Image Is mine||Edited on canva
The prompt for this week got me reminiscing on all the wedding ceremonies that I have attended and truth be told, they are just a handful. As many people would know, I'm not one that likes social gatherings with strangers and as such, I either avoid such ceremonies or I find a special spot for myself whenever I attend one ( the spot is always outside the wedding arena) .
Sometime ago, I had a wedding to attend; not like I had a choice. My cousin was getting married and I had to be there to show support. I had already planned out that day; "arrive at the venue, greet my family members, go on the errands that I would be sent (this part was inevitable), and finally, find a spot for just myself– a spot where I could see everything that was going on.
The day for the wedding ceremony arrived and things were going pretty well till the relations from the bride's family arrived. The bride's uncles started making a fuss about how the marriage was supposed to take place at the family house and that the bride was going against tradition so she had to appease the elders. The men looked really vicious and ready to put asunder.
The mother of the bride had to beg these men to at least allow the marriage to hold them and they would sort out their differences after the marriage. The mother of the bride succeeded and the men decided to give it a rest. Amidst all this calamity, the bride was still getting ready for her special day, oblivious to the turbulence.
The marriage began proper and everywhere was booming. With cheerful and smiling faces at every corner, this wedding ceremony was one of the best I had attended so far till it wasn't.
Uncooked Cow meat was supposed to be distributed among some family members (I still don't know why or how) and so the butcher set out to work. As the wedding ceremony was in progress, some family members were waiting in a line for the cow meat. Yet again, one of the men from the bride's family started making a fuss. He wanted to take the cow's head by all means. People around were trying to explain to him that the head of the cow was reserved for the head of the family but this man wouldn't have it.
The struggle went on for a while and in no time a large pot of party jollof was splattered on the floor. This was when the man calmed down. Of course, the guests didn't know that their portion of food had been cut due to one man's busybody but the food was rationed.
The mother of the bride was notified and her facial reaction gave her out. She hurriedly left the canopy where she was seated and ran to the backyard. In her bid to salvage the situation, she kept sending people up, down and everywhere. An observant person would notice the unrest as people were just walking in and out of the backyard with distress written on their faces.
The wedding ceremony came to an end and food was served but you know that situation where an usher is serving, she looks you in the eyeballs and skips you? Yes, that happened to many people. You could legit see the pain on people's faces.
The bride got to know about the mishap after her wedding and that when she started reacting. Trying to shout at her uncles for ruining her day and things of that sort. In all this, I was trying to calm my family members down (* a job that nobody sent me*).
Ps: the man didn't still get the cow head in the end. From what I heard, he left without any meat at all. Quite tragic.
The wedding ceremony went sideways but it's a good thing the couples didn't realise it till after the ceremony.
This post is in response to #hivenaija community prompt. Thank you for your time.
With love, wongi ✨
