It’s never too late to tie the knot

Every couple, at one point in their relationship dreams of settling down after having their dream wedding. Every rational person—at least here in Rwanda—dreams of having a grand wedding, declaring their vows before a crowd of witnesses and living happily ever after with the blessings of God bestowed upon them.Well, things don’t always go that way for some due to different factors such as, poverty, having a baby before the wedding or circumstances that demand an enormous amount of financial muscle, take precedence and make spending on a wedding ceremony sound sinful. Consequently, cohabiting takes root and this has been the trend for ages. While some frown upon it, others see cohabiting as heaven-sent. However, if given the easy-way-out, most Rwandans would dive for the chance to officially tie the knot.Hence, the drift to the recently famous mass-weddings we regularly witness in Rwanda. At these mass weddings, throngs of couples—including elderly grandparents—are more than happy to tie the knot, to the merriment of the society.Different churches and organisations within Rwanda’s communities usually set the nuptial drive into motion in order to fulfill the wishes of those who cannot afford a wedding ceremony—at no cost. The first half of 2012, saw over Rwandan 300 couples sanctify their marriages through mass church weddings. For a society like Rwanda’s where religion and culture takes precedence, couples are ideally supposed to tie the knot before living together. However, if for certain reasons, things take a different twist, couples can always sanctify their marriages later.One mother of six children, Peace Nkurunungi, 65 years, recently tied the knot with her husband after 40 years.“Most of my children have finished their University and the next thing for them is marriage. I always felt guilty telling them to first wed in church before living with their spouses yet I wasn’t the best example. Being committed Christians, my husband and I decided to consecrate our marriage to have God’s blessings and also be exemplary to our children,” she said.It’s now over a year since they got married and Nkurunungi says being officially married feels different from all the decades they’ve cohabited. She attributes the reduction in their marital problems to tying the knot.Call it old-fashion thinking or not, in my opinion, it is never too late to walk down the aisle and consecrate your relationship.