A wedding is ceremony were a couple take the time to express and share their joy with families members and friends. Depending on where someone goes, one can attest to the fact that wedding are never the same. For instance, the values in traditional and Christian weddings in Cameroon and the US demonstrate how the freedom of choice is expressed in the wedding ceremony.
An important difference between traditional and Christian wedding is the type of clothes. For instance, in the Bamileke culture the groom is consider a king and the bride is consider a queen during that period of time and because the wedding outfit has a high significance it is chosen for them. Because of its importance, the materials and designs are carefully chosen …show more content…
In short, the traditional wedding demonstrate the upper hand the parents have because its major significance contrast to Christian wedding were the couple express its self fully by choosing its ideal clothing just to "stand out rather than to honor and edify those gathered." as stated in the article “lord of the wedding dance” by christian today. Another difference between traditional and Christian wedding is the privacy of the venue.
Because marriage in Cameroon involves more than the two spouses, it is celebrated in whole region of the village to bring family closer together as stated in the book Culture and Customs of Cameroon by John Mbakum Mbakum (14). The couple is unaware of who is attending their ceremony. There is no such thing as invitation letters. For example, in the same book, one of the character who names is Eric explains that when he got married, he could not invite any of his friends because the wedding was in the village. The only person he knew at the wedding was his wife and his family members. Even the chief of the village who made the majority of the decisions in his wedding, he knew nothing about him. On the other hand, Christian ceremonies are conducted in churches and halls which are chosen the couple. Having the ability to choose what color the rooms should be decorated and who gets to come and share this special …show more content…
In traditional wedding weddings vows a written by the chief of the village and its only renounced by the groom to the mother of the bride. Before presenting the vows, the chief of the village go into his secret chamber for a period of time to receive insight concerning them. Afterward, the groom gets to enter the secret chambers to declare the vows in the presence of the ancestral spirit and the mother, which signify the unity between the mother, the chief and the ancestral spirits. This is to say that whenever conflicts arise in the wedding, he is to only report to them and no one else. Unlike Christian wedding, vows are written by each spouse at free will. The vows are declared joyfully in front of the congregation. It is a moment where relatives and friends witness to the love of the couple as their promise to be together for better and for worst, in good and bad times. In short, vows formality in traditional wedding is very confine in its approach unlike the expressive method of the Christian