Are Weddings a waste of Money?
Posted on 11. May, 2010 by admin in Life and Style, Men & Women
Written By Shaun Coltress
Why the Circus element? How do you justify £20,000 on a marriage ceremony?
So, a few weeks ago I finally came across a program that had previously caused quite a stir amongst my colleagues. My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding really was a worthwhile watch as it gave an intimate insight into the traditionally pricey Gypsy wedding. I was shocked to learn of the extreme amounts of money spent and lengths gone to, on weddings for couples that are often little over the age of 16.
Well, all that got me thinking to myself that maybe, on wider perspective, weddings may be a waste of money!
The concept of marriage spans further back than recorded history actually accounts for and there are many reasons/theories dictated by various cultures and religions as to why people first started to get married. Despite this, it is still something that is very much alive in our daily goings on and because of this; the prices of weddings are actually still rising.
Quite often, a wedding will serve as the 2nd largest financial commitment throughout our lifetime, only usually being exceeded by the cost of a property. Now, I am not a male that is against holy matrimony, but I find it difficult to understand why an act that is guided buy love (an entity that bears no expense) should cost a working class family anywhere upwards of £15,000.
For that price alone, it leads me to believe that a modern wedding is more about the ‘spectacle’, rather than love, commitment or getting the seal of approval from God, Allah, Jah or whoever it may be that the couple in question worship.
This saddens me as I now find that the aim at the forefront of wedding plans go something more like: How am I going to top Devonte and Shaniqua’s castle, horses, doves, fireworks or DJ etc? It just leads me to believe that a substantial proportion of us have lost sight of why we are 
having the wedding in the first place. I don’t want to come across as though I disapprove of weddings that carry a bit of extra panache, but I don’t believe in spending beyond our levels of control.
Putting it into perspective, the average cost of a UK wedding comes in at a staggering £18,500, which includes the brides outfit at £1,500, food at £4000, photographer at £900 and a honeymoon at £3000. It simply can not be justified in a period of economic downturn and rising divorce figures!
It is true that every woman has probably had her wedding day mapped out since she was 5yrs old and fine tuned by the age of 11 to something reminiscent of Cinderella’s big day. Cute as it is, I think I can guarantee that when grown up, they will be more concerned with being able to spend the day with loved ones in the form of family and friends.
Spending ludicrous amounts of money on an extravagant wedding does not ensure a healthy marriage, as some would be led to believe. What it is likely to do, is leave a newlywed couple, who are trying to find their feet and possibly looking to start a family, battling a hefty debt. Should this money be available, wouldn’t it be more responsible to use it as a deposit for the family home, to start a business or even as a university fund for the offspring? Why can’t these excess funds be used to get ahead in other areas of life?
What I also fail to understand, is where this notion of an expensive wedding being better than a more financially responsible wedding came from. I have been to weddings that were arranged on a streamline budget, but also one that in my view, was over inflated. Now, I can say that for entertainment value, there was not much between the two. Maybe the horse and carriage was nice to see, but how much effect do you think that had on my enjoyment levels… absolutely none!
In my opinion, a wedding is about declaring your love for your partner in front of your family, friends and the one you worship. It is not a step you should take through convenience (i.e. Life Insurance etc), or to put on a cabaret for those around you. Be humble; have a decently sized, modest wedding fuelled by romance that makes for a memorable occasion.
The wedding should be remembered by the tears at the service, the overconsumption of alcohol at the reception, laughter at the speeches and your parents embarrassing you on the dance floor by joining in to ‘Candy’ by Cameo. Your guests are more likely to remember staggering around looking for their shoes after dancing for the whole night, than your exuberant flower arrangement that you could purchase a Ford KA with.
Can we just all take the time out to open our eyes and see that a wedding is about love, not money?
Pic Source
http://myheartofvirginia.com/weddings/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/wedding-photo.jpg
http://www.coachmanslegacy.com/Boston%20Wedding%20Magazine%201%20-%20Copy.jpg
http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/5002929/2/istockphoto_5002929-marriage-and-money.jpg
http://www.destination360.com/caribbean/bahamas/images/s/bahamas-wedding.jpg
A very intresting and well written piece again Mr C…
Speaking as a married man myself, I can honestly say that the money I spent on my wedding was excessive and proberbly over budget, BUT I would’nt of had it any other way, and if there was more money in the budget that wouldve gone too…
The way i look at it is, You dont hold back when spending money on 18th and 21st birthdays or holidays with the mans dem/girls, so why hold back on the most important day of your life!
I agree that you prolly could do it on the cheap, and if you like cold sausgae rolls and a Heart FM DJ is gonna rock your boat then run wit it innit…
When I look back on the day and not my bank balance, I can truly say it was an amazing day and money well spent..I will never forget it and Im glad I went nuts with the budget..The experience was a good day for all concerned, and people still bring it up to this day..
ps. True say im of a turkish background and had money pinned on us at the end of the wedding and made most of it back, I suppose I cant comment on the expenses of weddings BUT I wouldve been happy spending it regardless to ensure my special day was indeed, special!…and anyway, WHAT aint expensive now days!
lol at cold sausage rolls!
personally, i would luv a small wedding with jus true loved ones & i’d get a friend on da decks! spending over 18k is nuts! as long as im lookin stunning & no one leaves wit an empty tummy den im good lol:)
but to each their own. if someone has 18k to spend on making such an important day feel special then it’s cool, doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate the true meaning of the day, it jus means they have money to burn! plus everyone celebrates things differently, nothing wrong with that if it’s not harming anyone along the way.
i agree 100% with the first guy.
I think it would be hard to find any married couple that would say they regret spending alot of money on their wedding day. Its a celebration of love, what more deserving reason do you need to justify spending so much money plus at that time a couple is thinking its going to be a once in a life-time event so why not go OTT if you wanna??