Posted on 08/07/2011 10:00:41 AM PDT by sinanju
"...Shopping for a wedding dress is strange. You have to make an appointment. You're expected to bring family and friends. The salespeople say things like, "You'll remember this forever."
When I bought my dress a few months ago, I couldn't stop thinking about how emotional it all was — and how expensive.
To figure out why wedding dresses cost so much, I went to New York International Bridal Week, a big trade show for the wedding-dress industry.
(snip)
A lot of that extra cost comes down to the word "wedding."
There's so much emotion tied to that word that's it's hard to put a number on it, but it's there. And Barge gets this. When she talks about her dresses, she is selling emotion.
"It's the dress of your life, and if there is ever one picture your [descendants] have of you it's the one in your wedding dress," she says.
That's a lot of pressure to put on a bride. Veronica Guerrieri was married last summer in her home country of Italy, and she says she felt it.
"They were trying hard to convince me that it was the best day of my life, that I shouldn't have thought about economics."
But not thinking about economics is hard for Guerrieri. She's an economist at the University of Chicago.
Guerrieri says we're part of the reason prices are so high: They're high because that is what we're willing to pay.
"I think that on average there is a lot of status and signaling going on wedding day," Guerrieri says.
A bride's dress can signal how wealthy she is, what her status in society is. But it can also signal how seriously she's taking this marriage..."
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
No taking God’s name in vain, please.
That being requested, women who spend fortunes on wedding dresses are idiots. Rent one.
My very, very beautiful dress was a little over $500. So far, it’s the most expensive piece of clothing I’ve ever purchased. The brides who buy those 10K dresses are complete fools and have no idea of the value of the dollar, which, admittedly, is falling, but still! What they spend on the dress and then, of course, the wedding, would make a significant down payment on a very nice house.
The prettiest gown I’ve seen lately was Huma’s.
An antique gold color, beaded and beautiful.
Seriously I’ve worked in the construction end of this and if you actually price the dress in the $200-$300 it really is worth 99% of brides will walk by it and not even look at it because it’s cheap.It is all about the “Princess” thing.If you double the price to $600 they will begin to look at it,add a thousand and it’s popular add $10,000 and add a fancy label it goes on the cover of the wedding magazines.Many brides are taken over by some sort of temporary insanity.
Why are diamonds, like a wedding dress so darn expensive? I'll tell you why. It's because "she wants one".
And most of them will end up divorced anyway because marriage is super dooper hard and not fun all the time (insert tantrum).
To me, these over the top weddings are just one more damning piece of evidence regarding an American culture that is about nothing more than money and stuff.
One of the many reasons I love my wife is that she refuses to get caught up in this kind of nonsense.
I agree; rent one.
I was married to a Czech woman, and when our big day came around, she rented her wedding dress.
As she explained, in the Czech Republic women rent their wedding dresses, whereas the men buy their suits. And it usually is just that....a three-piece suit that can be used for more than just the wedding, like for work.
Central European practicality.
With respect to the funeral industry racket, I have a little more experience. If I am the one having to deal with the arrangements, I have absolutely no guilt with ordering the cheapest arrangements possible. If the deceased didn't make their wishes known (and money available) beforehand, they are getting the standard pine box with no embalming. It's ludicrous spending thousands of dollars on a casket so that it can rot in the ground.
When making funeral arrangements for loved ones, just bear in mind that funeral directors are business people who are out to make a buck (not that there's anything wrong with that). Just handle them like you would any salesperson and don't be afraid to shop them around. Otherwise, you'll find yourself paying $10,000 or more for a funeral when you could easily keep the cost under $2,000 while still providing a dignified service.
Speaking for myself, I don't want for much when I go. Just cremate me and toss my ashes in the nearest ocean. Just pay attention to which way the wind is blowing as the guys in the linked video found out the hard way! Warning: There is some "salty" language in that video.
It’s been my observation that the more that is spent on the wedding and honeymoon, the less likely the marriage is to succeed.
Everything associated with a “Wedding” costs more. If you had the same celebration, and called it a “Party”, the price would drop considerably. The Wedding, and Funeral businesses do this, because they can. They will stop doing it, when they no longer can.
I designed and made mine for under $100, beads and all. Loaned it to a friend who loved it. Next year I celebrate my 50th.
I’ve done two for about 25 grand each.
Pocket money compared to the value of grandkids produced.
“But it can also signal how seriously she’s taking this marriage...”
This is flat untrue. Two co-workers averaged $30,000 for their daughters weddings and the marriages lasted less than a year. My new sister-in-law was married in a big white gown; she’s a divorcee.
The dress is all about being princess for a day and the biggest party of their life, nothing more.
Weddings, next to Universities, are the biggest racket going.
I take inspiration from a nineties article by cultural/movie critic Micheal Medved (”Hollywood vs. America”) about his orthodox wedding.
He did a variation in which he and his bride did the traditional betrothal (I’m not up on the technical terminology), set up house and lived as husband and wife together for a year (as the Torah allows) and only THEN had the wedding hoedown and honeymoon.
That made a lot of sense to me, at least.
“Rent one”
Which, the dress, or the woman?
My wife and I were married in her parents garden (no, we weren’t a couple of hippies) 34 years ago. Her dress cost $35. Neither of us saw any wisdom in spending a small fortune. By contrast, a friend of ours spent 6 digits on his daughters wedding. It didn’t even last a year.
I have never understood the fascination with diamonds. What good are they really? I would prefer something useful, like a new mop.
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