My girlfriend’s wedding was this past weekend and it made me realize all over again why weddings are the event that culminates the epitome of black love.
Yes, I dreamed about having a big wedding with a gorgeous wedding gown and being a “princess for a day” when I was younger. Like most young girls, I envisioned being the most beautiful girl in the room and having the ability to dictate what everyone in the room wears, especially their girlfriends and groom. Watching my girlfriend’s smile stretch across her face, as she walked down the isle with her father, was eye opening to me watching as a spectator and it occurred to me that being a “princess for a day” had nothing to do with the happiness shining in her eyes.
My girlfriend was celebrating love with her fiance, but most importantly, she was surrounded by love. Her nieces were the flower girls, sisters and close friends were bridesmaids, brothers by blood and choice standing beside the groom, the audience consisting of aunties, grandparents, cousins close and far removed, along with friends and associates sprinkled throughout.
Weddings will always be the ultimate celebration because it involves the cornerstone of black culture: family. What other event calls for the entire family to get dressed up and have fun together among other family and friends?
Music, laughter and love are the only ingredients required. While young women are focused on their gown and jewelry, the wedding and reception are actually more for family. From supporting the bride in her crazy demands to holding the groom down in with his anxiety over living up to his fiance’s expectations; families are the backdrop for any successful wedding. Our families and friends snap pictures while “ooohing and ahhhing” over the bridal party and at the reception they tell stories of the bride and groom while they were young and later glide over the dance floor doing a collective rendition of the electric slide. It’s like a glamorous family reunion with a reason for everyone to smile.
Families offer the support that both the bride and groom feed from and they are the foundation for any wedding. Whether yesterday or today, Love is always worth celebrating and I suspect it always will be.
What are your favorite wedding traditions?