4 Reasons Not to Have a Wedding

Stereotyping would lead everyone to believe that all little girls spend their childhoods dreaming of being a princess and (when they realize the unlikeliness of that happening) planning their big day in a white dress.

Well, believe it or not, I never had even thought about wedding planning as a child. It was just never one of my dreams to have some big, extravagant wedding. I actually cringing a little right now.
4 Reasons NOT to Have a Wedding
My husband and I have been married for over 5 years now. We were wed by a judge in a local courthouse. We "celebrated" the weekend before we were married by resting comfortably in our new apartment and taking the weekend off work. We were wed on a Monday afternoon, about an hour after I left work for the day.

1. You don't have a couple extra thousand dollars.

Even inexpensive weddings typically climb past $1000 after you break down all the real expenses. Even if that's spread over time, could you and should you have used that money for something else? We skipped the fancy wedding and reception and put the money toward our first apartment and the baby we were expecting. Instead of entering into marriage with some extra debt, why not take that money and apply it toward something like a first home, student loans, an emergency fund, etc.
4 reasons to get married but skip the wedding

2. You don't like to ask your friends to pay for your wedding.

This one drives me a little crazy. I've never understood the, "Want to be in MY wedding? Yeah? Okay, I'll need X amount of money for your bridesmaid dress for MY wedding." I know not every wedding works this way, but it seems to be more and more common, especially when people are trying to save money. If that's the case, see point 1!

3. You might get divorced.

Ouch! That one hurt, didn't it? Divorce rates are crazy high, so it's possible, but let's hope it's not probable. Anyway, dropping a couple thousand dollars on a wedding only to get divorced in a year, two years, or five years seems crazy!
4 Reasons to Skip Your Own Wedding

4. You'd rather celebrate time wed, not getting wed.

This was a big one for me. I'd like to have a vow renewal someday to celebrate being together X amount of years. I think that's a cause for celebration, more the just celebrating getting married. I'd rather celebrate staying married.


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11 comments :

  1. I see your point. Weddings are insanely expensive nowadays when you can buy personalized almost everything and people top each other with how much they are spending on their wedding. They are spending their family's money too. That is one big issue for me.

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  2. I think this is great. I did want a wedding but we kept it low budget. I feel like our society is a little bit obsessed and crazy about weddings these days! I'm hoping to do a vow renewal as well because I do kinda feel like staying together is more worth celebrating. Great post.

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    1. Yeah I hope to celebrate staying together someday! It's just not that important to me right now.

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  3. These viewpoints are certainly interesting! I am planning our wedding for March and none of these have ever crossed my mind. However, I am a total girly-girl and have planned my wedding from start to finish since I was 5 haha

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  4. These are some really good points. I've seen some wedding things from the States and everyone seems to drop 25-50k on a wedding with barely a second thought. It seems very extravagant to me!

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  5. These are valid points, but I'm one of those girls who has been planning for awhile now and I actually work in the wedding industry. I have friends that are getting married and have spent over 30k on the wedding--I'm just as baffled as you. Hello, I could put a hefty down payment on a house with that (which is actually what my bf and I are saving for BEFORE we decide to get married). I cannot imagine spending THAT much money on a three hour party!

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  6. I hope I should have read this post before I took the plunge. But I can totally relate to what you are saying. EXPENSIVE is one word to describe it.

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  7. I also never dreamed of a big wedding. But I am also not married either. I have shared with friends that have felt the pressure to have some big elaborate wedding or to invite certain people because their parents have known them forever...this is YOUR day to celebrate however you want. Bump everyone else. Easier said then done but something worth remembering.

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    1. I do think too many people get caught up in what everyone else wants, unfortunately.

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  8. I find now-a-days weddings are not about the couple. We threw a massive party and only invite the people we like, no extras. The day was filled with things we liked and that's it. It still cost more than I would have liked but I don't feel it was a waste. I wish more people would do what they would love instead of what society dictates. Great post

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  9. As someone who is on her second marriage, this is spot on.

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