The Wedding Industry

Wed Aug 25, 2004 9:26 am by gromit

VH16 - you couldn't be more right in everything you said. Its my gf's dream and its her family's day...its not for me to argue. Bizarre though that our culture has gone this way.

Just for the record, the money doesn't bother me. Yes its a lot. Yes it hurts in several ways, but it really isn't an issue. It never was and it never will be....but this is my point entirely. The intent of this thread is to point out the disgusting nature of the wedding business. They prey on the fact that grooms and fathers-of-the-brides will pay anything to make their girls/daughters dreams come true. And they blatantly con you out of your livelihood....but who's going to complain? No-one.

The only couple's who survive this massacre of a monetary nature are the one's that haven't dreamt of a glamorous wedding for their entire lives. The one's that have, are backed into a corner where you actually end up getting things you never even wanted in the first place. Its the hard sell. Its pushy salespeople at their worst - preying on your dreams. Telling you that "the day won't be complete without it" or "everybody will be expecting to see this". Horrible horrible people.

Salesmen should be the second to step through the gates of hell....right after tabloid journalists.

They truly disgust me, but hey ho, the worst I can do is rant about it is rant on a gaming Off Topic board

Wed Aug 25, 2004 9:37 am by Indy11

Weddings are for the families more than anyone else. The bride and groom really don't have anything to do with it except to provide for the drama and entertainment. ... oh yeah, and to make it legal.

Very seldom will you find regular people so willing to stand up and make speeches to a crowded room, except at wedding banquets.

My wife and I cheated. Neither of us being all that young when we got married, we decided to run the risk of disappointment from our relatives by having a small ceremony performed in which only my parents and my wife's two closest living siblings (her parents passed away a while ago) in attendance.

We had a small dinner afterward and then just sent out the announcements. We caught a lot of heck in the beginning, I had to do a lot of explaining but the storm blew over in a matter of a few weeks.

In the end, we knew we'd made the right choice. BUT, my wife agreed with the plan. I see that in your case it is different.

Weddings here cost a shade less than your numbers but not by much.

Wed Aug 25, 2004 9:38 am by gromit

@staring - sorry to hear that matee. I hope that you find the "right person" one day. I've been with my gf for 10 years this october, so I think we've pretty much done the "newlywed arguing" thing by now. We're like an old married couple as it is, this day is just for formality and to give her the wedding she always wanted, and her family the day they always dreamed of. Thanks for the perspective.

An interesting quote I dropped on a few days ago...

Nearly all marriages, even happy ones, are mistakes: in the sense that almost certainly (in a more perfect world, or even with a little more care in this very imperfect one) both partners might be found more suitable mates. But the real soul-mate is the one you are actually married to.
J. R. R. Tolkien (1892 - 1973) , Letter to Michael Tolkien, March 1941

@indy - sounds like the perfect day to me

but as you said...its really up to the bride, and my bride wants the whole caboodle.

Edited by - gromit on 8/25/2004 10:40:05 AM

Wed Aug 25, 2004 10:58 pm by Esquilax

I agree with you completely Grom; weddings are BLOODY expensive. It's almost enough to make one elope

. As for "corkage", and all of the other scams *spit*

.

Wed Aug 25, 2004 11:02 pm by freighter fighter

eskie, didnt your mother tell you not to spit on the floor?

Thu Aug 26, 2004 4:00 pm by mustang

Hey Grom what are you doing for the honeymoon?

Fri Aug 27, 2004 12:17 am by Wizard

After reading the story, I've got one question: Why aren't we invited?
Plus, we want pictures of your soon to be wife.

Fri Aug 27, 2004 12:32 am by gromit

@mustie - The morning after the wedding I'm flying to las vegas with my new wife and 15 friends - when we arrive we have a second wedding booked with Elvis (why the hell not

). After 3 days of drunken carnage the honeymoon will begin properly, myself and my lady wife are heading to san fransisco. Then after a few days in SF we fly to Houston where we spend one night. The next day we get on a cruise ship and sail down the gulf of mexico to island hop the carribbean for a week. YEY!!

@Wiz - lol. hehe well if ya want to come you can contribute to my wedding list

lol. I'll post some pictures when we get back from the honeymoon. My schedules just a little too tight at the moment to be hunting around for photos.

Fri Aug 27, 2004 1:57 am by Esquilax

You're going to Las Vegas for your honeymoon? I thought that it was traditional for people to have their weddings there

.

Fri Aug 27, 2004 2:34 am by gromit

@esky - I am! We're getting married twice. Once in kent and then 2 days later in Vegas with Elvis....of course, I've organised to have the "las vegas years" elvis complete with white jump suit

It took me a while though to work out that this period was called "the las vegas years", by which point I'd already offended 6 wedding chapels in vegas by asking for "the big fat coked up elvis, preferably with his trousers up, 5000 calorie sandwich optional". lol. and you think I'm joking

I had no idea that these people take their Elvi (I believe thats the correct plural?) so seriously!

EDIT:

@ALL - I've just deleted the other thread I created as I didn't want to upset the mods by repeating myself. Thanks to everyone who posted in it though. I'm leaving at 5pm today and I'll be back late september (at which point I'll share with a few of you the location of the secret back exit of TLR

). Have a great month ahead...and keep my seat warm for me!

Edited by - gromit on 8/27/2004 3:37:41 AM

Fri Aug 27, 2004 2:38 am by Esquilax

A wedding with "Elvis"? In LAs Vegas? *Shakes head* I think that Grom has been hitting the wedding cocktails a bit early

.

Ah well, whatever the little women wants, eh?

Edit: As i said in the other thread (before Grom deleted it), Grom's seat in the front row is spoken for!

Edited by - esquilax on 8/27/2004 3:39:16 AM

Fri Aug 27, 2004 2:49 am by gromit

lol. as long as you're only keeping it warm esky

the elvis thing is kind of a running joke with us. We aren't fans in the slightest, but Las Vegas and Elvis Weddings opitimise everything tacky in the world....and its tacky that we find amusing. We're doing it to take the p*ss....and take the p*ss we will

I asked one wedding chapel (who had previously agreed to us having a big fat coked-off-his-face elvis) if vomit stains were optional...

...lol. I think the guy was a little offended. Oops.

Fri Aug 27, 2004 8:43 am by gromit

Ok - apologies for the double post, but I just wanted to say bye. I'm off now to spend a week experimenting in debauchery before I get wed....

hehe, I wish that were true...I'm actually off now to spend a week arranging all sorts of unecessary frivolities, bankrupting myself in the process

Take care you lot, and don't kill each other while I'm away. See ya in 3 weeks

(PS. Someone say bye to Taw for me - I haven't heard from the old ****er in a couple of weeks now

byeeeee!)

Fri Aug 27, 2004 8:50 am by freighter fighter

bye to taw for me

( sorry grom, but someone had to )

Fri Aug 27, 2004 10:28 am by AELK

Men use wedding parties as an excuse to be juvenile and silly. I am sure that this Elvis episode was the groom's idea and that the bride is just trying to be a good sport.

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