The Dark Sides of White Weddings----By Ajayi Beloved

Values: a body of beliefs and guiding principles form the basis for human lifes and living. Human values determine their actions and lifes in its entiety. Generally, these values are themselves determined by human priorities. The origin of values includes societal, peergroups, religious and self definitions and influences. Very many times, values have become injected into human minds which they often do not give careful rational considerations but rather imbibes them and live strictly by them. This in itself aren't right. Humans must learn to embrace their lives as essentially what they want and create it to be. Marriage important as it is begins with some forms of ceremonial events anywhere in the world. These events take different dimensions and styles which are culturally defined on the basis of the geographical, sociocultural, religious and socioeconomic characteristics of a people. Irrespective of the style taken in the making of 1 from 2, the core importance of the accompanying ceremony is the need for earthly and heavenly witnessing where a supernatural being(s), families, community and well wishers acknowledge the initiation of the glorious institution of marriage among the concerned parties thus sharing in their joy and pronouncing blessings. Suffice me to mention that the most important aspect of the life of the individuals concerned transcends the initial ceremony but rests on marriage itself. Thus wedding which is an intro to marriage has become over time confused and taken to be of more importance by men.
The practice of white wedding has become globalized through diffusions of cultural values brought about by civilization. White wedding has become incorporated into the African context and now forms an almost indelible aspect of solemnization today. *White wedding is an abstraction of the western culture*. It is initially a system alien to Africans. It had therefore become necessary to dissect the importance of this system to Africans and its sustenance as a solemnization procedure within the African domain.
The attendant burden that precludes wedding has grown over the years. Given the wide complexity that envelopes current day weddings, the simplicity of conduct of solemnization as typical of African traditional weddings in the past is fast becoming evasive. Conversely, these complexities associated with current day weddings has led to a heightened minimum societal expectations from everyone considering to enter into the marital estate not minding the economic and otherwise status of the individuals concerned.
The struggles to meet up with the societal standards of what weddings should be has landed many persons into untold dangers and hardship. Left for me, I rather would have wedding specifications to be individually determined rather than what the society thinks it should be. Weddings should be more of what the intending parties calls and designs it to be than what the society thinks of it
                      Ajayi David E (The Beloved) (c) 2019