Ruth Kadiri: big weddings pile pressure on the marriage itself
- Actress Ruth Kadiri says elaborate weddings heap emotional and mental strain on couples.
- She suggests couples keep it simple: traditional rites, legal marriage, a few guests.
- She also asks families to ease the money pressure they put on young people.
Nollywood actress Ruth Kadiri has a message for couples planning their big day: the size of the ceremony is not what keeps a marriage standing.
In a video now making the rounds online, Kadiri said lavish weddings load couples with emotional and mental strain that can spill into the marriage itself.
“I do think that big weddings put pressure on couples. It puts pressure on the marriage itself,”
she said in the clip.
She wondered why couples who had dated happily for years sometimes start to feel afraid or unsure once the wedding is over. In her view, the strain of preparing for a huge ceremony can change how people behave towards each other afterwards.
A smaller celebration, she says, is enough
Kadiri's advice is simple. Couples can complete the traditional rites and the legal marriage, invite a small number of guests and celebrate quietly with family and close friends.
She also questioned why couples feel they must stage engagement parties, court weddings, white weddings and traditional weddings one after another, just because society expects it. Elaborate celebrations, she warned, invite outsiders to watch and judge the couple, pulling attention away from the commitment they are making to each other.
Kadiri did not stop at weddings. She also asked parents and extended family to loosen the financial expectations they place on young people, especially firstborn children who are often expected to carry family responsibilities and support relatives.
Success, she argued, is not one thing. It should not be measured only by money, job titles or meeting other people's expectations. A good life, she said, could simply mean being at home with your children and showing them love.
She urged families to give young people room to make their own choices, saying the expectations placed on Nigerians in 2026 can make it hard to enjoy life at all.
