Which is more important: Attendance or Contributions?

Contribution is meaningful Although marriage has of late become something of a plaything in the western world, getting married is still ranked as one of the merriest days of a person’s life. You can tell from the blooming faces on the lovebirds as they walk down the aisle, that they have never experienced a sweeter feeling. Little do they seem to know that with marriage, they have kissed goodbye to free spiritedness and independence; that they have indeed started a journey where they will have to cop with daily boredom, lack of adventure and all. Anyway, don’t mind what I just said…it’s simply me being pessimistic. I am not one you’d say loves to attend wedding, but I actually do love marriages, I hate divorce, I don’t mind dating although I half-read Joshua Harris’s “I kissed Dating Goodbye.” The case I bring you this time is about those people who will grace your wedding day without having made any contribution towards it… people who disappear during the wedding meetings but suddenly show up on d-day and mingle as if nothing happened. In their minds, they hope their presence will make up for their stingy behavior, but the fact is, they may as well not have attended. I am not talking about the usual guests, say your parent’s friends or friends’ friends; I’m talking about those people who kept referring to you as “tight buddy” until you pulled your wedding budget in their face. Let’s be straight; we all need each other. We should not be blind to our friends’ needs and act deaf when they need us the most. In this age, marriage comes with many expenses that you wouldn’t expect an average couple to foot every penny from their pockets. I expect that when a friend confides in you that he or she is getting married, it would make you happy and supportive all the way. It is not all about money; so you don’t have to cut the wedding meetings fearing that you will be embarrassed when they ask for your contribution. When you’re broke, you can offer your services instead, for example, you could usher guests to the reception or serve soda and the like. As a matter of fact, if you think it is not important that you contribute, do it just for your peace’s sake. This way, you will attend the wedding with freedom and be able to bite the yummy chicken with no guilt. Besides, when your turn comes, people will remember your kindness and offer contributions to you as well. But when you’re a miser, people will just laugh at you and delete your wedding meeting SMSs. They say that what goes comes round; they also say that no man is an island. So, unless you are completely sure that all you want people to do is nothing but attend your wedding, suit yourself. mugishaivan@yahoo.com