The story
Tlemcen Wedding Costume Festival in Tlemcen
A festival in Tlemcen dedicated to the chedda, the city's elaborate gold-embroidered traditional bridal costume, featuring exhibitions of historic and contemporary ensembles alongside craft demonstrations by the skilled embroiderers and jewelers who carefully produce this centuries-old, distinctly urban Algerian wedding tradition each and every year.
Tlemcen's traditional bridal costume, the elaborate gold-embroidered chedda, ranks among the most recognizable regional wedding dress traditions in Algeria, layering a velvet gown, ornate headpiece and substantial jewelry into an ensemble historically requiring hours to assemble and, in earlier generations, passed down or lent between families given its considerable cost and craftsmanship.