Being a Wedding Sponsor

My sister got married a few days ago. Weeks before her wedding, she asked me to be one of the principal sponsors.

At first, I was hesitant because I am only five years older than my sister and yet I would be her wedding sponsor. Surely I have not gained as much wisdom as expected of a principal sponsor to her. In our country, it is customary to choose principal sponsors who are way older than the marrying couple. The older she or he is, the better. He or she is presumed to have more experience and more wisdom to share with the couple.

But on second thought, I told myself that I ought to be flattered. The couple or at least my sister saw in me something that classifies me as role model for a married couple. I would like to look at it that way, because I am not only lacking in experience but also, I warned the couple that I am stingy (principal sponsors normally give expensive gifts or money to the couple) by circumstance. We have limited income and I have just given birth to my third child whose needs demand a bigger chunk of our finances. My sister’s reply was: “do not bother to give a gift just be life’s coach”.

My other sister, who was going to be the emcee in the wedding reception, told me that I would give a message to the couple. I did not exactly sit down to ponder on what message to give them, but I spent my time mentally assessing my own marriage. I was hoping I could pick up valuable virtues that my husband and I learned in our almost 10 years of marriage.

I realized that there were indeed a lot of lessons learned and virtues applied to sustain the marriage. But I was thinking it was going to be boring if I enumerate 10 or more lessons or virtues. It would be transformed into a marriage counseling, which would eat up the limited time allotted for the wedding reception. The couple might not even remember them afterwards. A sermon was the last thing on their mind. I thought of giving them five guiding principles instead. These can be remembered easily and can be explained within the time allotted for me.

However, the flurry of events took place prior to the wedding, because we set the christening and birthday celebrations of our baby and our eldest child, respectively, four days before the wedding. There was so much to do in the home because of the change in family routine since our new baby arrived. We had to prepare for the christening and the birthday. We made arrangements in the church, finalized the menu, contacted the cooks, ordered cakes, souvenirs, prepared and distributed the invitations.