Band 6+: Weddings are more expensive in many countries when compared to the past. What is the reason behind this? Is this a positive or negative development? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge.

In recent times, it is observed that the cost of weddings are becoming exorbitant in several countries unlike in the past. While this situation could be attributed to adoption of Western wedding and peer pressure among the aspiring brides and grooms, It appears to me as a negative trend.

One of the major causes of high expenses of marriage is imitation of the Western practices. A significant number of youths in many nations have abandoned their traditional wedding styles for what is being practiced in the Europe, North America and other places. To elaborate further, the cost at which they buy their indigenous costumes is way cheaper compared to the culture being imitated, a trend that was not found in the past. As an illustration, in Nigeria, majority of the brides and grooms always appear in suits and gowns that are very expensive, during their marriage ceremonies. What is more, quite a number of wedding aspirants are being pressured by what their friends wear during their nuptials. Consequently, this can cause them to spend outrageously in order to live up to standards. These and other reasons are the possible causes of high cost of marriage nowadays.

However, this practice seems to be far from being a positive one in my opinion. This is because it can increase the population of the singles. By this, I mean that many individuals may be financially constraint to fund a white garment wedding ceremony. Subsequently, they might prefer to remain unmarried since they do not have enough money to cater for what is required of this form of marriage. Evidence abounds that a significant proportion of those above age thirty, who have not married in many places across the world, advocates for Western cultures. Thus, this lends credence to why adopting another man’s wedding practice could be a negative shift.

In conclusion, while imitating foreign’s wedding and pressure from colleagues could be responsible for high cost of marriage in today’s world, I believe it is not a positive shift as it can decrease the population of the married.