The Wedding Trap

@bobmnu (8157)
United States
August 16, 2007 6:08pm CST
It seems that Weddings are becoming a major production and the consumer is almost held hostage by the Wedding Industry. My daughter was asked to be in a wedding. She is a tall girl and when her dress came in it was too short. They charged her full price and then an extra $75 for the extra material they sent for her to make the dress long enough. She had to hire a seamstress to alter the dress to fit. The dresses were late arriving and each girl had a separate fitting and the day of the wedding the girls noticed that one dress looked different. By the end of the evening all four girls dresses were coming apart and the dress that looked different they found out was missing part of the Bussel. The dresses cost over, $300.00, and they were told that this was not unreasonable and to remember that this was the Brides special day and to pay a little more is to be expected. Since this happened I am more aware of people talking about weddings and have heard many horror stories of weddings. One lady told me of her wedding she received 6 red dressed and one green. She ordered 7 red dresses. A photographer reported that she had to increase her fees to get business. A couple reported that they had to agree to have an Open Bar with no limit to get a place that would cater a meal for them. The media reports that $25,000 is the cost of a basic wedding. Has a wedding changed from a simple ceremony for family and friends to a major production that you have to go into debt just to get married.
3 people like this
4 responses
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
16 Aug 07
If you get caught up in it it's a trap. I did three wedding for my kids. Not one of them came close to costing $25,000. The most I spent with a dance, was $3,000. That's not anything to sneeze at either. But you can do it economically if you shop around. The biggest snafu I encountered though was paying for my granddaughters flower girl dress. We picked a pattern, I bought the material and hired a seamstress. If I hadn't been so busy I would have made the dress myself. It was a girl's size 6 and the lady charged me $125.00 to make it. Was I mad, she was a friend. The bride bought her dress on the clearance rack and it ended up that the flower girl dress cost almost a hundred dollars more then the bride! My mistake!
1 person likes this
@bobmnu (8157)
• United States
17 Aug 07
A friend of my daughter told her bride's maids to buy a black cocktail dress and to let her give her OK. The guests at the wedding thought the girls looked so nice. In the group photos you can not tell the difference unless you look closely. My daughter has suggested that the men buy a blue blazer and bule pants to make a suit and then a pair of Kackies for the other functions. The cost would be less than renting a Tux and it would be some thing they could use after the wedding. I agree the Hype is getting to people. My son had a picnic for his rehersal dinner and everyone had a great time. I hope people regaintheir sanity and look at the event and not the cost to prove how much you love each other.
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
17 Aug 07
Yes. I did the grooms dinner too.....just salads, buns, chicken, fresh fruit and beverages. Everyone loved it and it cost under a hundred bucks!
1 person likes this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
18 Aug 07
Well I heard the average wedding now costs 30K. I think we are just all caught up in the special day and go all out syndrome and it is ridiculous. I have gone to several wonderful weddings...one of them was 2 years ago in a back yard. Cost was minimal. The computer replaced the DJ. The grooms brother who owned a deli catered it. Parents of the bride set up a tent in their yard...you get the picture. It was small...maybe 60 people. These were 2 kids who were sensible and realized they could not afford the cost of a big wedding. Can you imagine having 25 or 30K for a down payment on a house instead of having a big wedding..to me a smarter option. BTW it sounds like the place where your daughter went for that dress should be out of business shortly..I would be all over those people - sound poorly run.
1 person likes this
@bobmnu (8157)
• United States
18 Aug 07
Unfortunatly most horror stories you hear about come from all different stores and it seems like you take your chances if you use any store. You may have great results or a disaster. I agree small and simple is best.
1 person likes this
• Canada
19 Aug 07
What a nightmsre!!!! One of the dresses in my sister's wedding was a slightly different shade, but aside from that things turned out great. Her flowers were a bit of a disaster though. They were out of water and dropping petals by the time the cerimony started. My fiance and I are going to get our flowers from a local groccery store florist, and our dresses from the same place my cousin got her bridesmaids dresses.
@bobmnu (8157)
• United States
19 Aug 07
Good Luck. iI used to buy my mother flowers every time I visited her from a local grocery store and they lasted two weeks. She did not always remember to water them and I paid $6.00 per bunch. I have heard of several weddings lately that have taken to doing their own flowers. Saves a bundle. Good Luck
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
22 Aug 07
It really has gotten ridiculous. I've had friends who were invited to a wedding where they were told upfront that the meals cost $100 each. I can't even imagine eating $100 worth myself, that would last me a month! Anyway, when someone has to travel out of state, pay for lodging, then give a gift appropiate for someone who's paying $100 a plate for the reception...how do you do that? My husband's family is very large so we've been to many wedding through the years and the more simple and inexpensive they were the more fun everyone had! It seems like these days everyone has to out-do everyone else. I have 4 bridesmaid dresses in my closet that I've never worn again, and they were bought way back when before it took a month's wages for a gown but it still bugs me! My daughter and son-in-law had a very simple wedding 10 years ago. The bridesmaids also wore nice black cocktail type dresses and the guys wore black dress jeans and mauve shirts. The reception was at a local club where the groom's uncle was an officer so they paid next to nothing and the family brought covered dishes and they just served a couple simple main dishes like chicken and meatballs, stuff like that. If people are looking to impress someone, impress me by staying married and working at it and having a nice life with your family! Let me give the happy couple a nice gift that I can afford without taking out a second mortgage and that THEY can atually enjoy instead of paying off a huge bill for their fancy wedding.
@gwendovere (1279)
• United States
17 Aug 07
Yes. I think that a wedding should be a very private ceremony between two people and God. I think all the money spent on weddings is wasted. That energy should be put into the Marriage, not the wedding.
1 person likes this
@bobmnu (8157)
• United States
18 Aug 07
They say that the biggest strain on a marrage is finance. If you start out with a large debt from you wedding you put more strain on you marriage.
1 person likes this