Wedding Bliss or Financial Ruin?

What has happened to the idea of marriage?  These days, the so called fairy tale wedding has been transformed into an every day occurence, at the expense of parents or those getting married.  A "fairy tale wedding" should be just that, a fairy tale, something every girl should wish for, but something that only a few attain.  It seems that these days, weddings have become more about the glitz and the glamour than about the love between two people and their desire to spend the rest of their lives with each other.  A wedding day is just that, one solitary day signifying the beginning of the rest of the lives of two people.  Now why am I talking about weddings.  Well, the other day at work I heard a few mothers and a daughter going over the daughter's wedding registry.  Their discussion vacillated between the right color to request for a KitchenAid mixer, the size of the mixing bowl, the the attachments, and where to register for it.  Sporadically through the conversation, attention was brought to the huge diamond ring affixed to the young lady's finger and how often she would have to clean it.  Am I crazy, or has the American psyche gone past love to the objects supposedly representing love.  Not only are guests expected to donate money to the couple to help pay for the wedding (which in most cases it never does), but (as I heard the other day) people are expected to want to buy them gifts in addition.  These don't even begin to factor in the expenses of the wedding itself.  Now, the average wedding costs between 50 and 70 thousand dollars.  For one day.  Not two or three, ONE!  This is more than the majority of Americans make in a single year.  Hence the fairy tale wedding being ingrained as ordinary upon the young women of this country.  Does everyone want this?  Not necessarily.  Can everyone afford this? Most can't, at least not without taking out a second mortgage on a house or taking out massive loans, thus incurring more debt.  Now what happens to a couple who has to pay for this themselves.  In addition to probably paying for a house, they now have this extra burden which they will end up paying for for the next 20-30 years.  It seems the American wedding seems to be more about impressing others (the 200-300 guests in attendance) than about the actual ceremony itself.  Such a small percentage of the money spent on a wedding actually goes towards the ceremony itself.  If it is held in a church, most churches ask simply for a donation or some small fee for having it held there.  This begs the question, Why?  I for one do not have the answer, but if someone could enlighten me on the reason, I would greatly appreciate it.  Every time I try to wrap my head around this issue, my head starts spinning violently to the point where I think it might explode.  Lets also factor in to this issue a smidge of negativity.  The divorce rate in the U.S. is at or above 50%.  If all this money is spent on one day and the couple ends up going their separate ways, what is the point?  And what ever happened to upholding vows and promises.  People pay lip service to the notion of marriage knowing that at the first sign of marital strife, instead of working through the differences, they can hire a lawyer, split the difference, and go their separate ways.  Where am I going with this whole tirade?  I guess I am suggesting that instead of getting married simply for ceremony and party afterwards, people should make sure that they are getting involved with someone that they are compatible with and capable of loving deeply for the rest of their lives, through the good times AND the bad, through health AND sickness.  Love should be the center of marriage, not the dress, flowers, place settings, guests, locale, DJ, etc. etc. etc.  Lets also throw in a little fiscal responsibility and maybe, just maybe people will be a little bit happier and the divorce rate in this country will go down.  (I sincerely hope I did not offend anyone, and if I did, I apologize).  Till next time when I will discuss piracy on the high seas, (I am about to wax romantic here) look deeply into the eyes of the one you love, actually tell them that you love them, and give them a kiss.