deserves its own invitation.
5. The neggafa
She dresses the bride, changes her outfits through the night, provides jewellery and the amaria, and directs the entrances.
6. The amaria
A decorated palanquin in which the bride (and sometimes the groom) is carried on shoulders — the highlight of the evening.
7. Outfits
- Takchita and caftan in several colours.
- The Fassi outfit with gold and crown.
- The Chedda from the Oriental region.
- Amazigh outfit with silver jewellery.
- Sahrawi melhfa.
- Northern outfits with Andalusian touches.
8. Food and music
Mint tea and pastries (gazelle horns, ghriba, fekkas), then pastilla, tajine or méchoui; music from dakka marrakchia to Andalusian and chaabi, often followed by a DJ.
Bring these traditions into your invitation
Tell your story in chapters, add a programme with the amaria entrance, and choose a template with zellige, lanterns or roses. See our wedding templates.
FAQ
What is the amaria?
A decorated palanquin in which the bride is carried on shoulders during the zaffa, the highlight of a Moroccan wedding.
What does a neggafa do?
She dresses and adorns the bride, provides outfits, jewellery and the amaria, and manages her entrances and outfit changes.
