Weddings are so anticlimactic

[TChewy]

My wife's best friend got married this weekend and my wife was the matron of honor. Everything went great, they had a nice wedding, my wife made an AWESOME speech, but it just all felt so anticlimactic to me. I was telling my wife about this and how our wedding felt the same and she agreed. It seems you plan for this thing for a year, or more, pay for it all, ramp up the last few days for it, take days off, what not, have a few hours of party and it's done, just like that. Kind of a huge build up to a quick fall. Just thought I'd share that for no other reason than I was bored.

[airplanedoc]

Yep, I have 1 more to go to and I will be wedding free for a while. I can't wait to get it over with.

[Newfie]

We've been married nearly 31 years, and it's my opinion the biggest waste of money for us ever was our wedding.

Our daughter is now 27, and from the time she was 18 we told her:

"If you call us from somewhere and say you've eloped, we will give you a nice tidy downpayment on a house. If you want the big wedding instead, save your money."

[luvmysuper]

After some period of time, the wife forgets about the post wedding let down.

Then she has the "album" to sustain her for many years to come.

[TChewy]

Yeah I guess I just don't really see what the point is and who it's really for. Then again, I'm a guy so maybe I just don't get it.

[airplanedoc]

A friend of ours had 2 daughters, when the 2nd one got engaged, her father wrote out a check handed it to her and he said that is what I paid for your sisters wedding, I suggest you take that and elope.

she didn't

[PigKnappster]

I agree with the OP, thats why my wife and I decided to get married in Las Vegas. We decided to put our money that would have been spent on the wedding toward our honeymoon and new house.

[Amer]

I, for one, love that anti-climactic feeling. It happens after watching a great movie, after a great book, after a great life experience that creates a memory.

My wedding day is a blur of memories, but I clearly remember the anti-climactic feeling. I was relieved it was over, and I was amazed at the range of emotions I felt that day.

I tend to think that feeling that truly means you're missing what you just had. It's immensely satisfying, knowing that you're experienced something so moving that you are missing it.

Our wedding cost a lot of money and had a very stressful planning period. In the end, we both had a great time. People are still telling us 2 years later now that it was the best time they've ever had at a wedding. I'm happy we were able to spend it with everyone that we love and care about and that a good time was had by all, including us.

[badmammajamma]

Everybody else's wedding I've been to end up being a bunch of hustle and bustle ending in a drunken haze by the end of the night . . . . . could've gotten that at the bar

[Wendy]

Okay guys, I have to disagree. Maybe it is the womanly side coming out : ) I had the best wedding. We planned it in 7 months did not spend a fortune and had a great crowd. It was on the smaller side about 130 or so. Mom and I made all of the flowers, party favors and much more. Anything that we could not make we bought on ebay from party suppliers and saved even more. Not to mention the place we had our reception at offered open bar very cheap. I have told my husband I want another party at our 10 year and I will once again walk down the aisle and head to a party, heck maybe another honeymoon. But I will wear my same dress to save money

[Uncle Erik]

The best reception I ever went to was simply a barbeque with several kegs of beer. I think the total cost (several years ago) was under $1,000 and everyone had a great time.

So far, I've managed to dodge the aisle twice. We'll see if my luck holds up.

[Iakona]

I'm old enough (not that old I guess - 32) and make few enough friends (I am sure that this is the telling fact) that I haven't had to go to a wedding in a long time. I did my time though, with several weddings over several years. If I only had to attend 2 more weddings (my sons) then I'd fine with that.

[galopede]

I can't knock weddings as my ceilidh band gets good money for little work doing them!

The caller has to do most of the work as getting the drunks dancing is like herding cats! Us in the band sit about drinking the free beer and eating the free food and they pay us much more that a decent folk festival does!

Gareth

[letsdisinfect]

The best reception I ever went to was simply a barbeque with several kegs of beer. I think the total cost (several years ago) was under $1,000 and everyone had a great time.

This is what I'm hoping my wedding to be like. This time next year I'll let you guys know if we pulled it off!

[Duamuteffe]

Okay guys, I have to disagree. Maybe it is the womanly side coming out : ) I had the best wedding. We planned it in 7 months did not spend a fortune and had a great crowd. It was on the smaller side about 130 or so. Mom and I made all of the flowers, party favors and much more. Anything that we could not make we bought on ebay from party suppliers and saved even more. Not to mention the place we had our reception at offered open bar very cheap. I have told my husband I want another party at our 10 year and I will once again walk down the aisle and head to a party, heck maybe another honeymoon. But I will wear my same dress to save money

+1 for making things yourself- it's fun and cheap!

We did everything ourselves and with the help of our friends, and had a very simple ceremony outdoors at my grandparents' place. My dress was white cotton, inexpensive and a plain pattern so I could dye it and use it as a summer dress afterward. We said no dress code, so our friends came in various degrees of sartorial splendor (some of them took it as a challenge :) For food we had a cookout (I think we're one of the few weddings where guests got to shuck corn) and skeet shooting for afters. There's some great pictures of DH shooting skeet in a tux. I guess our friends and family stuck around well after we'd taken off for our honeymoon. It was basically a party where we happened to get married.

[otherstar]

My wife and I both thing big weddings are for the birds. We had a smallish wedding, but should have had an even smaller wedding (we paid for it ourselves) but we gave in to family pressures on both sides. We are of the firm opinion that the wedding doesn't really matter all that much, it's the marriage that is important. We will celebrate our 12th anniversary in June!

[TChewy]

Thanks for the ladies' inputs, and the gentlemen too of course. Sounds like if you all had basically an informal party, it was more fun than a full on rehearsed, semi-traditional wedding. My wife's been talking about doing the whole 10 year vow renewal thing too and we'll see how that goes, since I have a few more years, but I guess if we plan it more like a big party than a wedding, it might be less anticlimactic.

[C Reed]

The ex and I got married in Hackney Town hall, had a reception in London fields with cupcakes instead of cake and a picnic instead of catering, our friends brought food and champagne instead of gifts and one of our friends who is a DJ/ Promoter threw a huge 4 floor ware house party for us that night, every one at the wedding got in and drank for free at the party other people paid and he gave us half the profit as a gift. Peaches Geldof turned up. It was fun, I got married for just around $1,000 and can say that a huge celebrity came to my wedding party.. kinda.