The Wedding


"I present to you the latest couples in town!" I heard the priest say as I walked into the jam-packed church. I had chosen to be fashionably late for this one because
 1.  It was not my wedding and
 2. I didn't even know any of the couples.
Before you judge or call me jobless (which I am not by the way), I got to watch 30 couples get married. Yes 30! Although I missed the vows(the best part of every wedding), I was part of the standing ovation and the dancing that followed.

Amidst the chaos, I was able to squeeze through sweating and gyrating bodies and make it to the front. I had to see for myself, the couples that had agreed to share their 'special' day with twenty-nine others, a day that I don't even plan to share at all. Forgive my language, but I was stunned to set my eyes on the most mismatched pairs in the entire universe. There was a couple that reminded me of my grandparents. There was this beautiful young lady who seemed ecstatic to be in the arms of a man that could father her. There was also this old man that stood tall and proud in his near-white shirt and matching trousers, with his equally old bride standing some miles away (I could swear that she was embarrassed by him). There was even a woman who could not stop dancing until she had to take her baby out to rock him to sleep. Then, there was this man (maybe I should say boy because he looked like he had just clocked 18) that was almost invisible beside the young, tall and beautiful woman who stood out in the huge crowd with her royal blue red-carpet-worthy dress and a cream fascinator. She reminded me of that chief bridesmaid that made the bride overly protective of her man. As I took a picture of her, I noticed her belly. She looked like two babies was going to drop out of her with the barest sneeze. That was when I realised that it was the same for almost all the women standing before me, both the ones that were excited and those that were not (yes some of them were not smiling).

I do not know what marriage really is (although I really enjoy arguing about it like a know-all), and most people will most likely have a different point of view from mine, but in my heart, I felt that people who had been together long before marriage, were definitely ready for the long haul. Tell me that they are only getting married because of their children and I will tell you of the countless marriages that ended regardless of this fact. Tell me that they can't possibly last and I will tell you that they have already lasted longer than most marriages. Does it mean it is better to test-run the marriage before getting into it? Should we have our kids and make sure that we can still live peacefully, before we tie the knot? I was relating this story to a friend and she told me that some people would prefer to be sure that they can bear children before bringing their wives before the altar. I am nowhere near 30 and I am too inexperienced to judge the women that allow their men to make such decisions, but I have a plan mapped out in my head. It says: love, marriage, baby. The first two can be interchanged(no offence to the 'love-of-my-life' community), but I refuse to make any compromise for the last.

You have probably written me off as a confused girl with my contradictory opinions and I agree with you, but who isn't? Marriage is most likely the thing I fear the most, after death, because to me, it only ends when God decides to take one person, just like the vows say. There is no pause button. Once you get in, you have to accept whatever you are served (except violence of course, butthat is a talk for another day). Despite the fact that I know of marriages that only lasted for seventy-two days, I still believe strongly in forever. Maybe not 'happily ever after' but definitely ever after.

PS: Can you believe they were supposed to be 51, but some men could not make the bride price cut off? I wonder why parents will not just allow their children to do things the right way. It is when someone elopes that problem will start.
PS: Thank you Julian for telling me that attending a mass wedding is not a stupid thing to do (despite my test).
PS: I just broke my no-name rule.

# TheRitaSide

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