I have never been to a Tunisian wedding but as I live in Germany I have a fair amount of experience of german weddings. People don't tend to dress up quite so much as in the UK (not many hats), but a nice suit or dress(as it will probably be very hot in August in Tunisia )should be acceptable and as your friend said not too short.

Sunstruck

It's Tunisia, it's August so just think cool. You may want a hat but it will be to keep the sun off your head. Find out exactly how many wedding do's there will be, and where and when.

In a traditional wedding there are 4 separate parts to the wedding with a couple of added extras.

Signing of the contracts - often done at Bride's home or can take place in the local town hall.

Bride's Night party usually at Bride's home - women only and dancing like you've never seen before!

Groom's Night party, groom's home

Groom brings his new bride to her new home.

Additionally there is a trip to the Hamman and a feast of Sabba'h.

Tunisian women love makeup and bright colours and relish the opportunity to dress up and party. A bit of bling and sparkle on the fashion front will go down well. If you haven't seen it there is a post on Tunisian weddings on the forum. A search should find it. Any questions then feel free to ask.

i hope to go to a wedding again this year, also august. Just waiting to see if I can get time off work!

Dorra

Dorra
let us know when you get back what is was like, info may be usefull for others. As you said it is not going to be a totally traditional wedding as the bride is german and she may want to tone the celebrations and traditions down a bit.

Sorry Judith, my wedding will be the full blown version again. But I agree it is common to do things down especially with a european bride or groom. Last year I attended the legal ceremony in the town hall. In this case the Groom was doing his military service in France and the legalities needed to be done ahead of the main celebrations in order to apply for the bride's visa to France.

If you're interested take a look at this link
http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=30449&highlight=tunisian+weddings+khniss

A traditional wedding is very different and exhausting for all parties concerned but is a very special occasion. I can see why many couples content themselves with a trip to the Mairie.

Sorry Dorra
I mixed up names I should have asked Sunstruck to let us know about the wedding she is attending. The wedding you are going to sounds exhausting.

Of all of the weddings that I have been to in Tunisia, on the main night (the last night), you tend to find the Tunisians dressed in dresses that look like they have cost thousands of pounds, but in reality there are lots of shops in Tunisia where you can hire these extravagent looking dresses for I think about 50 dinars (£20) upwards. It is worth looking around because I have always found myself feeling really underdressed at these weddings, even when I have been wearing what I thought was a really smart, dressy looking outfit. They do their hair and put on tons of makeup also and they all sit there and look at each other, eyeing up each others outfits!!!

Hi,

Thanks everyone for your advice and tips. Fortunately this is just going to be a one day/evening event. I think I'd cry if I had to come up with 4 different outfits !! I went shopping yesterday and am relieved to see that this is most definitely the summer of the dress, so hopefully I'll be able to come up with something decent.

Judith - I'll certainly update this post when I'm back which will be mid August.

Dorra - not sure how good I am at bling but it's good to know it'll be hard to overdo it.

Bennamelanie - I thought it was just the bride that was that done up !! I have seen a few Tunisian brides and have always been amazed that all that make-up stays put in that heat! I don't think I'll risk leaving the outfit till I get to Tunisia, just in case I don't find a suitable one to hire in the few days before the wedding. I also can't imagine my boyfriend being too amused at being dragged round lots of dress hire shops . But I will dig out the sparkle

Thanks again,

A.