“Excerpt From White Weddings (1999)” by Chrys Ingraham
After reading all four of the articles the one that had the greatest affect on me was “Excerpt From White Weddings (1999)” by Chrys Ingraham. In her article the author explains about how Americans are spending considerably more money on weddings than in the past. Over the years, as couples and families have increased their spending the wedding industry has turned into a multibillion-dollar enterprise. “This multibillion-dollar industry includes the sale of a diverse range of products, many of which are produced outside of the U.S.- wedding gowns, diamonds, honeymoon travel and apparel, and house-hold equipment” (Ingraham 367). This quote is important because it gives the reader entire perspective on the many different layers of wedding expenses and it is far reaching flow of money on wedding suppliers. Within the United States, there are regional differences in wedding spending patterns. For example, in the Midwest weddings prices are around $16,000 while in New York the average wedding is closer to $30,000. This is a considerable amount of money given that the average American is making less then $25,000 a year. With this increase in the cost of a wedding appears seems as if the celebration is more about the glitz and glam than the marriage itself. Professor Ingraham then describes the increase in divorce rates, “4.6 per 1,000 persons…the average divorce rate for a woman who remarries is 35, and the average for divorced men is 39” (Ingraham 370). So people are spending more money on weddings and are getting divorced faster each year. Lastly, the use of wedding planners and wedding consultants have blossomed in the recent past which further adds to cost rather than essence the wedding ceremony. In the final section of the article, the author talks about how “Prior to Queen Victoria (1819-1901), white wedding gowns were not the norm” (Ingraham 374). As this is now the norm one can see the extent of change in the wedding industry.
Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries’s wedding is an example of a couple who had an extravagant wedding- costing millions of dollars- only to file for divorce 72 days later. This wedding illustrates the mockery of marriage and the excess of glitz within the wedding industry- it seems more about having magazines like People, Teen and USA OK to publicize about their wedding than the true meaning of marriage. These celebrities in a sense are degrading the idea of weddings, because they are taking advantage of a traditional ceremony by focusing on publicity and money. I just think it is truly ridiculous to be wasting money on a wedding that failed so soon. It appears the entire wedding was a publicity sham- what a shame for those young girls who look up to celebrities like Kim Kardashian. We have people in this country who are trying to survive on a daily basis in a tough economic time while these celebrities put millions of dollars into what should have been the joining of two people who love each other and wish to spend a lifetime together. I found this wedding and its failure a shame.
Questions
1) From the reading by Chrys Ingraham how do you feel about the more traditional wedding to the more public relations weddings like Kim Kardashian?
2) What do you think about the rise in costs for weddings?
3) With the increase of divorce rates do you think it is really worth spending the money on a wedding? Why not just elope?
