You Must Have a Big, White Wedding?

How many reality shows can you see on TV depicting the ultimate, must have, to-die-for wedding? I don't watch TV, so I don't really know. (According to BridesTelevision.com there are 18.) What I do know is that once I got engaged and started asking others for advice and recommendations, people overwhelmingly recommended that I watch these shows. I had no real idea of the things that were expected of me, so I acquiesced.

Courtesy of TLC's website, I was able to spend several hours of a lovely Sunday afternoon watching "Say Yes to the Dress Big Bliss" since these brides were more like me in many, many ways. (More about the dresscapades later.) But one thing that really stayed with me was the cost of these things! So many of the girls went in there saying their dress budget was $3,000. I mean whoa! Yikes type expensive! So I talked this over with Mr. Fox, he too was really floored by the expense.

Mr. Fox: (scared and hesitant) Do you need to have a $3,000 dress? I mean it's only one day. A big, important day, but still only one day.

Me: (dubiously) Well, I don't nee-eed one, but wouldn't ree-eally be opposed to having one if we could ree-eally afford it.

Mr. Fox: (even more scared, almost in a whisper) Do you think we can afford it?

Me: (confidently) Of course not!

Mr. Fox breathed a sigh of relief. Every time I brought up a new bit of wedding-ness in the beginning of our planning, usually brought on by a recent perusal of wedding websites and such, he seemed to tense up and brace himself for the outflow of cash that would be required. However, though I find myself momentarily caught up in the whirlwind of Big, White Wedding Must Haves, I try to really parse out what is important and what is not and stay grounded. We do not need to spend $50,000 to be married. Mr. Fox is now able to relax about the spending since he's (relatively) sure I won't turn into a crazy Bridezilla.

I find it sad that in the end, for many people the wedding is more about the designer of the dress and the beauty of the centerpieces than the real reason we all get together: to celebrate the union of two people in love. This can be done over a bucket of chicken in the backyard of your house and still be as beautiful and meaningful as a super expensive Tiffany diamond-encrusted soiree. After all, you'll still be just as married and you'll also still be able to use your credit cards to buy another bucket next week!

Mmm, chicken!