My wedding research is uncovering new, hilarious articles every day. Thank goodness for Lexis-Nexis. From the New York Times, on June 6 of this year, we have "Recipe for the New Perfect Wedding: A $5,000 Cake and Hold the Simplicity," by Cathy Horyn. A few seminal quotes:

Far more troubling to her is the message that the media, and the wedding industry, now give young women. ''The message is: 'Spend time on yourself, not on your moral or intellectual development, but on displaying yourself,''' Dr. [Katherine Jellison, an Ohio University history professor] said.

However, wedding professionals in the trenches tend to view this development more harshly. ''I wouldn't want my clients to hear me say this,'' a retailer said, ''but I think it's because we've raised a generation of spoiled brats. Everything is about them -- 'me, me, me.'''

A very astute and succinct comment. Also, here's the real damage of the Big Wedding:

The average American couple spends $22,300 for their wedding, according to a 2002 survey by Fairchild Bridal InfoBank. In New York and Washington, the average is $35,000 (and, in reality, say caterers, closer to $50,000). Even though more and more couples are paying for their own weddings or pooling family resources, credit management companies have seen a rise in wedding-related debt.

And Ms. Barrett, of the Bridal Mall in Connecticut, said: ''I think some of the franticness I'm seeing in brides is because they know they're overextended. Their credit cards are maxed out.'' [Barbara Barrett, the owner of the Bridal Mall in Niantic, Conn.]

Posted by Hilary at August 22, 2004 10:19 PM