MY GIRL FRIEND'S VIEW ON THE TREND OF WEDDINGS IN THE 21st CENTURY IN AFRICA

The western culture, precisely white weddings are the hottest trends of weddings now in our African tradition.

First of all a wedding is a day's activity in a Church to celebrate a union between man and woman who have taken the bold step of spending the rest of their lives together as husband and wife. Unfortunately, most of us have misunderstood the relevance of white or church weddings.

Marriage is a union between a man and a woman in the sight of God, now the keyword here is "God". This means that even without any other person apart from the officiating priest you are still married since it is in the sight of God. However, one must be fully convinced about the following; I'm I sure I want to live with him/her for the rest of my life?, Do I have enough money for the kind of wedding I yearn for?, Where do I live after the wedding?, Can I cater for a honeymoon? Is a honeymoon necessary at the first place? I'm I comfortable with my home?, Do I have enough money to spend on home expenses? What about the kids coming forth, their needs and wants? These are just a few questions we should ask ourselves before taking that bold step.

Weddings are very beautiful, a day's occasion where the bride and groom are the center of attraction, where they are treated as a King and a Queen. Of course everyone would love to be treated as such. It’s such a lovely occasion to experience. But not when you do not have enough funds. There is a say that goes, "cut your coat according to your size". The amount of money you have determines the kind of wedding you can have.

TRADITIONAL WEDDING

Some couples spend their whole life savings on just a day's show forgetting of what to depend on or even where to lay their heads after marriage. Some even go to the extreme of going for loans just to have extravagant weddings, loans that they may not even be able to pay off. When couples find themselves in these kinds of situations, marital problems begin to pop up and divorce is likely to happen.

We should rather invest in our future rather than concentrating on spending a whole life's investment on just a day's program where we even please people we don't know or have never even come across. Yes we can have luxurious and extravagant weddings but that is only if we can afford.

Marriage is between the couples, God and the officiating priest and parents of both parties. It doesn't matter even if you are not able to have many guests,what matters is the union.

Finally to the ladies out there,please be understanding to your partners. Learn to be contempt with what you have. The fact that lady ‘A’ had a luxurious wedding does not mean you should have the same. Your financial status may have a vast difference for all you know. Let us concentrate more on the union and not the "eatables" or the live media coverage of our "one in town" weddings so that we can have sweet and long lasting marriages.