Is wedding planning important?

Hello guys, welcome to another blog! This week we talked about something that I have never realized, but thinking about and discussing it, made me have another vision of respecting this situation. I am talking about wedding planning.  

There is no doubt that one of the most special days in our lives is our wedding day. If we are not cohabiting, that day means a big change in all aspects of life. After that moment you are going to share every day with your partner, living in the same place and making a life together. When you get married you decide to connect your goals and experiences with another person on your side. For that reason, a lot of couples want to have a big party to celebrate this new life. I think that it is important to make something special for that day. As I said, this is one of the most important days in our lives. But could too big celebration be detrimental for the relationship?  

In the United States, the average that a couple spends on a wedding is $25.000. I live in Idaho and in this place and culture usually people get married at a young age. I think that on average young people marry at 22 or 23 years old. So, how could two young people cover this cost? It is a common situation that due to lack of money; people delay marriage thinking that it is better to wait until having money to have a big party than make a simpler celebration. When couples delay marriage for a long time it is more likely to start cohabitation. As I said in one of the previous blogs, living together before marriage brings a lot of problems and increases the risk of breaking up. One problem with delaying marriage is that this also delays having children. For older women having children can have a lot of risks. Also, when couples decide to have children after several years they should think that they will have to raise them for many years, and if they are not so young it can be more difficult.  

There are other couples that instead of delayed marriage decide to take a loan. This decision can be very dangerous because the couple can be in debt for a long time. It is crazy to think that some people have big debts just for one day. This situation can have obvious negative repercussions on the marriage. Some couples receive financial help from their parents to finance the wedding, but this could bring some future problems like parents expecting things or behaviors in return for this help.  

But then, what should couples do to have a good celebration without spending excessive amounts of money? In class, we talked that one good solution is to look for more affordable ways to make the wedding. Couples can do this by asking for the support of their family and friends. They can help them in many ways, for example, one person can take care of the music, another can take the pictures, and everyone could contribute with food. Couples can ask for this help instead of gifts. There are also some free places in which people can have their wedding, like the beach.  

What do you think about this topic? Should people spend big amounts of money to celebrate such an important day, or should they look for cheaper ways to celebrate it? I would love to hear your opinion, so leave a comment! I will see you guys in another blog with a nice topic next week.