Nigerian actress Ruth Kadiri has advised young couples to keep their weddings simple, saying they do not need elaborate ceremonies to begin married life.
Kadiri encouraged couples to consider a small family gathering or a modest ceremony with a limited number of guests instead of feeling compelled to organise several expensive events.
“I do want to encourage people, young people, go to your father’s house, your mother, your father, your uncle, two people, carry from inside, mother, father, two people, pay the right price, go home,” she said.
For couples who still want a wedding celebration, the actress suggested inviting a small number of people, completing the legal ceremony and having a prayer with a pastor afterwards.
“You want to do wedding, carry yourself, invite 30 people, go to court, from court, come back home, call pastor, let him pray, drink wine and sleep,” she said.
Kadiri argued that a wedding did not have to be a huge event, adding that a simple celebration could feel more like a birthday party than a major production.
“It could be like say you do birthday party,” she said.
The actress also spoke about the pressure Nigerian couples face to organise an engagement, court wedding, white wedding and traditional wedding, with some people believing their marriages would not succeed unless they completed every stage.
“Nigeria puts too much pressure on us. Engagement, courts, white wedding, traditional wedding,” she said.
“People genuinely feel that if they don’t go through this process, that their marriage will not work.”
