What happened to Weddings?

Once upon a time weddings were simple events. You fell in love, you told your family and friends, you went to church in your “Sunday best” clothes for a simple ceremony either during or after the service, then you went home for a small celebration feast with those closest to you. The end. No full year of planning, no high ticket dresses, no fire-breathing elephants dancing at your $50,000 reception hall. Just two people, in love. Simple.

Now the word wedding seems to mean complicated and expensive. Why? What happened?

Human beings have a natural tendency to emulate those they see as stronger and/or more successful, so when the upper classes of society do something the lower classes try to follow suit. When the Queen of England decided to wear an elaborate white gown for her wedding in 1840, white wedding gowns started to fly off the shelves. As television coverage of weddings, both real and imaginary, shares the images of bigger, louder, flashier weddings in our minds we gravitate towards replicating them.

What if we just slow down, wake up and get back to what’s really important – two people, in love.

What if, instead of looking for the “Wow factor”, we looked for the heart of the celebration?

What if weddings weren’t stressful and expensive affairs? What if they were simple and fun and intimate again?