Letters to the Editor
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weddings now and then
As someone who is currently planning a wedding (for somewhere around $15,000, if you want to know!) I found this article interesting.
I have always planned on having a wedding, and not eloping. My parents who were married 35 years ago ALSO had a wedding ceremony. My great aunt did not bake my mother's cake, and their wedding was not in someone's backyard. They were not rich (my grandfather was a mechanic), but they still rented a hall and paid a photographer. As such, I find the comments about how weddings were '40 years ago' compared to today interesting. Is the scenario the author has pictured based on any sort of facts and figures? Do we actually know how much the average wedding cost in 1967, in order to compare it to today?
Don't get me wrong- I too find the commercialisation of weddings distaseful and bizzare. However, I think spending money on renting a reception venue, providing food and drink, buying a wedding dress, paying a photographer, etc are all fairly standard wedding proceedures. To compare weddings today to those that took place in the WWII era is a bit silly. During WWII women couldn't buy stockings, much less expensive wedding dresses.
I think eloping is a wonderful choice if that is what you want - don't begrudge me my wedding ceremony and reception though. Not everyone who wants a wedding is a teeth whitening bridezilla. Some of us just want to have a nice day at a nice venue with our friends and family.