Catching Bride’s Bouquet, And 3 Other Wedding Myths In Nigeria

Ever wondered why bride maids rush to catch the flower bouquet when the bride throws it? It’s believed that anyone who catches it will be next to get married!

Though it is a Western practice imported into Nigeria’s white wedding tradition, many believe it. This is why it is still practiced to this day.

But an Abuja-based Marriage Counselor, Mrs. Gloria Charles, who spoke to THE WHISTLER, said the practice is not based on reality. 

“Marriage is a thing of grace. Yes, there are situations where a bridesmaid that catches a bouquet gets married but that often stems from a place of grace and faith and is not necessarily a must-happen incidence.

“I know a bride that recently got married and she gave 5 roses to her girls with intentionality, being that she prayed to God for them to get married, but as we speak only two of them are married, so it’s all about grace and faith,” she explained.

Sex On Wedding Night Show Of Love

Tradition has glorified wedding-night-sex and puts a lot of pressure on couples to make it perfect. 

While mothers and older married women often set the bar sky-high on how much sex couples should have to make the wedding night a memorable one, reality can often be quite different.

Mrs. Nancy Feromi, a business analyst in Abuja shared with THE WHISTLER how her wedding night stacked up, contrary to traditional expectations.

According to her, there is no rule to this as everyone is different. “On my wedding night I and my husband were so full of joy and we headed back to our hotel room. In my head, I was ready to play out the sex tape I had learned from my mum and aunties to give him a nice ride but we popped the champagne while dancing into the mood and I got so exhausted and slept off.

“We didn’t have sex until a week later when we came back home and returned to our regular life.”

Bride Price Save Marriages

In many cultures in the country, it is believed that when a man pays the bride price, it means he values his wife and the marriage would be protected.

 Mrs. Charles said many people believe that it,s a way to safeguard marriage while others believe, it is a way of selling their daughters cheaply.

“Bride price rules and amount differ across the tribes but most people see it as a symbolic sign that you can take care of their daughter, which I don’t agree with because there are men that pay and still treat their wife badly.

“Most weddings I’ve planned for, this money is often returned to the groom’s family as a sign that they are not selling their daughter.”

For the East, she explained that the couples have no say in what is done with the bride price.

“The bride and the groom have no say when it comes to the bride price stage. In most cases, the intending couple doesn’t even know when it’s paid. 

“If the bride is summoned, it is only to confirm from her that she is still interested in the groom”

In the case of a beauty expert, Mrs. Wunmi Bankole, her family gave her the money. “My bride price was returned to me after the wedding I was very happy to spend it with my husband.”

Bad Luck For Bride And Groom To See Each Other Before Wedding

It is believed that if couples saw each other before the wedding it could bring back luck that may ruin the wedding.

But wedding adviser, Mrs. Laura Iyene, revealed that modern couples have adopted the experience of “a first look”, where they officially see each other before the ceremony. 

She said, “This belief does not exist again in our current days that everyone is smart and knows what they want. This superstition belief or as your call it myth was a thing when marriages were still business transactions between families.

“So, in other to prevent couples in an arranged marriage from changing their minds, they were kept out of sight of each other.”

Mrs iyene said it has become so cool that you can pick and choose which of these customs and conventions you want to embrace or dismiss.