Why do people go overboard with weddings?

Question

I read a statistic that says the average American wedding cost $22,000!!! Why do people go overboard with weddings, especially when 40% of marriages end in divorce? It is a special day, but is it wrong to have a simple wedding and maybe put money towards a new house or a nice honeymoon?

Answer 1

good question........i don't know. i think it's ridiculous how much people spend when they could use to the buy things for their home, or make a down payment on something. i made my own dress,veil, bought my own flowers, bought the material for my attendants dresses, did my own reception, (had my aunt do my cake), and spent less than $300.

Answer 2

There is nothing wrong with a simple inexpensive wedding and putting your money toward a house, etc. But you have to really bargain-shop to get something that inexpensive. The reason they cost as much as they do is because vendors can get away with it. The bridal industry has ingrained into women's heads that if you don't have top of the line designer expensive stuff in every group, then your wedding won't last. Plus, most brides are naive and they aren't aware that they are being ripped off. And in alot of cases, there's really nothing they can do.

The best thing to do as far as bargain shopping is avoid anything that is labelled 'wedding'. You can find the exact same thing elsewehre that does not have the 'wedding' name and it is actually better quality as well as less expensive. Basically think outside the box.

For a percentage number of brides, it's all about showing off. But that isn't the case for everyone.

Make a list of what you must have, what is nice to have but not mandatory to you, and what to eliminate. Whatever is on the 'nice to have' list, go through and see what is important to you and what to skip. Then go from there.

Answer 3

A number of reasons. 1 brides are older late 20's and 30's. which means u have a career already a house or two already and a car. So since you have your wants covered U can go a lil crazy and spend whatever on a wedding. 2 Most younger folks in their twenties, still have that highschool mentality. Which means they have to out do their cousin or friend who just got married. Some even go to the extreme of marrying anyone to have a wedding so they can compete with their friend, neighbor, cousin, or sibling. 3 Then you have people who come from big families. The ceremony expenses may be small but because the family is 200 hundred strong on one side then you have have to invite family from the other side and friends from both sides you are looking at 400 to 500 people easily in attendance at the reception.
In case you didn't know it receptions are where you spend your money not the ceremony. Including your dress, invitations and flowers you can spend 1500 or less for your ceremony. Its the reception that will run you into the thousands.
But why would you think that it is wrong to have a simple wedding? YOUR wedding is YOUR choice . YOU spend whatever YOU are comfortable with spending. Some people have no problem with spending 30, 40, 50, 60 even a 100 thousand dollars on a wedding. some would rather drop dead then spend 10. It depends on you.
I had a girl that pick out the most expensive invitations and programs that I do. She paid me a thousand dollars to do 200 invitations and 200 programs. She didn't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of. I had another girl who had everything and her parents were willing to pay anything even though she could afford to pay for her own wedding. She selected the cheapest invitations that I do (.50 a piece) cause she did not see the sense in paying a lot of money for something that people are going to throw away.
So it all depends on you.

Answer 4

everyone is different...if you want a simple wedding then go for it.

i personally think that celebs go way over the top in spending but if you have the funds and want to do it then so be it.

my big cost for my wedding was the reception hall with the food included.

the problem is that when you attach the word wedding to something the price goes way up

there are a ton of books out there for weddings under 10K, 5K, 1K etc. be creative and you can have a cheaper wedding.

one thing i did was get my favors on Ebay along with some other supplies.

you also shouldn't go into a wedding thinking that you could get a divorce. you should be positive about getting married. if you are so unsure then do not get married.

Answer 5

Too often, people try to outdo someone else. A wedding is for a day, the marriage is supposed to be a lifetime. By no means is it wrong to have a simple wedding and put your money towards something that you are going to need well past your wedding day. For instance, what good is spending thousands of dollars on a wedding dress for it to hang in a basement or attic? The men generally don't even get to keep the tux, they just rent them. Simple can be elegant.

Answer 6

I agree with you. I spent $150.00. and looking back that was to much. but to each is own, and some family's dream of THE big wedding for a daughter, I personally know of 2-3 that the parents are still paying and the couple have been divorced for 5 years. that is sad. Money should be used else where, for a House etc

Answer 7

I think it's just a tradition. Once you have grown up with a certain tradition ingrained in your gray matter, you kinda just want to follow it - whether it's because you really like it, or to keep up with the Joneses, or to make your family happy. I do agree that a huge wedding one can't afford to pay cash for is a waste; I would never do such a thing - but I don't know how I would feel if I had grown up in a country and in a family where such a wedding was a deeply entrenched tradition. In a place where I'm from, people have traditionally lived on very modest means, so the focus has always been on the closeness of the family ties, rather than on the expense.

Answer 8

Yeah, that's a bit crazy. We spent $5,000 and I thought that was a bit over the top. Most of that was spent on feeding the guests a chinese buffet...but we had a great day. A wedding that cost $200 can be just as special and memorable as one that costs $20,000. Anyone who says any different will be signing the divorce papers in a couple of years.

Answer 9

There is no possible way that $22,000 figure is accurate. It is an overblown, poorly-calculated figure the wedding industry cooked up, to convince people to spend more.

People get hooked by the pervasive marketing of huge, celebrity-style weddings that no normal person could afford. As with other types of advertising, they buy into it because they feel inferior if theirs doesn't "match" the ideas being marketed.

Answer 10

There are a lot of socially inept, selfish people that need to get their mind right- plan a wedding within your means.
Who needs 200 people to "share their day"?


I agree, a down payment on a home or making an investment is the wiser choice. Invest in your relationship.
There are definitely wiser ways to spend money.

Answer 11

I think that you have asked a great question and I agree with you that putting the money towards a new house would be a great way to start a marriage.