(Disclaimer: I’m not married, never have come close) December was wedding month in Kenya, and I was privileged to attend several weddings including one wedding of the year.

All weddings are great days for the couple, who want the functions to be as spectacular and memorable as possible. While some of the weddings I attended were of the well-to-do, I also saw some where resources were stretched to the limit in a bid to have the best outfits, food, venue, honeymoon, motorcade, etc.

And when you combine these wedding day expenses with the cost of visits to two rural homes, no matter the location, to satisfy the traditional African aspects of the wedding union (with food, gifts, dowry, transportation of singing groups etc) a typical wedding can easily run over a million shillings.

This is no way for a young couple to start off their lives especially if they plan to have children soon. There must be a way of cutting down some traditions (African and Western) to make wedding simpler, more affordable affairs that will not bankrupt the family members who finance them