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Posted on 06/15/2006 11:59:09 AM PDT by JZelle
The cost of weddings in the United States has soared to a point some of today's younger generation may be turning away from the ritual. Courtney Martin, whose article on marriages appears in the Christian Science Monitor, seems to be one. She says a typical wedding in 1990 cost $15,208, compared to $4,376 in 1980. Martin, who has no immediate plan to wed her friend of seven years, says that wedding today will set a couple back $22,360, or enough for private college tuition for their future child if that sum is invested at 10 percent return. "Truth be told, we (she and her boyfriend) avoid the topic of walking down the aisle because it is so inextricably tied up with gross, conspicuous consumption," she writes. "We have watched friends get sucked into the tidal wave that is the emotionally manipulative wedding industry -- now totaling $50 billion in sales a year." Saying the marriage ritual has turned into "a circus of decadence," Martin says, "Not only is the egregious spending offensive in a world where too many have too little, but the meaning of the ritual is all but lost amid the designer dresses and lobster dinners."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Wow, Nick Lodge! I love his flowers!
She's 20............
Sun Burst Spring Valley Summer Quilt Springtime Joy
Worth every penny ;-)
All very pretty, and that last one is spectacular. Our cake was topped by a smaller version of my bridal bouquet, the "Sonia" peach-colored roses.
When we were planning the cake, the catering manager at the hotel actually suggested a little bride and groom on top. My husband said, "That's when that vein in your mother's forehead just started to DANCE...."
No. No hydrocephalic little monsters for us. I do have a friend who had a small wedding (as she wished) and her in-laws gave a big bash at their country club at a later time for a reception (as she didn't wish).
The mother in law had a huge cake made, and a Lladro bride and groom sculpture smack in the middle of it - not a cake topper, but a full sized piece. That honker must have been eighteen inches high. =:P
A young man who isn't committed has no business getting married in the first place. Count your daughter as lucky. She still has a chance to get away without help from a lawyer.
I've caught a few minutes of some of those on MTV - made me want to reach through the TV and slap those spoiled little brats.... I think we should have a 100% estate tax on THOSE kids - they don't deserve to get a cent. :)
Real story is - WHAT PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO SPEND FOR A WEDDING SOAR.
We are living in a very materialistic society, and getting more so every day.
Ping for later when I have the munchies. I'll be eating a Devil Dog, but I'll be looking at those pics.
Bears repeating. Marriage is an extremely important and (should be) sacred event in one's life. Too bad too many now-a-days try to make it into circus production by spending so much money on it to impress people that they'll bust the bank or go into big debt to pay for it. For those, it's all about the show.
When I got married the common reception was cake, ice cream and mints and lasted about two hours. The cost of such a reception was $2.50 per person and my mother thought that was outrageous.
My daughters' weddings each ran about $6000 and they were lovely.
Most of today's wedding have become ostentatious affairs intended for showoff more than solemnity.
And the worst part of these showy, expensive weddings is that too many of the guest come dressed in shorts or jeans!
I have two toddler girls. I plan to give them each a $10K wedding gift. They can use that for a wedding, a honeymoon, appliances... whatever. But if I were them, I would do a quick ceremony at church, then start looking at real estate
Me too! My mom did the same for us, either wedding or home!
And its nuclear cousin:
See, I can't take the Sno Balls . . . I hate coconut. It has a nasty feel in the mouth, and it tastes like suntan oil.
Bacon Man had never had Zingers until last weekend. Now he's trying to figure out a way to combine them with bacon and create his perfect food.
"Bears repeating. Marriage is an extremely important and (should be) sacred event in one's life. Too bad too many now-a-days try to make it into circus production by spending so much money on it to impress people that they'll bust the bank or go into big debt to pay for it. For those, it's all about the show."
I'm not that impressed when I go to a wedding where it's obvious they've spent a ton of money - I'm more likely to think that they've spent a lot of money rather foolishly, particularly when I know that neither the bride nor groom, nor their families, is exactly loaded with dough. While it is often driven by the parents, the bride to be is often a big driver of it, too - with foolish fantasies of being "princess for a day", fuelled by the wedding industry and all those big, thick, glossy wedding magazines. Just like they've bought the diamond industry's hype about engagement rings - all that money for a hugely overpriced, really not that rare, carbon crystal. No, I wouldn't begrudge my wife-to-be a decent engagement ring, but the huge ones are a waste of money that can be better used for other things.
In any case, the most enjoyable weddings I have been to have been relatively low-budget affairs, with the reception held at a rented hall (fire dept. hall, Royal Order of Elks hall, that sort of thing) and much of the food provided by family members. It seems to be a lot less stressfull on everyone when they haven't spent a ton of money on it. Now, if you come from rich families then the money is probably inconsequential, so go nuts.
You should see his shop. Mr G said he felt like he walked into a florists.
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