Rings,weddings and the rest

I was reading an article in the Nation about weddings the other day and it got me to thinking about them.What is the significance of a big weddings and their expense?Yes I know it is a big day and has to be shared with all your family.That to me was understandable way back when in the days when people lived in villages and close knit communities where everyone knew each other.But nowadays in these big weddings the bride and groom hardly know who is who, some of the people there are just distant relatives or friends of mum and dad.You end up incurring large bills for catering and there will always be some cheap punks who will bring you a cheap set of plates or a tacky ajanta wall clock.Then there is the big white wedding dress, as far as I know people wore white to signify purity.How when in many cases the groom has been tapping that ass for a long time and in some cases they even have kids!!Then there are wedding and engagement rings.I for one don't see how the value of the ring is used to measure the extent of the jamaas love and devotion.I once suggested to a chic wouldnt it be better that the guy bought a ring that is worth a couple of hundred bucks and used the rest on important things like down payment on the house and other important things.The chic was like no way!If the guy can put cash down on a car then he should do the same for the ring!I was like wtf!!No wonder marriage rate is going down, if a woman is goin to gauge me according to the ring that I buy BOUNCE!!Then to make things worse she says that she would make sure that she gets the ring on her birthday or valentines so if they break up he can't get it back!Don't get me wrong, it is good to have expressions of your love but the idea of me going into debt for a wedding or engagement ring makes me want to throw up!BLECH!
Well I guess at heart I am a simple guy because I believe that you shouldnt save for a wedding but for marriage.Have any of you out there been for what people used to call pre weddings?Those parties that were just attempts to extort money from people. and those games that the MC would play "If you are wearing a white shirt give 500/="while going round naming certain things that the crowd have and what it would cost them.I once recall being derailed into going for one of those with my boys, when we were "guilty" of certain qualities and were suppossed to go up on stage to give our donations no one moved.The MC looked at us and we looked back, most fun staring competition I have ever had!Oh almost forgot those damn expensive flowers that people had to buy at the door.If I was a frequent attendee of those I would have started coming with my own ready made from digs.I mean if you cant afford a wedding and we have to pay what about your marriage?
Even though my attendance of weddings is poor and I do limit it to receptions.Let me not even start about how at one wedding the pastor asked all the single folk to stand up and said that God must have brought them there for a reason.That reminds me about this unnerving preoccupation churches in Kenya have with marriage.To the extent of having a singles ministry.You staunch churchgoers out there please let me know what ministry in the Bible that a singles ministry is based on cz most other ministries in churches are based upon those that existed in Jesus' time, anyway if you can't win new followers out there you might as well have your people get married and create them.
Moving on, I think that small is best when it comes to weddings.Small and tasteful is best prefferably a garden wedding.But at least that is not an issue that I have to worry about for a long time to come!