Let’s face it; it’s every girl’s dream to have a white wedding. As a child, I dreamt of the day when I will walk down the aisle with my Mr. Right. The dream even became stronger when I had the opportunity and the privilege to watch the live wedding of the late Princess Diana while in Ghana.

Well, not every dream comes true or fulfilled and that is my story or the story of many who have ever dreamt of having a white wedding.

During my first marriage, I opted for the traditional marriage instead of the extravagant church wedding. I saw that to be too much expense, and also thought that as long as I remained happy in the relationship, it didn’t matter how I got in.   Unfortunately, my luck ran out when the marriage ended a little over 19 years and I wanted a bit of the marital property.  I had the traditional marriage in the USA, and had friends and family there with me.

I thought that was enough because in the eyes of my family and God, we were married.  However, that was not the case when it came time for me to prove the legality of my marriage.  I was unable provide prove in a USA court that we were married, and sadly for me, the man vehemently denied the marriage in the hopes of keeping everything.

Not even testimonies from my family and friends who were present during the traditional marriage could save me.  It was a very difficult moment, but certainly a learning experience for me and those who care to listen.

People of Ghana recognize traditional marriage as being acceptable and valid within Ghana and every Ghanaian committee that you find yourself in around the world.  However, if you happen to travel outside Ghana, your traditional marriage may probably not be recognized.

Unless of course, you can prove it with a piece of paper from the embassy of Ghana that is in the country where you live or that you can prove it by other means such as registering your marriage in court prior or after your travel.  Most often when you are unable to prove it with a piece of paper, then you can consider your traditional marriage void outside Ghana.

So based on my prior experience in losing everything because I couldn’t prove the legality of my marriage, I vowed not to repeat that mistake again. I vowed to have my next marriage registered in the courts even before my traditional marriage.

God has been good to me and has given me a second chance at love, and I did follow through with my vows. However, I decided to follow through with a white wedding as well.

But I realized that weddings are no joke in terms of cost. So what I did instead was to bless my marriage in church.  At this point, my marriage is court registered; traditional marriage completed, and then blessed it in church.

This way, my guests will not expect too much as they would when attending a wedding.  With the blessing, I slashed out flower girl, bridesmaids, groomsmen, and the ring bearer.

The scene was like a wedding scene, but on the moderate side and trust me, it was the best and I saved tons of $$$$$.

Do your homework by researching on ways to save when it comes time for you to tie the knot, and do it right without breaking the bank. Don’t just settle with the traditional marriage in terms of saving money, unless of course you don’t ever plan on traveling outside Ghana.