My future husband is very involved in the wedding planning. So much so that I call him Groomzilla (he, however, prefers the term “Groom-A-Saurus Rex”). Regardless of which beast you use as his moniker, I’m loving it. After all, isn’t marriage a partnership? Why wouldn’t you want your significant other to partner with you on the planning of the wedding as well? But, not everyone sees it this way.
Oh sure, it’s all well and good when we’re at home flipping through bridal magazines and watching a “Say Yes to the Dress” marathon on TLC (he says it’s important to watch so that I’ll get some ideas, but we both know the truth), but when you actually bring the groom dress shopping with you the sales clerks tend to bristle. I guess it really must be a rarity though – most of these places did not even offer a men’s restroom, just a women’s.
As far as I know, no couple has ever experienced “bad luck” from seeing each other in their wedding attire before the big day. And I certainly know couples who have cautiously avoided seeing each other beforehand who are now very much divorced. So, what’s with the sticklers and their outdated superstitions?
I have a hunch that half of the stress involved in wedding planning stems from all these little pointless traditions. Brides spending hours on calligraphy for two whole layers of invitation envelopes (why are there two levels of envelope?) that people rip open and immediately discard. The desperate hunt for items that are old, new, borrowed and/or blue. Endless debates over what eco-friendly, non-toxic, attractive item can be tossed at them as they exit their wedding. And obsessive tribulations over whether your groom will like the dress you picked as you drag your friends from store to store to try on everything in a 200-mile radius and furtively show photos to your betrothed in an attempt to get a hint as to what he likes.
Or he could just come along with you when you go shopping. Mystery solved! Crisis averted! But, by the reaction we’ve gotten, I have to say that America isn’t ready yet for our sort of “progressive” attitude on kicking these antiquated traditions to the curb. After all, everyone else in America still follows all the old wedding traditions – brides who wear white are always virgins, dowries are promptly given in exchange for taking daughters off of their father’s hands (after all, it was the parents who were responsible for arranging for their children to be married to each other), a couple would never dream of cohabitating prior to marriage, and vows are exclusively “’til death do us part.”
Yes, I can see how us seeing each other’s clothing before the big day is a tradition that should absolutely not be broken. That would totally undermine the whole institution of marriage!
Oh sure, it’s all well and good when we’re at home flipping through bridal magazines and watching a “Say Yes to the Dress” marathon on TLC (he says it’s important to watch so that I’ll get some ideas, but we both know the truth), but when you actually bring the groom dress shopping with you the sales clerks tend to bristle. I guess it really must be a rarity though – most of these places did not even offer a men’s restroom, just a women’s.
As far as I know, no couple has ever experienced “bad luck” from seeing each other in their wedding attire before the big day. And I certainly know couples who have cautiously avoided seeing each other beforehand who are now very much divorced. So, what’s with the sticklers and their outdated superstitions?
I have a hunch that half of the stress involved in wedding planning stems from all these little pointless traditions. Brides spending hours on calligraphy for two whole layers of invitation envelopes (why are there two levels of envelope?) that people rip open and immediately discard. The desperate hunt for items that are old, new, borrowed and/or blue. Endless debates over what eco-friendly, non-toxic, attractive item can be tossed at them as they exit their wedding. And obsessive tribulations over whether your groom will like the dress you picked as you drag your friends from store to store to try on everything in a 200-mile radius and furtively show photos to your betrothed in an attempt to get a hint as to what he likes.
Or he could just come along with you when you go shopping. Mystery solved! Crisis averted! But, by the reaction we’ve gotten, I have to say that America isn’t ready yet for our sort of “progressive” attitude on kicking these antiquated traditions to the curb. After all, everyone else in America still follows all the old wedding traditions – brides who wear white are always virgins, dowries are promptly given in exchange for taking daughters off of their father’s hands (after all, it was the parents who were responsible for arranging for their children to be married to each other), a couple would never dream of cohabitating prior to marriage, and vows are exclusively “’til death do us part.”
Yes, I can see how us seeing each other’s clothing before the big day is a tradition that should absolutely not be broken. That would totally undermine the whole institution of marriage!
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