Every so often, a man waits at the last moment to realize that he is not ready to get married.
Staring atthe walls of the church, his mouth went bone dry and he was all sweaty, while he tried to figure out why he had agreed to let someone else make the most important decision in his life.
Could I run away? I did not think so.
The reason why was sitting at the front pew, wearing her new red dress, smiling widely and bending her silvery black head to chat unintelligibly to her neighbor.
Excited, happy, and not a little exhausted with what all these Herculean efforts to arrange her eldest son's wedding; my mother.
His grief-stricken sigh made the minister stared at him.
He was irritated when his brother tantalized him and swore for revenge.
At times, a groom might feel sorry for himself while standing at the altar.
Even harmful teasing can annoy him.
It was not that I was against the institution of marriage.
It was not that I was not attracted to my wife-to-be, albeit ours was an arranged match.
I did.
I just felt as a young energetic thirty year old, I still wanted my freedom.
Needless to say, I did not suffer from any Bridget Jones-like complex.
My fiancée and I have discussed extensively and we agreed to remain unattached as long as possible.
But Mother changed her mind with the all powerful warning, "Time and tide wait for no one".
Honestly, the truth be told, I was not a little apprehensive of major changes.
Until he got married and have kids of his own; his mom won't stop pestering him.
Other than wanting to see his mother happy, he just wanted her to stop pestering him.
I knew it was too late to back out.
Everything in the past few months was arranged down to the last excruciating detail, all in a bewildering whirlwind presided over by our indomitable matriarch.
The wedding themes at the church and at the lavish banquet tonight were major headaches - especially the exasperating photo-taking sessions where we pasted perpetual smiles.
Later we required WEEKS of shopping for wedding supplies such as the wines, the menus, the decorations, the flowers, the ribbons, the bridal car..
..
the list went on and on.
Not to mention the cake! My parents and in-laws actually devoted half an hour (imagine that!) just to choose from the endless arrays of wedding cake toppers.
Why on earth would people need cakes for wedding I could never fathom the reason.
And if they do, which of the guests would actually admire the cake toppers? "You are right, dear.
Nobody notices them if they are there, but if they are not, then EVERYBODY will notice.
Trust me, I am experienced.
" The man could no longer argue with his mother.
But nothing can top the shock that came two days ago, my bride's gowns and accessories.
Down to the last earring and bit of lace, they simply took my breath away - without me seeing the actual paraphernalia; the bill was enough! Wedding dresses are made to be worn once in a lifetime for a girl.
But the price would sometime be equal to how much you would spend for clothes in a year or maybe two which is absurd The sound of the organ played in church is informing of the bride's arrival.
The bride stood at the entrance of the church, everything he had thought about vanished from his mind.
His heart started to beat high-speed.
A man is usually awed by the beauty of his bride.
Only at that moment do they realize why the real reason why they had agreed to the whole thing.
Three steps away, she lifted her gaze to me.
I saw the uncertainty and doubt in her shining eyes replaced by calm tranquility.
That singular moment transformed my entire life.
In a flash of understanding, I saw that she was giving her life, her trust, her love to me..
..
and how could I return any less? As she gave him her hand, they were then ready for the ultimate commitment.
The keys to a lasting relationship are understanding and respecting each other.
Getting through tough time will be tolerable when couples have learnt how to deal with each problem patiently.
Only then can they raise a family with true devotion The only thing that a couple need is love and when they realize that they have it they will feel very lucky indeed.
At that instance, the word I do came straight from his heart.