Who isn’t a fan of the New York Times’ Vows page? Who doesn’t love the corresponding short films? But couples get married in other countries as well. “Nigeria’s leading tabloid”, The Sun, has an especially well-written section, called “Romance”. Compare the way happiness is depicted, so to speak, in the New York Times’ recent story, “Maddy Simpson and Steven Garbarino” with the following story from The Sun:
(As always, The Fiery Furnaces imply no conclusions)

HE PROPOSED TO ME 5 TIMES
By NGOZI UWUJARE
Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Mr. Samson Oyewole recently walked his bride, Supol Olufunke Okerinde, to the altar. The wedding which took place at St. Michael’s Anglican Church, Okuku, Osun State, was a dream come true for the couple, as the bride was regally dressed in her ceremonial uniform and the groom was also looking smashingly handsome in his suit. The excited bride and groom spoke to Daily Sun after the wedding.

Husband speaks:
How we met
We met about 12 years ago. Then she was schooling at the College of Education, Ilesa. I got close to her through the intervention of my friends who made the possible arrangement to link us together. She accepted my hands of friendship but later we lost contact and couldn’t get in touch with each other for several months. As fate would have it, we met again mysteriously, and thereafter, we became so serious about the relationship and here we are today.

Likes
I love everything about her. The way she interacts with people encourages me. She means so much to me. Another great attribute of hers is that she is a sincere person.

Dislikes
There’s nothing like that. I like every bit of her. Every step she takes makes my heart to melt. I’m really in love with her and I pray that the love would get stronger every day. I have never had the cause to dislike her at all.

Wife speaks:
Attraction
He is the bone of my bone and the flesh of my flesh; I love him dearly. He is kind hearted and caring to a fault. Moreover, he is a rare gem when it comes to obedience and gentility as a man.

Favorite food
He loves to eat rice and dodo. After eating his meals, he doesn’t forget to thank and praise me.

Parental consent
My parents were so happy to see him the day he visited our home. They called us and prayed for us and also gave us words of encouragement. At a point, they advised that we should fast and pray so that there would be no obstacles in the union. They also told us not to allow a third party in our union. Prayers, they said, should be our weapons of warfare in our matrimonial home.

Proposal
He proposed to me five times. When I didn’t really budge, he went ahead to get me a love card with romantic wordings. It was then that I realized that he meant real business and I accepted him as my one and only.