Brides leave wedding reception to sit for exams

Imagine having your final year exam and wedding day on the same day. Which would you choose?

Two Nigerian brides were forced to make a tough decision last weekend when they left their wedding receptions to sit their final year exam, dressed in their wedding finery.

The two final year students, who study Mass Communication, hastily said their “I dos” to their grooms before heading to an exam hall because of a date clash.

Dorcas Atsea and Deborah Atoh had fixed their wedding dates when the exam, originally scheduled for February, was postponed due to inadequate facilities at the Benue State University in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region.

When the new dates were announced, the final year “Media Ethics and Law” exam clashed with the dates both women had chosen for their weddings.

“My wedding was already fixed and planned before the exam,” Atsea told CNN. “I attempted to shift the exam, but to no avail.”

“I went to the exam officer, she said I should choose between the two: the exam or the wedding,” Atoh said.

“My wedding was already fixed and I already told people it was April 7 and sent out invitations, we decided not to change the date,” Atoh said.

The plan: take the marital vows at the church early in the day, dash into the university for the exam at noon, dash off again for the wedding reception.

They said the exam turned into an atmosphere for celebration. “I was excited graduating and wedding at the same time. My classmates were so happy,” Atsea said.

“When I walked into the hall, for ten minutes everybody was just shouting before we started the exam and after the exam, I went back to the reception venue because my guests were waiting for me.”

Atoh said it was a memorable day for her. “When the church wedding ended by past 11am, I went to write the exam. When I got to school, my mates were so excited. They lifted me up.”

Her course lecturer, Mr. Benjamin Ogbu told CNN that the exam could not be rescheduled.