SATURDAY LIVE

In most communities, Saturday of the wedding week signifies another huge celebration; more cooking, fun, singing and dancing as well as the dinner party. During all this turmoil of events and excitement, no one really stops to think for a moment about the emotions of the bride and groom to be. To all, they are the happiest people in the world (rightly so) and there is a failure to recognize that they could be having bouts of anxiety and in some cases depressions. All these could arise as a result of expectations and fears about the coming weeks and possibly years. It rarely happens that a bride takes off before her marriage ceremony is finalized. The repercussion for this action is very traumatic. Nonetheless, the bride has to go along with the excitement. 

The first batch of ‘physical transformations’ starts today in anticipation of the evening and Sunday. The beautician is usually called in to groom the bride to perfection. She fixes the brides hair, wax her eyebrows fix her artificial eye lashes and most at times give her a manicure and pedicure. In effect, she changes completely with a very beautiful glow. 

It is not always the job of the bride to plan her wedding though there are quite a few times when her opinion is sought in some matters of the ceremony. She gets to choose the clothes, jewelry, shoes and bags she will wear but mostly under supervision of an elderly woman in the family. Most at times her clothes and accessories must stand out from all that others will be wearing on that day and also complement each other.  

It is a common trend in recent times to host dinner parties for the couple mostly on Saturdays on the basis it can be afforded. Thus a venue is booked in advance and relatives, neighbors and friends are invited. However, lavish spending is not advisable especially when the same money can be used effectively by the couple. The groom and bride are the celebrants and sit together for the first time publicly. Thanks to modernity and globalization, such rulings about Islam prohibiting this meeting prior to officiating the marriage have evolved. The couple takes their first steps together in a dance especially for them (as happens in western cultures) to the admiration of all present. It is also an avenue for single ladies and young men to fraternize and create friendships. There is merry making and the couple gets showered with money especially when they dance. 

On the other hand, in cases where there will not be a dinner, an alternative late afternoon feast is organized to commemorate this day. it is much more humble and not as financially constraining as the former. A DJ is booked in advance to be present with loud speakers to play music to the merry of the crowd present. The bride comes out dressed in different dresses several times to dance and show off. Most times she wears dresses made from lace and batik fabrics sewn to perfection. The day ends in anticipation for the ‘Grande’ Sunday and the end of spinsterhood. It is just another day in waiting!