Image: Itech Pictures

Let me start by saying that it’s a gross misconception that only women fantasize about their wedding. Men also daydream about the big day; they too subconsciously develop a mental image of how they would like things to look like. But although men dedicate substantial amount of mental energy to fantasy, no man spends thousands of hours of his life daydreaming about the perfect wedding like women do.

According to a recent survey, more than half of single women plan their wedding before they even find a groom. The survey also found that the average single girl starts thinking about her wedding from the tender age of 13; that 22 percent have a scrap book or folder where they keep ideas for their future wedding; and that millions of women looking for “Mr Right” have routinely researched such wedding elements as venues, bridesmaid dresses, and flowers. If you’re a female, and you’re reading this article, you’re probably one of the ‘daydreamers’. But that’s cool.

So why do women fantasize about wedding so much? Why do they use pillowcases as veils and walk down imaginary aisles with teddy bears lined beside them? Where do dreams for the perfect wedding come from?

Well, there are many reasons behind this sweet ‘insanity’. But for the sake of brevity, I’ll mention only a few.

Women are taught from birth to believe that their main source of happiness will come from marrying the man of their dreams. The orientation of an average African girl child begins to changes when she begins to learn from church and school that marriage is the ultimate way to find meaning and satisfaction; when she experiences the hype and extravagance that surround wedding ceremonies; and when she looks around and sees how single women are regarded.

Women fantasize about wedding from very little because children naturally like to fantasize about the ideal life. As soon as they hit puberty, the estrogen in their systems begins to whisper “Have babies”. And the most acceptable way to do this is, obviously, to fall in love and get married.

Women fantasize about their wedding day because the day signals the end of a young adulthood and the beginning of a new stage of life from where there’s no return.

Weddings are almost exclusively about the brides. And women love the honour and the praise, the spotlight and the attention; they are obsessed about the one day they get to be honoured, respected, and exalted like a queen.

Women fantasize about wedding because it’s a stamp of approval; the day is the day they get to stand in front of the whole world and flaunt their men and show the universe that they’ve won; it’s the day they get to go home with the men who call them ‘chosen’.