There are several attires that brides can put on during their traditional ceremonies but most of the brides make mistakes and end up looking hideous on their functions. There are two commonly out on traditional wears by brides in Uganda and these include the Mishanana which come in different designs and the gomesis. This article is to help us future brides to get to know how to choose the best traditional wear and look our best on our traditional weddings.

We have all attended different functions and seen both smart and shabby brides on such days and this always makes us want to look better than the previous bride we have seen and that is why we have to look at the different factors that we need to put into consideration before choosing a good traditional wear for our functions.

Before we look at the factors that one can look at when choosing the best traditional wear, we will look at the different traditional wears that ladies mostly put on when it comes to traditional weddings. As earlier on stated, there are majorly two traditional wears that are put on by brides all over Uganda and these include

Mishanana

Mishanana is mostly put on by brides that come from the western part of Uganda and they come in different sizes, color, design and material. As it is with the culture in the west, the bride appears before her guests three times and these are

• The first time she comes out, her task is to look for the groom and show other guests who he is.
• The second time she comes out is when the groom and his friends showcase the different gifts brought to the family of the girl.
• The last time she moves out is when they she is getting her engagement ring and then seeing off her guests.

Gomesis

These are majorly put on by Ladies from central, East and Northern Uganda. During the introduction ceremony especially for the Baganda, the bride appears four times before her guests and these are

• The first time she appears is to greet the groom and the guests.
• The second time she appears is when the groom is bringing in gifts for the parents as a sign of appreciation.
• The third time, it is to cut cake and serve her guests.
• The fourth time is to bring out kabo ka muwala and see off her guests.

The above shows you that you will have to change for every time you make an appearance and the traditional wear should have different designs and color. This shows you that you need to be fully prepared when purchasing the traditional wear and you need to have a well-planned budget for them.

Identify the right material for the bridal wear

There are different materials on the market when it comes to bridal wear and it is up to you to identify and decide on which one you are going to put on. It is mostly advisable that if you are small, you should not put on clothes with a heavy material because they will look heavy on your slender body. You should choose clothes that are light to match your size and this also applies to the big sized brides who should put on not so heavy clothes as this will add a lot of weight on them.

Choose colors that match with the tone of your skin

Color is key to any cloth that you choose and you should make sure that whichever color you get matches with your skin color. It is absurd when a dark skinned person puts on brightly colored clothes like bright red as this will make them look like Christmas lights.

Brightly colored gomesis should be put on by light skinned people because it will bring out their complexion and for the dark skinned brides, they should get traditional clothes that are not so bright like a peach color or all the shades that are not bright.

Consider your age

Age matters when you are choosing your traditional wear for the day. If you a bit older avoid choosing designs that do not match your age bracket as this will make you look funny. You should be able to stick to designs that fit in your age bracket. And if you are young, there are a lot of fashions that you can choose from that will make you look great on your big day.

The body size of the bride

Smaller brides should go for traditional wears that have larger patterns on them and not so heavy material to show off their slender body size and for the fleshy brides, it is advisable if they go for traditional wear that is of heavy material and smaller patterns so that they do not look bigger than their actual body size.

The duration of the function

Most functions take place during day but sometimes there are unavoidable delays that lead to the function starting a bit late. As you are shopping for your gomesis or mishanana out time into consideration. The lighter colors are more visible during day and when it starts getting dark, you can get a color that is not dark like cream and match it with a dark sash so that it is visible even to those who are at the back of the tent. Buy more of the bright colors but if you are sure the function will not precede the actual given time you can throw in the darker colors during day.

The fashion of the traditional wear

Fashion comes and goes and when preparing for you traditional wedding ceremony, you should put this into consideration. The fashion that was used four months ago in January might not work for you in June because by then there will be a new trending fashion for brides. Therefore you should choose a fashion that is trending and that matches your style and if you are not aware of the fashion that is on, ask the different designers or research online for the trending fashion. Do not be left behind when it comes to fashion whether it is a mushanana or gomesi.

The matching clothes

At almost every function, the bride wants to do matching fashion from the jewelry to the shoes. Do not over do this because it usually does not come out right and therefore you should just match a few things and keep it simple. For example if you have a bright gomesi or mushanana you should at least go for a darker shade of shoes or jewelry so that the bright color comes out right.

The tailor

After choosing the materials and designs that you want, one person remains and they will determine whether you are going to be smart on your function or shabby and that is the tailor. A tailor can ruin your day if they are not monitored and therefore you should try as much as possible to check on the progress of the sewing in order to ensure that the measurements are the right ones and that zero or no mistakes are made.

Consider your status in society and that of your guests

When most of the guests are high profile, they rarely go for the shiny clothes. Therefore it is advisable that you put on something that is a bit simple but elegant and not those shiny gomesis with a lot of embroidery on them. Simplicity with class always works wonders but if your function is held in the village with most of your guests from the same place, you can go for the glittery version of a gomesi as this will impress them more than the simple version of the traditional wear.

The type of shoes

This normally ha to do with the color and the height of the shoes that you are going to put on. The color should at least blend with whatever you are putting on and it should not necessary be of the same color like the gomesi or mushanana that you are putting on that is It can be of a neutral color so for easy blending.

And when it comes to the height of the shoes, please consider the height of your husband. If your husband is short make sure you put on heels that do not make it seem as though you are towering over him and if he is tall, you can put on heels so as to try and match his height.

In order to have an extremely good day, you need to fit in your clothes so that necessary adjustments are made and then take all your traditional wear home at least two days before the function including the accessories so that you are not stressed on that day and as you select your bridal wear, make sure the colors that you chose for your maids does not clash with your clothes.