Recently, an article ran in The Daily Mail about a bride and groom who were desperate to get married this calendar year (2013), but felt that they simply didn't have the funds. To quote: 'We don't want a big fancy wedding but even the most basic of packages is too expensive."
So many couples have found themselves in the same place, but this couple in question has decided that they're going to rent space on her wedding dress and his wedding suit for advertisements from local businesses in order to pay for the wedding. YES, you read correctly: they want to rent themselves out as human billboards in order to pay for their wedding. Their only request is that they be allowed to remove all signage for photographs.
It seems it's time to state the obvious: you do not need to have a wedding in order to get married. They are two completely different things and one is merely an excuse for the other. Getting married is a moment where two people commit to spending a life together. A wedding is where you celebrate that commitment with people whom you love. It costs nearly nothing to actually get married. It does cost a sum of money to have a wedding. I know that this is basic information, but I think that as a society we have gotten so muddled that the desire for one (a wedding) is polluting the meaning and importance of the other (a marriage). Perhaps it's just me but I would like to think that nothing should come between spouses -- let alone a sign for Jodi's dry cleaning service.
I could go on and on about a lack of sanctity for their vows. I could address the misplaced priorities: they forgone their own flat in an effort to save money for this wedding. Truth be told though, I'm far more disturbed by what this says about the growing trend of hosting a wedding at any cost -- financial or otherwise. I can't help but feel that we, as a society, must be so desperate for human connection, validation and attention that we are willing to hold parties we can't afford, hawk ourselves as billboards OR even in some cases marry someone wholly inappropriate just to fulfill those needs. For some reason nothing is quite as socially acceptable a means of receiving attention and love as being a bride at a wedding. This story called to mind Kim Kardashian's massive wedding extravaganza -- the TV special around it lasted nearly as long as the marriage itself.
Only, at least in that instance she was actually a celebrity (for better or for worse). The other thought that ran through my mind as I read this sad story was: but WHY would anyone want to advertise on your gown in the first place? Who are you and who is your audience that people would be paying attention? Oh, right, now you are the couple who was in the Daily Mail article. Perhaps, that alone makes it mission accomplished.