keelywolfe | (no subject)

I have a sheepish addiction to advice columnists, mostly, I think, because I'm staggered at the questions people ask. Dude, if you can't figure that out for yourself, how to you function in society???

Anyway, in today's Dear Abby, a person questions why they still do formal bridal photos, because the W-E in wedding stands for WE and the groom and bride will always take photos together, signify their equal households... blah blah blah. Abby goes on and on about her answer but frankly, I can do it in one sentence.

Because the bride paid $3000 for her damned dress and the groom is renting his tuxedo, that's why!! If I'd paid that much for my wedding dress, I'd have a thousand pictures in it! I could buy two flatscreen TVs for that much money so yes, I would have a bunch of photos!

I mean, seriously...

(And besides, we all know that when a man and a women get married, the household chores, child rearing, etc is instantly equal, right?)

ETA: Went to take a shower after I posted this and the more I thought about it, the more I figured that two women who wanted a formal wedding really get screwed on the expenses if they both want to wear a dress, although certainly their bridal photo would satisfy the Letter Writer's need to have both partners in the picture. Seriously, TWO $3000 wedding dresses? Ouch. So I've come to the conclusion that everyone should just rent a tux. Everyone. Even the guests. It'd be hella cheaper.

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LOL. Having been a bridesmaid in 7 weddings, I have absolutely no interest in a formal wedding, should I ever get married. Heh.

Hee, I read three advice columnists -- Abby daily, Margo on Thursdays and Fridays, and Savage Love on Thursdays.

I figure I'll just wear nice jeans and a blouse, if I have a wedding day.

You should send a reply to her about that. If you ever watch Say Yes to the Dress (my secret addiction), you'll see that $3000 is not that expensive compared to what many of the gowns cost. I'll bet there are still a lot of brides whose wedding is paid for by her parents, too.

When I got Domestic Partnershipped, I was wearing jeans and a rain coat over whatever else I was wearing (as we lived in Oregon...). Photos were courtesy my MIL's digital camera.

I believe the total cost of the wedding plus lunch afterwards was maybe $50. Possibly $75.

On the other hand, even if we ever *do* get legally married, neither of us is really the fancy dress type anyhow, so it will still be jeans and tshirts. ;-) (But nice ones!)

I can't wait for one of my best friend's take on a fun wedding - big, relaxed outdoor bbq for all! Yay! I mean, you could still dress super cute, just, you know, in great jeans and a pretty shirt or something.

Although admittedly, I LOVE dressing up. Love formals and dances and a chance to do the whole thing up big. But still, weddings go Out Of Control in my experience - I've hardly enjoyed any I've attended as a bridesmaid b/c they were too stressful! Couldn't enjoy the pretty!

Can you even rent wedding dresses? Doesn't seem fair that you can rent a tux but not a dress. Maybe you can, I dunno but I've never heard of it. Anyway, should I ever get married which is highly doubtful you would not see me spending 3k+ on a dress. That is nuts! btw, I thought the photos were to make sure you had "good" pics of the event and not just drunkin ones taken by friends who'd had to much wine:)

I love men's formalwear. If I ever host a formal event I will demand that everyone wear white tie. THEY LOOK LIKE PENGUINS!!!

EDIT: That was a poorly-formulated comment. What I meant was, everyone should have to wear white tie, women and men and other. And then we can get Morgan Freeman to narrate.

Edited 2011-05-16 18:37 (UTC)

Lol. I totally see where you are coming from. I had a friend who did a big, beautiful formal wedding. Each of her bridesmaid dresses were special-ordered and made to the requisite measurements in china and shipped over for just over $100 apiece. I don't remember how much she spent on the dress, but it was a doozy. And all the guests could talk about was how the various male relatives had to spend extra to rent white tuxes to match the color theme.
She does actually have over 1,000 wedding photos though. And looks pretty damn good in all of them.
I won't be doing that though. I've told my boyfriend that if/when we get married, my grandmother is making my dress and the reception will be an outside potluck. If we want a fancy ceremony I figure we can wait and do it years later, if we ever decide to renew vows or anything.