There are so many different ways to get married. From elopements to tacky Vegas weddings to the most elaborate and expensive celebrity wedding ever to be captured by paparazzi in helicopters, everyone has their own mental picture of the ideal wedding. What many people forget is that a wedding isn’t supposed to be an end to itself. Instead it’s supposed to be a celebration of the marriage between two specific people — and two specific families.
Blending the traditions and cultures of two families is the ultimate goal of a wedding, because the marriage itself is going to be a lifeline joining of the two. If a wedding manages to honor both families and celebrate the heart of the bride and groom, then it’s succeeded in ways an extravagant society event could never hope to.
Some people are referring to the current era as the Great Recession. Perhaps this age of smaller guest lists, used wedding dress , and do-it-yourself receptions will help society get back to an ideal that focuses on celebrating marriage instead of staging grand productions.