You can feel the love vibrations between these guys. Real love is awesome. |
"Dennis, wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holiest state of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour and keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her so long as ye both shall live?"
"Carol, wilt
thou have this man to be thy wedded husband, to live together after God's
ordnance in the holiest state of matrimony? Wilt thou obey him and serve him,
love, honour and keep him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all other,
keep thee only unto him so long as ye both shall live?"
It's
marvelous how the voices of the groom and the bride quaver with quintessential
love as they respond, "I do" or "I will" all the while not tearing eyes from
each other. It's a wow moment the love you see bubbling in their eyes – the
most pristine romantic love you will ever see in any pair of eyes. You don't
have to be a believer to accept that the awesome beauty of that moment has its
roots in the fact that marriage is truly ordained by God.
That is why
I was shocked and completely taken aback at the last wedding I attended when
the groom could not look the bride in the eye as the vows were being exchanged.
He cast his eyes down or looked at some distant something yet the girl was looking at
him like she wanted to dissolve in his eyes. Even when he said "I do", it was a
disinteresting mumble, lacking the genuine passion that typify those two magic
words.
So many questions raced into my mind: was this guy forced into marrying this girl? Was it an arranged marriage? Did the girl blackmail him into sliding a ring down her finger? Was he already regretting and couldn't wait for this to end so he could return to his life?
So many questions raced into my mind: was this guy forced into marrying this girl? Was it an arranged marriage? Did the girl blackmail him into sliding a ring down her finger? Was he already regretting and couldn't wait for this to end so he could return to his life?
A groom who
cannot look his bride in the eye, or a bride who cannot look her groom in the
eye as the vows are exchanged is reminiscent of the couple who insist on
switching off the lights every time they want to make love. It could be that
one has the worst case of self-esteem or is too shy to maintain eye contact but
how are you going to romantically love your spouse if you cannot hold hands and
maintain eye contact?
I cannot
also forget the awkward kiss – how it mars the beauty of weddings! To be
honest, it's not in our conservative psyche as Africans to kiss especially in
public. Kissing remains a Western thing and we are doing it like one groping in
the dark. So when the benevolent priest told the groom to kiss the bride after
the vows and rings had been exchanged, the guy plunged in recklessly;
enveloping the poor bride with his huge mouth, and proceeding to lick her up
and down like a cow licking a pillar of salt. Some people snickered, and most
senior citizens, including the parents, looked down, embarrassed and confused.
I think if you cannot kiss right in public, it's only sensible that you reserve the awkward kissing
for the bedroom and save your guests the embarrassment.