When I think of weddings I usually think of my own. It was a beach wedding and we did
the whole thing for under a thousand dollars. But then I start to think about
both my sisters’ weddings. They had rented a huge church and reception halls.
There were easily over a hundred people at both of their weddings. While I don’t
claim to know the exact figures I am certain it was over 10,000 dollars. The
book “One Perfect Day” says the average cost of a wedding nowadays is 28,000
dollars. To me that’s an absurd amount of money to invest in one day. I
understand that, that one day is supposed to be forever, but that’s more than a
down payment on a house.
My wife loves reality TV shows. She coerced me to watch Kim Kardassian’s
wedding. This wedding cost 17 million dollars. It was the most over the top
things I have ever seen. Her engagement ring cost 2 million alone. To me this is
outlandish. Not to mention the fact that her marriage only lasted 72 days.
Thousands spent on flower arrangements, multiple dresses that will never be worn
again and thousands on the cake. Even whole shows on TV are about the people who
make these cakes. The show is called “Cake Boss” and displays a cut throat
industry for extravagant cakes.
When we planned our wedding we decided to spend more on our wedding
party’s gifts then on own wedding. I bought my best man and my friend who was
marrying us iPod nanos. My wife bought her maid of honor a sardosvki crystal
figurine. Now these were indulgences, I can readily admit that. But to spend
millions alone on one object in a wedding is maddening to me. I could never
rationalize that. In “One Perfect Day” the author also examines Disney weddings.
This occurrence is also perplexing to me. People can spend upwards of 100,000
dollars just to have it at Disney’s parks.
The people who spend thousands of dollars on weddings are not all rich and famous. For the average wedding
to cost 28,000 dollars it is necessary for the majority of people to spend a
fortune on this one day. Don’t get me wrong, I strongly believe in the
institution of marriage and the ideas it stands for. But the commercialization
and frankly industrialization of the modern American wedding scares me. To know
that the idea of a diamond wedding ring was invented by those in the diamond
industry is frightening. To know that the things most Americans believe is
required of them to enter into the most sacred of agreements, i.e. a diamond
engagement and diamond wedding ring, were artificially created to line
someone’s pockets is disturbing to say the least.
the whole thing for under a thousand dollars. But then I start to think about
both my sisters’ weddings. They had rented a huge church and reception halls.
There were easily over a hundred people at both of their weddings. While I don’t
claim to know the exact figures I am certain it was over 10,000 dollars. The
book “One Perfect Day” says the average cost of a wedding nowadays is 28,000
dollars. To me that’s an absurd amount of money to invest in one day. I
understand that, that one day is supposed to be forever, but that’s more than a
down payment on a house.
My wife loves reality TV shows. She coerced me to watch Kim Kardassian’s
wedding. This wedding cost 17 million dollars. It was the most over the top
things I have ever seen. Her engagement ring cost 2 million alone. To me this is
outlandish. Not to mention the fact that her marriage only lasted 72 days.
Thousands spent on flower arrangements, multiple dresses that will never be worn
again and thousands on the cake. Even whole shows on TV are about the people who
make these cakes. The show is called “Cake Boss” and displays a cut throat
industry for extravagant cakes.
When we planned our wedding we decided to spend more on our wedding
party’s gifts then on own wedding. I bought my best man and my friend who was
marrying us iPod nanos. My wife bought her maid of honor a sardosvki crystal
figurine. Now these were indulgences, I can readily admit that. But to spend
millions alone on one object in a wedding is maddening to me. I could never
rationalize that. In “One Perfect Day” the author also examines Disney weddings.
This occurrence is also perplexing to me. People can spend upwards of 100,000
dollars just to have it at Disney’s parks.
The people who spend thousands of dollars on weddings are not all rich and famous. For the average wedding
to cost 28,000 dollars it is necessary for the majority of people to spend a
fortune on this one day. Don’t get me wrong, I strongly believe in the
institution of marriage and the ideas it stands for. But the commercialization
and frankly industrialization of the modern American wedding scares me. To know
that the idea of a diamond wedding ring was invented by those in the diamond
industry is frightening. To know that the things most Americans believe is
required of them to enter into the most sacred of agreements, i.e. a diamond
engagement and diamond wedding ring, were artificially created to line
someone’s pockets is disturbing to say the least.
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