 by VC Edwards A wedding is a sacred ceremony and your wedding should be a reflection of your marriage-to-come. You don’t want a wedding that is a huge party of gimmicky activities that lack respect for the commencement of a life-long union between couple and God. A wedding lasts for a few hours; a marriage is to last for a lifetime. So, plan your wedding carefully to reflect the marriage you anticipate. WEDDING BUDGET. Don’t spend money you don’t have. So, scratch that big elaborate wedding, for an intimate and affordable one. DEBT. Don’t start your marriage with an overload of debt. Don’t buy the huge ring and the designer gown, on credit or with your last dime, not knowing how you will eat and live after the wedding, which only last for one day. BACHELOR PARTY. Don’t allow anyone to plan a bachelor or bachelorette party for you or your fiancé. Such parties undermine everything marriage stands for. Be leery of any “friend” who insists on surprising you with ungodly antics, and consider uninviting them to the wedding. Having friends or family host a brunch or dinner that everyone can attend is appropriate. And don’t allow anyone to bring inappropriate gifts. If your friends and family know you to be a Christian, consider inappropriate gifts intentionally disrespectful to you and your faith. WEDDING VOWS. Don’t include negative terms in your wedding vows. Don’t use a phrase like, “in health AND SICKNESS.” It is already declared by law that marriage is until one person dies, which constitutes every condition between life and death. Do not accentuate the negative in your vows. Rather, change the phrase to “health and long life.” YOUR FIANCE’S INPUT. Don’t ignore your future spouse in the planning of your wedding. Nothing about a wedding is more important than respecting your spouse and his wishes and family traditions. A man may not care about the décor and the details, but include him, and his family, in selecting some of the items, such as the food and the music. Make sure his “likes” are incorporated into that day, just as much as yours. COLD FEET. Don’t go forward with a marriage you are not certain of. A marriage that last only 6 months is a huge mark against your integrity. Putting a halt to the marriage before the wedding, is a disappointment, but you will bounce back a lot easier than those who get a divorce after a 6-month marriage, which created a physical, spiritual and legally binding tie with someone they now don’t want to have anything to do with. INVITATION LIST. One of the problems about weddings is that there is always a friend or family member that will try to sabotage the wedding, and the marriage. Even though weddings are a happy occasion, you can’t be nice, whereby you invite people who will come to your wedding, but will do everything except bless it. Don’t invite people, to your wedding, who are haters, whether they are labeled friends or family. When starting new, now is the time to clean up your friends’ list and lose those people you should have let go a long time ago. It won’t be pretty, but it will be beneficial for a lasting marriage. Having a small wedding gives a great excuse for not inviting the “haters” to your wedding, even for not inviting family members who are “wild cards” and who will not bless your marriage and won’t hesitate to ruin your wedding day. A small wedding works best because many friends and family will not be invited, so no single person feels left out. But, even if you do have a larger wedding, be prepared to leave people off your list who are not supportive of you and your new life in matrimony. To assure a solid foundation for a long and lasting marriage, read “How to Hear God to Prosper.” ©VC Edwards, 2017   |   |