Do you remember a time before COVID, about 724 years ago when we used to attend large weddings and throw grand wedding receptions? I mean, those weddings could last for days and guest numbers are anywhere from 1000 to whatever number, depending on how many plus ones your plus ones are bringing.
Those were the days. Or so we think. As much as I loved attending those weddings, it put so much pressure on the couple and their families to try to meet up. Just so that they can have the best makeup person, the best asoebi, the best vendors in general, and be featured on Bella Naija and the rest. And that’s where you see people spending small fortunes to feed people that won’t even remember your new last name by the next morning.
So, if there is anything 2020 was good for, it would be that it taught us Nigerians that we can actually have simple weddings without your Aunt’s cousin’s gateman and his two children in attendance.
Not that I’m getting married soon (I still have my Gamophobia to work on), but I was lowkey envious of people that could have small intimate weddings this year without pressure from their families to throw a big party. It was often small, and the real meaning of the ceremony was even more evident. It was all so beautiful to watch.
That being said, I am already planning my future elopement where I get to wear a white beach dress and be barefoot on the sand, with a wreath on my head and a rent-a-pastor ministering the whole thing.
I’m kidding lol. I still plan to live out all my Pinterest dreams with my traditional white dress and a stained glass orthodox church.
Moral lesson? None really. Go ahead and throw the wedding of your dreams. If you want it lavish, then go all out! (while ensuring your guests wear masks, of course). But if you are not so sure about the whole shebang, go with your heart and invite those closest to you. Make it yours.
It’s the marriage that matters. Not the wedding.
