my brother's up and coming wedding seems to be approaching the $20,000+ mark ..is this not an egregious, i think INSANE waste of $$$$$
that buys a trip around the world man and then some!! i am appalled. It is said to be all for the BRIDE! Can somebody justify this over commercially romanticised built up by wedding industry diamond company b u l l s h i t to me?
2006-09-28 05:52:43 · 18 answers · asked by zigzagidiot 3 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
I actually agree I have been engaged for almost 6 years now and have absolutely no interest in dropping 20 grand for one night It will be vegas for me when I don't know.
2006-09-29 03:09:09 · answer #1 · answered by candidworker 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
This is the perfect question for me because I am a bridal consultant. You are right, it is all about the bride. $20,000 actually isn't all that bad. Ideally this should be the greatest most memorable day of your life and for most people it is. After all, you are making a commitment to someone to be their partner for life. You are suppose to live and die together. You are parting from your birth families to start a family together which is what we do as humans. It's how we're wired. You can choose to disagree if you like but it's a simple fact of nature. Now back to the comment about the bride, the greatest moment of the ceremony is when the bride emerges to walk down the aisle. Everybody stands and turns toward her. She is suppose to take your breath away. Plus, that is a lot of preassure on her. She is in the spot light. Every single guest at the wedding is staring right at her. Of course she wants to be flawless. She should look ethereal, like she is floating down the aisle. I can't believe you think you can put together a wedding for under $500! You could barely outfit the bride for that price and that is if you are going cheap on every little aspect! Bottom line, it's not your wedding so you have no say in the matter. They can have whatever they want because it is their day.
2006-09-28 06:05:01 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
My take...the more people are focused on a wedding day, the less they are focused on a marriage. For people really focused on an extravagent wedding, after the event of the wedding the climax has passed and the best part was over at the beginning...thus the negative correlation between spending on wedding and duration of marriage. $500 is a little low in my book, my friend, but I see your point. If $20K went toward a down-payment on a house, the marriage would probably get a better return on investment.
2006-09-28 06:04:28 · answer #3 · answered by David B 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
i think the larger question is............why get married?
the utlimate wedding, i believe would be this: zip over to vegas, go see a drive thru elvis, get the paperwork signed, and high tail it on to life! use that money in a better way. my wedding cost half that much, but by standards of the day, was rather swanky. it lasted a decade & a half, but i think i would have rather had the $10k invested, then split the difference when we parted. that's my take on it anyway!
ps - i bought my dress at the jc penney outlet store, for $67. the ralph marlin fish ties we bought the groomsmen cost more, heck the little froo froo candy thingamabobbies at each plate cost more. know what? it's all ridiculous. and by the way -- the fancy schmancy stuff in this case was for the groom, not the bride.
2006-09-30 01:50:07 · answer #4 · answered by amuse4you 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think people who spend such huge sums of money for their wedding are either insecure people who feel they must impress those around them, and/or they are setting themselves up for a failed marriage with unrealistic lifestyle expectations.
My wife & I were both agreed that we did not want a pricey wedding. We were married by a justice of the peace, with just immediate family and a few close friends present. Our biggest expenses were our rings--which by modern standards were themselves very inexpensive--and the celebratory dinner at a nice restaurant afterwards, which my parents sprung for in the end. Although my wife & I were rather poor at the time, this was still a matter of personal choice rather than financial necessity; neither of us are into making a spectacle of ourselves, even if in a positive light.
We've been married for a bit over 2 years now, and I'm glad to report that we are in a very happy marriage. I know for a fact that spending a lot of money on our wedding would not have made our marriage any happier today than it already is. One's wedding isn't important; what counts, is the lifetime spent together _after_ the wedding.
P.S. To SuzieQ, you don't need to spend that much money on rings. My wife's & my ring _combined_ cost around $300. (Both were purchased at Zales.) They are modest, but not at all cheap-looking or chintzy.
2006-09-28 06:06:45 · answer #5 · answered by R[̲̅ə̲̅٨̲̅٥̲̅٦̲̅]ution 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
My husband and I decided to get married in park with 2 witnesses. I had my flowers, an informal dress, a cake, and then My new husband, my 2 witnesses and I went out to dinner. The next day My husband and I had our photo's taken in an inexpensive studio.
We spent about $350-400
We have the same thing left as other people who have big weddings... the pictures.
*it is just one day people!*
I give money to a charity, they can feed an orphan for $10 a month... lets see $20,000 on a wedding would buy me...
a lot of guilt.
2006-09-28 06:04:48 · answer #6 · answered by Crystal Violet 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋
I agree,
Mainly it's the woman that wants to make it such a special day. All that money, and ten years down the line most couples get divorced.
My dream wedding doesn't even involve a traditional wedding dress. Just a bakini wrap for me. Kakies for him, and a beach under the stars.
The most romantic thing is to be together.
but tell your brother congrats for me.
2006-09-28 07:06:05 · answer #7 · answered by danksprite420 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For men - sex sells, for women - fantasy sells...but I promise you in today's economy a ring is going to cost you more than $500.00. Unless you got it from e-bay. It really is about priority...if your priority lies in impressing the neighbors by all means go in debt for a huge wedding. But if your priorities are to travel, $20,000 would certainly be a wonderful adventure.
As for romantic commercialism...forgive me but what "holiday" isn't about commercialism..."Easter, Christmas, Halloween..," romantic commercialism, uh "Valentines Day."
And weddings are not "all about the bride..." it's about sharing a memory, creating an experience...how much it costs is up to the couple.
2006-09-28 06:06:24 · answer #8 · answered by SuzieQ 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It's a regional custom... In the NorthEast couples tend to spend alot on weddings making them huge extravaganzas... In the South a more modest approach is the norm...
As to why? Because for many people it is the chance to throw the one biggest party of their lives and for a while anyway live beyond their means....
2006-09-28 06:01:03 · answer #9 · answered by Andy FF1,2,CrTr,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Is it your money? Then who cares? If he wants to drop 20 large on a wedding, what does that do to you?
2006-09-28 06:00:56 · answer #10 · answered by hulkster524 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋