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I'm a staunch heterosexual male but I confess that "Rich Bride/Poor Bride" is my new favorite reality show. Watching it makes me frustrated and angry.
It seems a lot of folks who barely have two nickles to rub together are spending obscene amounts of money on engagement rings, receptions and honeymoons... or they've roped their parents' into footing most of the bill. In fact my cousin, who recently got engaged, bought his bride-to-be a 10k ring. This is a kid who has only been out of school a few years and hasn't even cracked 50k. Another friend of mine spent 40k (or I should say the parents') on her wedding. Rumor has it the father borrowed against his 401k ... ouch!
And these professional reception halls are really something to behold. As one reception is being shuffled to the hall, another is being herded to the lobby with the same efficiency as the Tokyo subway system and about as romantic.
Whatever happened to the small receptions of yesteryear?
My husband and I decided he would get a nice but modest ring because I did not want him to spend his entire savings on it!!! The marriage is about your life together...not the ring size! I think people go a bit overboard.
To add...having just got married this past summer I am fresh with wedding planning info. The average wedding costs $25,000....we did NOT spend that much!
Well, whenever I think of out-of-control weddings, I have a flashback to Mrs. Alfano's sixth-grade homeroom, watching all the girls passing around a copy of Modern Bride and picking out what kind of dress they wanted, what the bridesmaids would wear, etc.
And there's the rub. It used to be that a couple would announce an engagement and, two months later, she'd be strolling down the aisle. Now, it's the equivalent of the Ziegfeld Follies, with a cast of dozens, a Vera Wang on the bride, hundreds of guests, a large elaborate reception, and a home equity loan for Mom and Dad. The groom is apparently an afterthought.
I worked with one woman whose daughter precipitously got engaged and decided she wanted to be married in three months. The poor mom ran all over town rounding up dresses, shoes, floral arrangements, cakes, you name it, so this daughter could have the elaborate wedding of weddings, complete with TWELVE bridesmaids (Guys, by the way, if your affianced needs more than four bridesmaids, then you've got somebody who has no sense of proportion. Watch out), a harpist, a violinist, etc. etc. The only thing missing was the dancing bear and the seal act.
Now, the mom was a secretary for a hospital and the dad was a truck driver. Salt of the earth people, but in no way prepared to shell out that kind of scratch. So they have the wedding and, voila, she was back home living with the folks after two months.
I agree. It seems wedding have become a big competition to see who can spend more. In addition to parents, members of the bridal party can also be roped into spending big bucks. Bridesmaids especially can end up spending hundreds on expensive, one-wear dresses that they don't even get a say in choosing, shoes, hair, nails, jewelry, etc. Not to mention gifts for engagement party, bridal shower, bachelorette party, and the actual wedding. If it's a destination wedding tack on airfare, gas, car rental, hotel, etc.
My husband and I argued more over the wedding planning than our usual #1 argument (computer games). The planning drove him nuts...and I went a little nuts over the details. Like anyone really cared that the card box was white and not ivory to match the other ivory crap. haha
With this economic downturn, I think you will start to see the beginning of the end of the lavish wedding. I bet they go by the wayside. 10,000 invested properly puts a couple kids through college. One dollar, 10,000 or a million dollars spent on a wedding still results in a one in two chance of divorce.
I can attest to that..My now ex friend had a $30K wedding. I personally didn't see the worthiness of it. I had been to cheaper nicer weddings. Divorced less than a year later..
Location: Everybody is going to hurt you, you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for-B Marley
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I can't watch that stuff, there's enough here at CD to make me nice and angry. (politics/religion)
I could never spend that much on a wedding. I'd much rather spend it on the honeymoon or a home or traveling.
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