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I’m not married and I’ve never tied the knot before, but I gotta say that I kind of agree with the statements you’re about to read…at least about the price of weddings.
Hey, to each their own, and if you want to drop a ton of cash on your own wedding, go nuts. But I personally would not do that…I think I’d rather just have a cool party or something…
But this person has some very passionate feelings about what they see as being very wrong with weddings in general.
Weddings are most of the time overpriced, cringey, and unneeded.
by inunpopularopinion
As you can imagine, people on Reddit had pretty strong feelings about this person’s take on weddings. Let’s see what they had to say.
1. A good balance.
“My plan over the past few years has evolved to a private ceremony and then a party with family/friends.
Saves some venue costs but still has some sentiment while including my loved ones”
2. Save it for the honeymoon.
“Trust me, it’s so worthwhile to keep your wedding itself on the cheaper side.
It’s way better to spend on your honeymoon where it’s all about the two of you and not a dozen relatives you hardly see.”
3. An intimate affair.
“I got married 18 years ago, ceremony with close friends and direct family, lunch/reception with about 50 people in a small restaurant in our local (beautiful) park, went to diner with our parents and the witnesses.
Would do the exact same today. And it wasn’t even about the money, we just didn’t care for all the ‘traditional’ stuff. I wore black jeans that day. (Winning a bet with one of my friends that I wouldn’t get married in jeans. She underestimated me.)
Still married, still love each other to bits.”
4. It’s just one day.
“That’s literally what my fiancé and I are doing/planning right now. 18 people. Our immediate family and very close friends.
We’re doing a small ceremony at a church and doing a nice family style dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant. We’re both in our early 30s, trying to save for a house and start a family.
We couldn’t see the point in spending thousands and thousands of dollars for ONE day.”
5. Well, there’s that…
“Get married during the pandemic.
It’s the perfect cover to limit the size of the gathering without too many people ‘expecting to be invited’ asking questions.”
6. Come join the party!
“My boyfriend and I have discussed marriage. When we get married it will be in my backyard. A short sweet ceremony on the basket ball court followed by a neighborhood backyard party.
I have wanted to have a party in my backyard since I moved into the house five years ago. I didn’t know anyone yet and all my friends and family who would come wouldn’t amount to a gathering.
Now I work in a small neighborhood market and know EVERY ONE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. It’s awesome. So, we are going to use our “Wedding,” as an excuse to hold a backyard barbecue party.
Then half way through it my new husband and I are going to leave for our hotel and let my boys clean up the mess.
Win win.”
7. Sounds reasonable.
“I just got married and spent approximately $5,200.
It was actually a beautiful wedding with awesome food and some quality dancing.
I built the arch myself to save some money and had about 120 people come.”
8. A fresh perspective.
“Of the couple dozen weddings I’ve attended all but one or two were fantastic fun.
Some of the vows were… not great, but throwing a huge party for your friends and family usually results in a good time.
Plus–and feel free to call me old-fashioned–I really do think there is something valuable about making a commitment to your spouse-to-be in front of 100+ who are close to you.
The institution of marriage is a real thing, and a public commitment is part of it.”
9. To each their own.
“Who cares how much people spend on their wedding if they have the means, it’s not hurting anyone.
If they spend what they can’t afford, oh well…let em learn the hard way.
Someone people need to dig their own grave.”
10. It’s the industry.
“I think people get upset because the wedding industry inflates prices like crazy.
A friend of mine wanted to rent a venue for his wedding, so he received an estimate from the vendor… but he neglected to mention it was for a wedding. He received his price.
It later came out that the event was a wedding reception, and the vendor came back and said it was actually going to be 4x the cost, because it was a wedding.
When he pressured them for a reason (considering there was NO difference in the services that would be offered), they wouldn’t give a response- just “that’s our price”.”
11. Have at it!
“I personally don’t like parties and I would hate to plan one but in concept it sounds fun.
It’s just a cool day to get all dressed up let your friends and family mingle with your SO’s friends and family.
Unless it’s my money I don’t care if someone spends it on a wedding.”
12. Big expectations.
“I think people take exception to the idea that spending this much money should be standard practice.
It generates expectations for young couples that maybe don’t have the best money sense yet. And honestly those couples would probably be better served with a small party and a nice downpayment on a home.
As some have pointed out, the costs are often subsidized by family and guests. So even people that ‘can afford it’ may be spending more than they can afford with the hope that gifts will offset it.”
13. In my experience…
“I’ve only been to 4 weddings in my life.
The first was a fancy one with 300 guests in a church with flowers and the reception was in a hotel with a big cake and lots of fancy stuff. The parents of the groom were well off and paid for it. There were so many flowers that I, sitting in the very front row, couldn’t see the bride and groom because they blocked my view.
I got food poisoning at the reception from the shrimp, and the groom’s mother told my mother that I was a greedy pig for eating so much shrimp (I was 8, and allergic to everything except the shrimp so I did take a bit more than my share).
The second was also big and fancy, fancier than the bride and groom could afford. It was at a golf course, outdoors, and the bride was a bit of a bridezilla so there was behind-the-scenes drama happening that most of the guests were not privy to. Between the two of them, within five years they experienced bankruptcy, alcoholism, domestic violence, mental breakdowns, and a bitter custody battle.
The third was two college students almost on a whim. They’d been engaged for a bit, and were starting to plan a fancy wedding, but got so stressed out that the groom ended up going “Are you free Thursday?” and they invited a handful of people over to the courthouse as witnesses.
For the reception we went to their apartment and hung out with their roommates and played video games and Lego. They are happily married to this day and financially stable.
The fourth was small, but beautiful. It was at a farm owned by people who used to host weddings but had retired, but they came out of retirement for one last wedding because they knew the bride, so she got it for cheap.
The wine was provided by the bride’s father, the cake was provided by a friend (it was sh*t and we had to make an excuse not to use it, we ended up with cake pops instead), appetizers were from Costco, and setup was done by friends and family. The whole thing went smoothly and they are also happily married and financially stable.
So in my limited experience, bigger does not mean better, it just adds stress and creates problems. You can throw a fantastic party for less than 1k, and you’ll probably feel better about it too.”
I know you all have something to say about this!
So tell us what you think in the comments.
Please and thank you!
