Throughout the wedding process chocolate is often consumed at dangerously high levels and your wallet, well forget about it! While you balloon through stress eating, your wallet and bank balance begin an extreme diet.
But, and there is a very big BUT, weddings are also kind of amazing. Besides all the romantic hoo-ha and pretty decorations, weddings can be super fun. And I have a list of reasons to prove my case.
Point one: weddings are a full on food fest. I mean think about it, there are canapés, entrees, a delicious main course (as long as you get the good alternate drop, which usually involves chicken), dessert, and the pièce de résistance…the cake. Oh the cake, it's all worth it for the cake alone don't you think? And the best thing about it all, it's delicious! Have you ever had bad wedding food? Well I suppose some of you have actually had bad wedding food. I hadn't really given that too much thought…but the point is I haven't had bad wedding food. So I can safely say that all wedding food (so far) is scrumptious!
Point two: weddings are a marvelous opportunity to dress up in your best formal attire. Now for all you lads out there this point probably isn't a plus point; but the truth is we don't care what you think! We know that you hate to wear suits. We know that your necktie is always too tight and uncomfortable and has to be yanked at constantly just to prove this very point. But all men look good in suits; you look debonair and sleek. So embrace the opportunity to suit up. Wearing a suit makes you look like James Bond even though you're probably closer to Johnny English! And for us girls, well don't get me started. Dressing up for weddings is like dressing up for our own personal Oscars ceremony; we don heels and fancy frocks and we strut around like we are Angelina Jolie (sans the protruding leg of course). Although there is always the risk of a fashion fatality when it comes to wedding celebrations such as losing a stiletto, ripping that designer dress you got on sale or surrendering that brand new suit jacket to an attractive female guest (only to find out later that she already has a date to the wedding), dressing up is a definite wedding perk, so no complaining boys!
Okay the third reason is a good one; I think it is one that will even interest the boys. In fact it is probably my favourite point. So here it goes…weddings are a perfectly acceptable and safe place to pull out some truly atrocious dance moves. That's right the lawn mower, the sprinkler and even the robot are all welcome here. Indeed they are encouraged! Bad dance moves are a wedding staple, especially in my family. My mother has been doing it for years. She has done pom pom dances, fan dances and even a ribbon routine on several wedding dance floors. I don't know where she gets these dance moves from, maybe they are a divine intervention or a spiritual gift or something.
Either way she typically ends up on the dance floor with a centerpiece or decoration which she cleverly constructs into a dancing prop. These moves are both embarrassing and spectacular and have provided plenty of material for my monthly therapy sessions! So I encourage all of you to embrace this point. Dance your little hearts out and if possible incorporate a centerpiece or wedding favor into your dance routine, it always makes it more fun, I promise you!
Now this leads me to point four, my most important and serious point; weddings are an amazing opportunity for Christian couples to celebrate their love for one another. Now you may say, well no, weddings are celebrated by every culture and religion; what makes a Christian wedding so different?
Well there is one very big difference, and you know who I am talking about! For Christians, weddings aren't just about celebrating two people in love who are willing to make a momentous commitment to one another. They are about celebrating two people uniting together in Christ. Whilst they love and honour that person that stands beside them at the altar, a Christian couple recognizes that Christ must come before their partner in every instance. This point may sound pretty crazy to the secular world, but when you know the awesomeness of our God, no one can every compare or replace that, not even your soon to be husband or wife.
So while weddings provide many delicious opportunities to eat, dance and dress up, they are also an amazing opportunity for Christians to celebrate the love of God; the love that he has for us all, both as individuals and as couples.
Alison Barkley lives in Newcastle and is a post graduate student at Macleay College in Sydney in book editing and publishing.
Alison Barkley's archive of articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/alison-barkley.html