Do you like
going to weddings? Are traditional weddings a good thing, or have these
traditions become too restrictive? Can
you understand why brides (and grooms) are reluctant to spend a lot of
time and money on a wedding, or maybe would like to avoid any ceremony at
all? Could the anti-bride trend help
solve these problems or is it just a scam?
Saturday, January 20, 2024
Wedding Woes
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Even though I am not really a fan of modern weddings and I would enjoy a traditional wedding far more I think that if a person wants an alternative wedding they should have it. It is their “big day” and therefore it should be planned based on what the bride and groom will enjoy the most. However, with today's inflation the desire for traditional weddings is on decline and people tend to go for cheaper options, which I think is a smart decision. But, the smaller and cheaper weddings take away from the wedding market. The wedding industry suffers and their solution is to come up with something that will attract people and seem as a cheap alternative. Just the name of the “anti-bride” wedding seems to go against traditional celebrations and its target audience are people with modern beliefs. Not only that, it also presents itself and may appear as a lot cheaper than a traditional wedding. I would consider these assumptions a bit suspicious since the marketing on the “anti- bride” trend is so heavy, it is almost overwhelming. As I learnt from the article, the brides who opt for seemingly cheaper wedding celebrations spend big amounts of money anyway, it is just less noticeable. Even the dresses, though a lot simpler than traditional ones, are still expensive and can go for 5000$ as is mentioned in the article. Is it therefore worth it to pay the same amount for a dress that obviously did not take as much effort and materials as a traditional one did? I think that people need to be careful and not associate alternative wedding options with cheap wedding options. Just because it is different from a traditional wedding it does not mean it is cheaper than one.
ReplyDelete- Mária
Hi Majka,
DeleteI agree with you that the wedding should first and foremost suit the bride (and the groom of course) and that many people would prefer not to spend a small fortune on a one-day celebration. However, I do not think that the cost is the main reason why so many young brides opt for the new “anti-bride” trend. As you noted, an anti-bride wedding can easily come to as much as a traditional one. In my opinion, just like the article states, it is more about the bride wanting to spend some quality time with her soon-to-be husband instead of meeting and talking with all the relatives she had last seen when she was 10 years old. And yes, as you mentioned, the industry uses this opportunity to offer all kinds of services in order to earn the money they don’t get from the traditional wedding. The clear sign of this is all the brand clothes, accessories, and decorations you can see at an anti-bride wedding. This, however, transforms a lovely wedding into a meeting of celebrities where all try to act cool and the atmosphere is cold. If you think I am exaggerating, just look up the term anti-bride, look at some pictures, and you will see that at least every third bride has an expression of a marble statue.
- Oliver K.
I personally really enjoy going to wedding, not only because I get to experience these beguiling events, but also because I get to spend quality time with my friends or family, I can dress up and do my makeup and act fancy, and I get to experience memories I will never forget. When I think of weddings, the first wedding that instantly coms to mind is my cousin's wedding. Their wedding wasn't incredibly glamorous, but it had components that were traditional to fancy weddings. That wedding was by far my favorite (I've attended about three or four in my life) and has been engraved in my brain ever since. I really enjoyed it because I met up with my childhood friends and the entire family gathered and we had a mini reunion, which was really nice. When I think of the wedding itself (minus the people) and only focus on the elements it had, I think it was just right. Not too cramped with useless decorations, but still entailed elegant parts, which I really admired. Their wedding reception was kind of basic, but that did not matter at all, because so many of the "deeper" or "sentimental" factors made up for it. I personally am not opposed to big fancy weddings, however, after learning how much money is required for such a "party" to occur, I cannot stop thinking about the different ways that money could have been used. Everyone can do whatever they want with that money, it is theirs after all, however I'm not sure if I'd do the same had that been me. I completely understand why newlyweds would be reluctant to spend excessive time and money on planning large weddings, because I would do the exact same. I'd rather spend that money on my honeymoon and visit some exotic place where we would not be as restricted when it comes to the budget. I also understand why couples would not have a ceremony at all, perhaps they may not think that a ceremony is necessary to prove their love for each other. I think the "anti-bride" movement does not necessarily make sense as a bride and a wedding are involved anyway. Taking on a modern way to host a ceremony is not something I'm against, but I do believe the trend is a scam.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I do not see the shift away from the "traditional" wedding as a problem. I believe it is reasonable for the interpretation of weddings and marriage to adapt to societal changes that have occurred since the first weddings. Furthermore, what are now considered traditional aspects of weddings were originally intended to solve issues that are no longer relevant today.
ReplyDeleteIn this article, the public perception of weddings is portrayed as the best, happiest, and most exciting day of someone's life. However, the concept of marriage as a whole has been the subject of much discussion, particularly in relation to feminist movements and the trend of people in Western countries marrying at older ages and at lower rates than ever before. I have noticed a generational divide in opinions when comparing the views of my peers with those of my parents and older family members. From my perspective, the increasing number of career opportunities and a growing atheism among younger generations lead to second thoughts before accepting the traditional life path of university, marriage, and children as the default option. Despite these statistics, the wedding industry still charges exorbitant prices for anything labeled as a "wedding" cake or a "wedding" dress. These shifts in mindset, coupled with the rising prices of anything wedding-related, understandably alter people's ideas of their ideal wedding.
I have seen more “laid back” and “non-traditional” weddings on the internet for some time now but the term “anti-bride” has somehow swung past me. Currently, there are many different trends storming the internet, whether it comes to clothes, free-time activities, the way people should act or weddings, the “aesthetic” surrounding these things seems to be the top priority. So, I think that the term “anti-bride” is very easily twisted into something that it was not intended to be. From what I read in this article, when people, especially brides, hear this term, they think of small, simple weddings that do not have to follow all traditions and have their unique twist to them without spending a fortune on them. However, the media and companies used this term to their advantage and turned it into an “aesthetic” that might seem cheaper than a traditional wedding but is not. I think it is bound to happen in today’s society with everyone sharing their lives on the internet. People want to be different from the norm but all still become the same somehow.
ReplyDeleteFor me, personally, a wedding is the celebration of love between two people and their closest friends and family members. The son of my family's friend was to have a wedding in December of last year and invited us even though he did not know us, altogether he invited over 350 people. To me, this seems like a waste of money and a not-very-personal way to celebrate one’s love for someone. I do understand that many people see weddings as a “one in a lifetime” event and want to go all out, making it a day that they will remember forever. And I understand how making such a day the greatest event and party of their lives may seem appealing. This is not something that I would want, I like the beauty and intimacy of smaller weddings. I like the idea of inviting people you are close to and do not need to pretend to be someone you are not on such a special day. When it comes to traditions, I think that it is completely normal that they are slowly fading away. I think that a lovely advantage that our society has today is that we can choose whether we want to have a traditional wedding, a non-traditional one, or a mix of both. I quite like it when weddings are more casual than serious, I think that it makes the bride and groom feel less stressed and the guests as well. Getting married could be seen as quite a big deal and laying off some of the stress of such a big commitment on THE day is very helpful in my opinion.
Overall, I found this article very interesting. I think that any activity can be made a trend these days, so one must be careful if they are acting based on their wishes or being tricked into wanting something. I see no problem with someone wanting a large wedding or a small wedding, I think that it is a very personal matter and everyone has very different priorities.
- Nina