Why people splurge on weddings?
Weddings are seen as status symbol and people take great pride in declaring how much they spent on their wedding. Weddings are given an industry status; it consists of the providers of services and goods for weddings. In the United States, there are approximately 2.5 million weddings each year, India sees approximately 1,00,00,000 weddings each year, Currently, the Indian wedding industry is over Rs 100,000 crore and is growing at 25 to 30 per cent annually. The wedding industry has greatly expanded over the years, becoming a multi-million dollar industry that most brides and grooms buy into.
Europe has very less number of marriages as in many other Western countries, the average age for marriage is increasing and is almost 30 for men and 28 for women, who on average give birth for the first time at 30.
Among the costliest weddings list in world, Kate and William’s wedding expenses were to the tune of $34 million, William’s parent’s Prince Charles and Diana’s wedding was a rocking wedding costing $48 million and Vanita Mittal (daughter of Laxmi Mittal) and Amit Bhatia’s wedding costliest to the tune of $60 million.
The point is: do we really think sensibly on deeper concept of marriage? Do we really care for the sacred concept of marriage? Instead, we take the opportunity to show off our wealth, that we are marrying our daughter in a wealthy family, that our son is our prince that we are traditional people, and we celebrate so exquisitely that as though the whole world will remember the wedding. Many couples believe that the more money they spend on this event, the more they will be news. Weddings have become events for impressing others, instead of a celebration of the couple’s love.
Stability of marriage: After spending huge money on wedding, one is not sure of its stability; there is an exponential rise in divorce cases. Some couples opt instead for live-in relation. Marriages are increasingly becoming fragile. The underlying causes of divorce have also been taking a new dimension. Factors such as incompatibility etc. have all existed in the past, but what is new is that the tolerance threshold seems to have moved down while the ego of marital partners has risen significantly. Couples separate on flimsy grounds. People lack patience and commitment. So the conspicuity shown in the grand wedding becomes an elapsed past. Wedding is an event that everyone forgets anyways except the couple.
Details including the bride’s and groom’s dress, the invitations, the venue, the menu, the cake, seating arrangements, entertainment events, celebrity list, choreographer, jewellery, décor, priest, religious ceremonies everything needs to be planned. Not only is everything perfectly planned, it’s practically staged. Bollywood and Hollywood movies always has an influence on people’s mind in terms of weddings. People see a movie with a wedding sequence and they immediately decide the wedding trousseau, decoration and invites accordingly. Today, people are more prone to adding that ‘personal touch’ to their wedding decor. ‘Out of the box’ ideas flow in the décor, ambience of the wedding sets. People want exotic fruits, flowers, show pieces, lights, candles, props, cloth being used for their wedding stage. You see the entrance of the bridal party and groomsmen, the entrance and introduction of the bride and groom, the first dance, the eventual serving of the food, the toasts, the father/daughter dance, the cake cutting, the bouquet and garter toss, etc., etc. Wedding has become a big entertainment.
These days we see the trend of destination wedding; it is an opportunity for couples to celebrate their marriage at a gorgeous destination of their choice away from home. Couples opt for stunning locations such as the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Europe, Kashmir etc.
The real meaning of wedding: It’s sad when you really think of it – weddings do not reflect the reality of what they are supposed to mark, which is the beginning of a marriage and the joining and beginning of two people’s lives together surrounded by their closest friends and families. Marriage is about much more than a fancy party, décor, entertainment or a sparkling ring, it is about the understanding the underlying reasons of commitments two people make to each other. A marriage means that the couple should strive to nourish each other. This does not mean only feeding each other but to fulfil each other’s requirements and wishes in a complete way. Two people must be seeded with a desire to grow together in strength; wedding vow inspires the young couple to grow together in all aspects of life together and be pillars of support for each other. The couple must stay in union in all joys and sorrows; it is said that joys are doubled and sorrows are halved when shared. The relationship in a marriage calls for sharing the joys and sorrows between the girl and boy, hence improving the quality of their lives.
Guest list: Whom should you invite for wedding and whom not? When you start compiling a list of all the people that you would possibly want to witness the ceremony, you will notice that you will absolutely need certain people there on the big day while you’ll feel more indifferently towards others. Ranking the priority of each person on your list is important. Although, ranking the people in your life in order of priority may sound rude, but it’s necessary when you need to trim down your guest list to those who are most important to you. Once you have compiled the full list of all the potential guests, you can work your way backwards through the rankings to decide who will receive an invitation and who will not. It is very important to respect each person’s presence in the wedding. Sometimes we see that people aren’t so close but are invited for the wedding and they feel lost. Their presence is not noticed. We see lot of people criticizing the wedding dress of the bride or the groom, the food, the décor and many other things. The unhappy guests want everyone to know how much they are not enjoying the wedding.
Marriage is a private affair, it is a very beautiful and important part of our lives. When two people decide to spend their lives together, marriage is the final step.
