Wedding Bells
Weekends are wonderful... Weddings are wonderful.
This weekend we attended a wedding, it was wonderful. But it made me think about a few things. Whenever anyone gets engaged they ask what things I liked/disliked about our wedding. I loved our wedding it was perfect and a nice way to celebrate the start of our marriage. But really if I were to be getting married now instead of then I am sure I would do a few things differently.
I think when I was planning our wedding I just did things because, well, that is what you did. Being 20 years old and planning such a large swaray is an overwhelming task. It obviously is for any bride since the term "bridezilla" usually comes along about any gal who is about to walk down the aisle. But I think one thing I have pondered the last few days more than anything are the traditions behind the events at a wedding. Some of them I fully understand and think that they have deep meaning and would definitely do if I were to be planning a wedding at this point in time, others are a real head-scratcher for me and I have come up empty handed as to any sort of meaning they hold and why people make such a fuss over them.
I also wonder if these "traditions" are world wide, Canadian, North American or what. I am sure some things about wedding are similar across the globe but others probably vary so drastically. I think the concept of rings is pretty world wide... I could be wrong (LOL and usually am) but I believe in the tradition of rings and what they symbolize. I think that marital love should be everlasting and have no beginning or end, just as a ring does. Plus when your pregnant at 21/22 years old people look for the ring all timeI know from experience.
Other traditions I think I understand are A) The Reception - for the simple fact that it is usually a really blessed day that you want to celebrate. B) The First Dance - I think dancing is looked upon as intimate and emotional which only couples should share. C)The Toss - I guess I understand the whole bouquet/garter toss, not that it ever really happens that the person who catches it is next to get married. I would bet the statistics probably really isn't what upholds that tradition. I don't fully understand why two things the bride has brought to the wedding get thrown??? Why doesn't the groom throw his boutinier thing?? Is the garter throwing a symbol that he is going to get lucky on his wedding night?? If so why wouldn't he flip open his wallet and toss the condom he had in there since he was 16 years old? Since really a reason for marriage is to pro-create, so it would be symbolic that your tossing away forms of birth control now that your married.
A few of the traditions I really don't understand all that well are A)Attendants - bridesmaids & groomsmen, why so many, I was at a wedding once where there were 14 attendants! I think if I were to get married at this time in my life I might just have one. Simply for the purpose that they have to sign the certificate. Don't get me wrong, I love my bridesmaids dearly and they all hold a special place in my heart. But they day is about the bride not a bunch of girls who walk down the aisle before she does. Or are these attendants supposed to help you do everything? I guess I chose to do everything myself because I am anal about things, and really bridesmaids or not, true friends would help you do something if you asked them to anyways right... I know I would. Just seems a little odd now that I think about it. B) The Cake - What is the deal with the cake? Yes, wedding cakes are beautiful. But usually so are their price tags. What is the point of it??? We have already eaten dinner did we pose lovingly with our hands on one $150 knife with is $25 bow to cut & butter our dinner roll? NO. What is that about? Furthermore, this bride spends all this time getting dolled up and some spend a small fortune getting their makeup done for that day just for their Big Daddy to smash cake in her face and everyone laughs? Why does the couple cut it? Why aren't their wedding candles? Hey, nix the fact I said that. The entrepreneur in me is screaming out that I should invent wedding candles for the bride and groom to light once blow out for the mere price of $50... $75 for s special order. What is so "traditional" about the cake and its cutting I just can't grasp. So I must admit that if I were getting married right now, at this time in my life I probably would not have a cake. Because really it just needs a table of all its own and that just hogs up some good dancing space.
With all that said, Big Daddy and I did spend a small fortune on our wedding 6 years ago and I wouldn't change it for the world. It was a great wedding with lots of guests, good food and a lot of fun. But truth be told I wish I knew then what I know now and life isn't all about the wedding, it truly is about the marriage. The tiny little things about the wedding that I thought were huge at the time are faded now and they definitely hold no place in what our marriage is. A wedding is just that, a wedding. It is one day. A marriage is a lifetime. This day in age I think people all too often forget that when they get married. I truly believe that if some people took the effort they put forth to plan their wedding and put that sort of energy in to building a marriage the divorce rate wouldn't be so high. But, who am I to say...What do I know?
This weekend we attended a wedding, it was wonderful. But it made me think about a few things. Whenever anyone gets engaged they ask what things I liked/disliked about our wedding. I loved our wedding it was perfect and a nice way to celebrate the start of our marriage. But really if I were to be getting married now instead of then I am sure I would do a few things differently.
I think when I was planning our wedding I just did things because, well, that is what you did. Being 20 years old and planning such a large swaray is an overwhelming task. It obviously is for any bride since the term "bridezilla" usually comes along about any gal who is about to walk down the aisle. But I think one thing I have pondered the last few days more than anything are the traditions behind the events at a wedding. Some of them I fully understand and think that they have deep meaning and would definitely do if I were to be planning a wedding at this point in time, others are a real head-scratcher for me and I have come up empty handed as to any sort of meaning they hold and why people make such a fuss over them.
I also wonder if these "traditions" are world wide, Canadian, North American or what. I am sure some things about wedding are similar across the globe but others probably vary so drastically. I think the concept of rings is pretty world wide... I could be wrong (LOL and usually am) but I believe in the tradition of rings and what they symbolize. I think that marital love should be everlasting and have no beginning or end, just as a ring does. Plus when your pregnant at 21/22 years old people look for the ring all time
Other traditions I think I understand are A) The Reception - for the simple fact that it is usually a really blessed day that you want to celebrate. B) The First Dance - I think dancing is looked upon as intimate and emotional which only couples should share. C)The Toss - I guess I understand the whole bouquet/garter toss, not that it ever really happens that the person who catches it is next to get married. I would bet the statistics probably really isn't what upholds that tradition. I don't fully understand why two things the bride has brought to the wedding get thrown??? Why doesn't the groom throw his boutinier thing?? Is the garter throwing a symbol that he is going to get lucky on his wedding night?? If so why wouldn't he flip open his wallet and toss the condom he had in there since he was 16 years old? Since really a reason for marriage is to pro-create, so it would be symbolic that your tossing away forms of birth control now that your married.
A few of the traditions I really don't understand all that well are A)Attendants - bridesmaids & groomsmen, why so many, I was at a wedding once where there were 14 attendants! I think if I were to get married at this time in my life I might just have one. Simply for the purpose that they have to sign the certificate. Don't get me wrong, I love my bridesmaids dearly and they all hold a special place in my heart. But they day is about the bride not a bunch of girls who walk down the aisle before she does. Or are these attendants supposed to help you do everything? I guess I chose to do everything myself because I am anal about things, and really bridesmaids or not, true friends would help you do something if you asked them to anyways right... I know I would. Just seems a little odd now that I think about it. B) The Cake - What is the deal with the cake? Yes, wedding cakes are beautiful. But usually so are their price tags. What is the point of it??? We have already eaten dinner did we pose lovingly with our hands on one $150 knife with is $25 bow to cut & butter our dinner roll? NO. What is that about? Furthermore, this bride spends all this time getting dolled up and some spend a small fortune getting their makeup done for that day just for their Big Daddy to smash cake in her face and everyone laughs? Why does the couple cut it? Why aren't their wedding candles? Hey, nix the fact I said that. The entrepreneur in me is screaming out that I should invent wedding candles for the bride and groom to light once blow out for the mere price of $50... $75 for s special order. What is so "traditional" about the cake and its cutting I just can't grasp. So I must admit that if I were getting married right now, at this time in my life I probably would not have a cake. Because really it just needs a table of all its own and that just hogs up some good dancing space.
With all that said, Big Daddy and I did spend a small fortune on our wedding 6 years ago and I wouldn't change it for the world. It was a great wedding with lots of guests, good food and a lot of fun. But truth be told I wish I knew then what I know now and life isn't all about the wedding, it truly is about the marriage. The tiny little things about the wedding that I thought were huge at the time are faded now and they definitely hold no place in what our marriage is. A wedding is just that, a wedding. It is one day. A marriage is a lifetime. This day in age I think people all too often forget that when they get married. I truly believe that if some people took the effort they put forth to plan their wedding and put that sort of energy in to building a marriage the divorce rate wouldn't be so high. But, who am I to say...What do I know?
posted by Jessica @ 9:57 PM
1 Comments:
At 11:17 AM ,
Shar-Lee said...
We spent a grand total of $500.00 on our wedding, 8 years ago, had one attendant each, a photographer, and a couple friends. It was absolutely amazing and I wouldn't have done anything differently. I think too many people focus too much onto the wedding and not enough onto the marraige.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home