UNITED STATES—Recently I attending a wedding and it was amazing. I had this level of glee that I never expected. I think in my entire lifetime I’ve only attended three weddings. Yeah, that is quite a small number if you ask me, but a wedding makes one think about love, the future and life in general.
When it comes to marriage, I’m not one who believes you have to be married to have a happy life. For most, a wedding or marriage (depends on who you ask) is about ensuring you have legal protections in place. We all hear stories about people who marry so young, that less than a year or two later they have divorced. It’s unfortunate because the divorce rate is fairly high in America when it comes to new marriages.
Attending my cousin’s wedding made me realize that it’s a beautiful experience. I mean can you imagine having a group of people watching your every move and seeing you devote your love to your significant other. I’ve always told myself if I get married I wanted something super small. I feel like I would have an anxiety attack watching all those eyes look at me, but perhaps all has changed.
I’ve come to realize how powerful a wedding ceremony can be. It brings people together, those that you would never imagine, not just family, but complete strangers that you never met. It’s kind of funny, but not really, because my cousin who is African-American married a Caucasian woman.
I’m a believer that love is love, you can’t dictate or choose who you love. So many people in my family were a bit hesitant about what the interaction would be at the wedding. To be honest it was AMAZING. I drew up relationships with people I’ve never met, discussed old times and had a blast on the dance floor. If someone were to ask me a year ago if I would ever get married, I would’ve have said probably not. After attending that wedding, I’m certain it’s something I want in the near future, but only when the right woman comes into my life.
If I marry, I want it to be something that lasts forever. Of course in life you can never predict the future, but being a child of divorce, the ramifications can destroy a child in some cases, especially those who are younger. The one thing that continues to boggle my mind is how expensive a wedding can cost. While I won’t disclose the precise amount my cousin spent on his wedding, I will say the amount could be life-changing for some people.
I guess when you begin to factor in the cost of flowers, the church, the dresses, the tuxedos, the food, the venue, the alcohol, invitations and a host of other things you never considered, the price tag ramps up a lot quicker than one would imagine. I’ve always thought of weddings truly being about two people, but I realized it’s not just about celebrating the love of those two people; it’s about bringing families together.
Weddings don’t just unite two people into one, they unite families and they sometimes bring out the best in people that you never imagined ever existed. Love is indeed a beautiful thing.
