Is everyone else talking about weddings these days

or is it just me?

It started in December. Friend number one got engaged. Then friend number two's bestie got engaged. Then in April, friend number three, my brother, and friend number four followed suit. In June, friend number five asked me to help his process, and in July friend number six jumped on the bandwagon (geddit?)... etc.

After friend number three got slapped with a stunning diamond rock, she bullied me into finding out what kind of ring I would like - sans beau. You know, just in case. Didn't I know anything could happen?
I said no, I don't care about the ring. Anything will be fine as long as I love him; whoever he'll turn out to be.
She said no, I had to find out!
As co-conspirator on three (and maybe four!!) of the proposals, I now consider myself something of a guru at ring shopping. The four Cs have nothing on me; I have already considered getting remuneration for my services. Carrie's Bridal Startup, anyone? Gotta keep the initials for legal purposes.
I'd seen so many sparkly rings over the past few months that I couldn't resist the lure of looking over them once more.
I gave in.
I have since figured out whether or not I want to wear a veil (yes), how many people I want on my train (five), my wedding colours (coral and yellow), and whether or not I'm having aso-ebi for my friends (no). I even think I know what my dress looks like.
I don't even have a boyfriend.
It's embarrassing.

The wedding preparation phase has commenced.
The bride requires certain things of a trainee (ha). We're buying shoes and having fittings and choosing hats and planning surprises (whoops). Also, we "must buy rose-petal red peep-toes with cutouts at the side - not at the front or I will go crazy!! - and they must be three and three-quarter inches high, with no more than a half-inch platform."
Uhm.
Also, does anyone else find that colours have gotten a heck of a lot more complicated these days? For instance:
What. Is. Rose-petal red??? Or, I know one: Coquelicot?
Google has no answers.
But we love our friends - and we've heard that bridal trains are effective at dealing with the problem of singledom - so even though we have to buy the same shoes as everyone else, we'll make sure our hemlines are considerably higher.

Of course, we all know that now is not the time to talk about marriage - the wedding is the only thing that matters. So why is it now that the rest of us un-engaged females suddenly start to hear the worst stories?
That girl, the one with the amazing wedding on Bella Naija last year? She's divorced.
That other one, her husband beats her.
Those two, with their matching, jewel-encrusted wedding shoes? He takes his mistresses to his marital home when she's not around.
But, shhhh. That will not be our portion! And Amen! we chorus, as we exclaim over the price of french lace.
Perhaps we listen to these stories to feel better about ourselves.
Regardless, it leads me to wonder:
1: Didn't those women know?
Before they said I Do, before they even screamed yes and told all their friends about the oh-so-romantic proposal. Did they forget all the times he cancelled dates because something came up at work, or ignore all the times he grabbed her in anger? Did they ignore his disrespectful flirtations at parties, or did they make up excuses for it?

2: What is the point of no return?
Is it after a certain number of years of dating? After he proposes? After he buys you a car? After your first child? After your last?

3: How much does it matter?
If he's cheating, but he loves you and "just can't help himself", is that a dealbreaker? What if he hits you, but only on the anniversary of his mum's death? What if he's always angry, but you know it's because you won't let him in the back door? What if you don't believe in love, and he provides every other thing you need? What if you love him and you just don't believe all the 'haters' that keep trying to 'destroy your happiness' because they're bitter?

4: Do feelings mean anything?
Hormones affect feelings. Heck, hunger affects feelings. If you're sleep-deprived you can be convinced to hate your mother. Is "I don't love you anymore" ever valid? What is the purpose of marriage? And at what point is it alright to break that contract because of personal feelings?

And, what if you truly believe you've been sent to help change the other person's life, a la Redeeming Love?

We are all grownups at this point, and there is a certain naïveté that comes with the idea of dealbreakers. At the same time, I wonder if people wouldn't perhaps make different choices if they paid attention to the signs, to their instincts.
In marriage, love is a decision. We are lucky if we have a little infatuation and attraction in there to sweeten the deal - or so I'm told. But we won't always be infatuated, and we won't always be attracted. Then what?

I don't know, but I do know what I want my ring to look like (cushion, emerald or princess-cut diamond - preferably a yellow diamond on a white-gold band, or a white diamond on a yellow-gold band.) Never mind the marriage itself.