There's nothing wrong with wanting an expensive wedding. However, if it depends on whether or not someone else will agree to fund it, you have to consider the possibility that they can refuse.
Recently, a well-off man created a Reddit account to get an outside perspective on the conflict he has been having with his daughter. The dad, who goes on the platform by the nickname Solid-Pass8944, made a post on the subreddit 'Am I the [Jerk]?' saying that she approached him with a request to foot the bill of her dream wedding. However, spending $200,000 on it seemed to him like an unnecessary display of wealth and he told her no.
Because of this, the woman stopped talking to him and the man started having doubts about his decision.
This man was approached by his daughter and asked to pay for her dream wedding
Image credits: Timur Weber (not the actual image)
However, even though he had the money, the $200,000 bill seemed too high for him
Image credits: Solid-Pass8944
As his story went viral, the father addressed some of the questions that people had been asking
An expensive wedding doesn't guarantee a happy future
You can understand the father's reservations. Him spending a huge chunk of money on his daughter's wedding probably wouldn't help the relationship she has with her partner.
One study by two economics professors at Emory University found that women whose weddings cost more than $20,000 divorced at a rate roughly 1.6 times higher than women whose big day was between $5,000 and $10,000.
Additionally, couples who spent $1,000 or less had a lower-than-average rate of divorce.
The researchers had a few theories to explain this.
"It could be that the type of couples who have a … [cheap wedding] are the type that are a perfect match for each other," said Professor Hugo M. Mialon, who co-authored the study with Andrew M. Francis. "Or it could be that having an inexpensive wedding relieves young couples of financial burdens that may strain their marriage," he added.
"The wedding industry has long associated lavish [ceremonies] with longer-lasting marriages. Industry advertising has fueled norms that create the impression that spending large amounts on the wedding is a signal of commitment or is necessary for a marriage to be successful," Francis continued.
"Overall, our findings provide little evidence to support the validity of the wedding industry's general message that connects expensive weddings with positive marital outcomes," he said.
Image credits: TranStudios Photography & Video (not the actual image)
In addition to slashing costs, the bride might want those extra family members to be at the ceremony after all
Interestingly, the study also discovered that the greater the number of people who attend a wedding, the lower the rate of divorce.
"This could be evidence of a community effect, i.e., having more support from friends and family may help the couple to get through the challenges of marriage," Francis said. "Or this could be that the type of couples who have a lot of friends and family are also the type that tend not to divorce as much."
I wonder, does the Redditor's daughter know about this study?
If another bride can pull off a dream wedding with a free Spotify trial and a $12 dress, maybe she too can have a nice time without going to New Zealand.
Image credits: Pavel Danilyuk (not the actual image)
After reading the post, the vast majority of people said the father is being completely reasonable
