Marriage and You.

Marriage, according to the Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary, is the legal relationship between a husband and wife.
Marriages are contracted in the traditional way, in form of Introduction and Engagement; in the legal way, in form of Registry Wedding; in the Christian way, in form of Church Wedding and in the Islamic way, in  form of Nikkai Wedding.

There are, however, different types of marriages each society or religion permits.
In the Christian society, a “one man one woman” model, otherwise known as monogamy is embraced while Islam and the traditional religion allow polygamy, that is the “one man many wives” model. Also, some societies, like the Canadian Inuit, allow polyandry, which is the “one woman many husbands” model. In Africa, especially in Nigeria, the most common types of marriages are monogamy and polygamy.

During the marriage ceremony, marital vows are exchanged, which are meant to guide the couple through the marriage, which is supposed to be for a lifetime.
Marriage vows are promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedding ceremony. In secular ceremonies, vows can be chosen freely or created by the couple. Couple marrying within a religious tradition are often constrained to use the standard vows of that tradition’s ceremony.
For instance, couples wedding in the Roman Catholic Church would make this pledge to one another thus: “I, (name), take you, (name), to be my husband/wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honour you all the days of my life. I, (name), take you, (name), for my lawful husband/wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part”.
While in the Church of England or the Anglican Communion, Church of Nigeria, the Original Wedding Vows, as printed in the Book of Common Prayer, are: “Couple: I, (name), take the, (name), to be my lawful wedded wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God’s holy ordinance, and thereto I plight thee my troth”.
Contrary to the vows taken on the wedding day, a lot of marriages still end up in divorce and separation. Within a space of six months of marriage and irrespective of the number of years spent together, marriages crack and eventually breakdown, making nonsense of the vows taken together.