Wedding Arrangements



“My family wants me to have an arranged marriage. Should I consider it?” -- Confused.
Confused is a 30 year-old, single woman from India. She wrote her unanswered crisis to Prudence, a woman who gives those in need advice.
Confused moved to the United States a couple years ago and has been living there independently ever since. Throughout the time she has been living in the U.S, Confused has experienced relationships that weren’t as thriving as she hoped. Her parents, who currently still live in India, are concerned about their single daughter. They eagerly have been trying to arrange a marriage for her. Confused isn’t sure she likes the idea of having her parents select out a life long partner for her, bearing in mind that she is all about true love. Her mother believes that, as long as two people have compatibility and respect for one another, falling in love will come later on. Mortified about how old- fashioned arranged marriages sound, Confused wants to continue living independently to see what love comes her way.
Prudence mutually saw both points of view on arranged marriages and finding her own partner, but considering Prudence has an 11 year-old daughter, she understands the knowledge on parents wanting to find the perfect person for their child. “Certainly their knowledge of you, the young man, and the qualities two people need to get along has to be as good as the algorithms of Match.com.” Prudence states the valuable point that if your parents truly know who you are, their set up for you is as good as an online dating site. The main advice that Prudence is giving Confused is if you take the chance to meet a planned out guy your parents have picked, you could end up falling in love and having that fairytale story that every girl dreams of.


When it comes to love, there is one person for everyone out there; for everyone, you just have to be at the right place at the right moment to come across that special someone. In other words, arranged marriages come from back in the day, and that’s where they should stay.

Having your parents choose who they want your life partner to be is like: them telling you what to wear, what you can eat and where you should go everyday. Prudence makes a good point in saying that your parents want to arrange your marriage; you should trust them to distinguish your qualities well enough to help find someone compatible enough to marry. To me, that’s something that in life one person needs to experience or find on there own. You are your own person, and no one knows you better then yourself. You are the only one who knows when you feel or see that love. Prudence quotes, “If you meet the man in question and you two fall in love, what a story of romantic destiny.” Taking a chance on arranged marriage could possibly become a great love story in the end, but typically, with the man you would meet without question would take time to feel that love or connection. In my opinion you need to question yourself as well as others to distinguish if this is the one you’ve been yearning to spend the rest of your life with.

Every little girl has a dream of meeting that one guy that makes you smile every second, that guy that gives you those butterflies every time you perceive him, and that guy who tells you non-stop those three most important words, I love you. Do you truly believe that your parents can choose that one that makes you feel like that? The experience of going out and dating is three fifths the fun in life. Giving your parents the authority to provide you with something as big as true love, can allow you to lose every opportunity of ever finding your prince.