Keeping wedding gifts and money safe in Ghana

The gift table

People posing as family have walked off with wedding gifts and envelopes in Kumasi and Accra. In one case an 18-year-old told guests he was the relative in charge of gifts and took about GH₵6,500 across several weddings. In another, a woman was convicted of stealing GH₵15,000 by posing as gift-table staff.

• Name two or three people from both families as the gift team, and tell the MC.
• Have the MC announce who they are, so guests hand gifts to no one else.
• Use a locked box for envelopes, and take it away during the reception, not at the end.
• Keep a simple list of who gave what, so the thank-you messages are right.

The Team section in My wedding holds the names and numbers of your gift team, ushers and MC in one place both families can see.

Spraying money is now an offence

In July 2026 the Bank of Ghana warned that spraying cedi notes at events, making money bouquets, stepping on notes and using them as decoration are offences, and police have made arrests. Guests can still give money. Put your MoMo number on the invitation, or show it on a screen at the reception, and guests send it from their own phones. Wedding in Ghana never touches that money.

Paying vendors

Ghana’s Consumer Protection Bill had still not been passed at the end of 2025, so a written agreement is your main protection if something goes wrong.

• Agree in writing what is included, the date, the balance and what happens if either side cancels.
• Pay deposits only to the business name and number on the vendor’s profile.
• Never pay a new number sent in a message, however urgent the story.
• Keep every receipt, and track deposits and balances in the Vendors tab of your plan.

Romance and “bride” scams

Courts in Ghana have dealt with people who invented a bride or a wedding to get money from others. If someone you have never met in person needs money for a wedding, stop and check with family first.

Sources: MyJoyOnline, “Wedding thief arrested in Kumasi”; Graphic Online, “Event thieves invade public functions”; Graphic Online, “Bank of Ghana warns spraying money at events, making money bouquets is a crime” (16 July 2026); Citi Newsroom on the Consumer Protection Bill (December 2025).