Why are weddings so expensive?

I feel the same on this one. It's all one big money making scheme! It's the same as Valentine's day, Christmas, Easter etc. All everyone wants is a big portion of your bank balance. Nothing has any meaning anymore. I want to marry my fiance very much but I don't want a wedding. I just want the two of us to run away somewhere and come back as husband and wife =] I'd quite happily pay for the required documents and drag him down to the registry office in my jeans and a t-shirt.

Why spend over £10,000 on one day when it's every day after that counts? It takes two people to make a marriage and you certainly don't need 300 family members to bless it! Or a £300 photo album to remember it by.

As a woman in her 20s, I think weddings are such a huge waste of time! I can afford to have a big expensive do, but I choose not to - I find them so narcassistic, always about a woman who wants lots of people admiring her and her dress, and guess what - two years down the road, they want a divorce. A lot of my friends would not get married if it involved not getting a wedding to - what does that say about their commitment!

Our wedding was "expensive enough". It also meant that the following week we had to cancel the honey moon :o( I have one, very tearful wife today. :o(

You mean I have all this to look forward to? Cripes!
The troublesome 'child' sounds a bit like my sister in law. My husband's parents are constantly moving to cheaper houses in order to release equity. Unfortunately we're in pricey Berks, so they're having to move further from their only grandchildren each time. Why are they doing this? Because aforementioned sister in law, at the age of 43, lives alone (with several dogs) in a house with an orchard in Majorca and won't work - so her parents pay for everything. Bonkers.

Attila, we do already have a number of children from previous relationships, thankfully all but one are adults now (though you wouldn't know it at times with one of them. We do not have children together at this moment and have no intention at our ages to have any in the future, so 'kids parties' are not on the menu - thank god.

He does have one adult child that is a constant drain though, and this does cause some friction, with my partner making excuses for his behaviour, and the adult child constantly putting this parent on a guilt trip. I personnally feel they as an adult now in their mid 20s should stand on their own 2 feet in every way, instead, when the sh*t hits the fan (gen because he cant be othered to sort it before it gets to that stage), he runs for assistance, and parent runs to help. It's crazy!

Careful JAS - it sounds like you are working up to your first domestic already! It's good to hear you had such a lovely time on the day though.
You should be warned - bad wedding guests are a practice run for dealing with snotty, ungrateful kids at your children's birthday parties later on... welcome to the family!

Thank you all for your comments - even the horrible ones (the horrible ones lead me to believe even more that I have married the 'right guy' after all, even though I had no doubts in the first place!).
The wedding was fantastic, as was the honeymoon.
The gripe I have now is that a few so called 'friends' didn't even bother to show up on the day, even though they knew how much their meals/rooms had cost us, needless to say they are now off MY christmas card list etc. My husband's 'best mate' turned up with his hair done like a skunk (2 tone - just to stand out from the crowd and be a pain in the a**) and couldn't even be bothered to pick up a £1 wedding card, even though he got his room/food for free, now that's a great mate for you, eh? He then proceeded to complain about virtually everything (even though everything was fantastic)to anyone that would listen (which is normal for him). As far as I am concerned, he should have kept his opinions etc to himself, it was supposed to be about us and our day, and all he did was try to wreck it. What does my partner think? Well, he STILL thinks of him as his his best mate! And I thought he had GOOD taste/judgement!

Weddings are sometimes more expensive if you don't go through a planner because they can get deals from their business relationships. Finding good vendors is difficult at best. If you have time, making your own products can save you a bundle in labor costs. Many fancy invitations can be made from ordinary paper and some ideas from Martha Stewart. Or, settling for 2nd best may just have to be it. You want your wedding to be special, but how many people will remember the day other than you? I've only been married 3 years, but I can honestly say that I'm one of a few people who really remembers the wedding details. Even I am hazy about some of the things.

Thanks Rob. It's always nice to to get the 'intelligent' angle and you are evidently a very chivalrous, caring gentleman; in fact I'm sure most women would consider you a real catch... not. When exactly is a woman's sell by date? You sound like a real authority on such matters.

It's usually the woman that wants to SHOW OFF,then a few years down the road REGRET getting married.What a waste of money.BUT, again the woman ALWAYS comes up smelling of roses, she takes her EX HUSBAND for ALL he's got.Do as I do, DON'T get married,you don't need to these days,then BOOT them out when passed their SELL BY DATE. If you poke the fire, expect to get burnt.

Registery office is fine if you want to be pushed off the step and the doors closed behind you for the next couple. give me a church wedding which is what I am having but a do at home with the food and booze from waitrose delivered!! and a small gasebo in the garden thats going to be just right for us even my bridesmaids paid for there own dresses as wedding presents. its the vow's that count in my eyes and heart.

I agree! Mine cost a small fortune, however as my wife comes from a traditional Spanish family her father insisted on paying for the lot! Muchos Gracias Padre!!