Thoughts of weymey

Wedding Feast

I was thinking this morning..... about wedding, free food and the pay-as-you-go mentality. But why? I will tell you. Early this week, I read of one Obianuju, a twitter user that had her dreams come true after she attended a wedding where they shared food, and it got round to everybody. She wrote on her twitter page, 'I went to a wedding yesterday and it was hands down; the most organized wedding ever. Everyone got food and drinks on time, there was no selective giving... How did it happen you may wonder? Men were in charge of directing the food servers.' Hmm!!! But why will anyone be celebrating that everyone was served food at a wedding?

Truth is, there are very few occasions where uninvited guests or outsiders get to eat for free, and one of such is at a wedding ceremony. But Obianuju's tweet got me thinking about why free food at weddings is no longer guaranteed. In recent times, there has been a gradual shift from free-for-all, popularly called 'oshofri' to pay-as-you-go. Have you noticed how at weddings these days, tables and rows of seats are reserved for special guests and families and the food and drinks served to these special guests are different from others? While the special guests and stakeholders are served with China dishes, others are given plain rice in take-away packs. That is Act one, Scene one which I am sure most people have watched.

The curtain draws and Scene two commences. You attend a wedding and was unlucky to sit at the back or far way from the aso-ebi ladies. First, disposable cups are passed round and then water placed on each table. Your hopes are high that real food will soon come by, but after waiting for so long, food packs showed up but got finished just before it got to you. Your eyes are fixated on the servers hoping that your portion will be delivered, but you can bet that they are avoiding your row or table like Nigerians are currently avoiding Congolese for fear of ebola. End of Scene two.

I was wondering what the final act was going to be as I followed the events of the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle yesterday. Because of the buzz and blitz, I was convinced it wasn't going to follow my script, but I was wrong. It was the final scene of the transition from free food at weddings to pay-as-you-go. Can you believe that 1200 hand-picked ordinary people, many from charities that the royals support, were invited to the wedding at Windsor Castle ground,  but their handlers were advised in letters to come with picnic lunch? How can the royals invite commoners to their wedding and asked them to come with their sandwiches? Has recession hit them as well? If they can't afford to feed all the guests, why did they invite them?

If the British throne cannot afford to serve everyone they invited food, do you blame Obianuju for celebrating when everyone at the wedding she attended was served? I worry because this is a bad example that Nigerians will soon copy and improve upon. Soon, you will read about intending coupes printing on the cards that guest should come with their chairs and food.

As we gradually entrench the pay-as-you-go mentality at weddings, my joy is that there is one wedding where everything is ready and everyone will be served, irrespective of status; the marriage feast of the lamb. Because Revelation 19:9 says, 'Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the lamb.' Prepare to attend.

Happy Sunday.

.....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.