Bridezilla's revenge: there's a valid excuse for wedding mania—marriage has morphed from a political pact into the pinnacle of romance
PEOPLE LOVE OOHING AND AAHING over a bride--almost as much as they enjoy tsk-tsking about her wedding plans. And there are enough over-the-top, outlandish or just plain quirky weddings in modern America to provide plenty of opportunities for griping. During one recent talk show focusing on the bizarre wedding of TV personality Star Jones--who had a 49-person bridal party and wore a dress with a 27-foot crystal-studded train--scores of listeners called in to complain about wedding travesties that they had themselves endured. The callers recounted tedious vows, painfully off-key songs warbled by bride and groom, the inclusion of the groom's dog in the ceremony. They exchanged horror stories about controlling brides-to-be who obsessed over the trim on bridesmaids' dresses and got into screaming fights about appetizers.
There's a reason why weddings bring out the worst in some young couples: A profound social shift has transformed marriage, and today's wedding ceremonies reflect this change. Marriage is now based on the love of two partners who have an equal say in determining how their commitment will work. As a result, constructing a marriage is now a more personal undertaking--but it is also more precarious.
The contemporary romanticization of marriage would be unrecognizable to the majority of people in the past. Through most of human history, marriage has been a practical economic and political institution over which the betrothed had little control. From the early Middle Ages to the 18th century, marriages for upper-class Europeans were the way that families raised funds, sealed political alliances and made sure that no former lovers or illegitimate children could make claims on their wealth. Elite weddings were extravagant affairs that involved expensive negotiations and festivities, often carried out over a period of months. But these elaborate weddings were not about the personal relationship between bride and groom, who might have never met--and might actually have been in love with someone else.
In the middle classes, marriage was predominantly a business proposition. It was one of the main ways that men raised capital, and the only way that women established economic security. Right up through the 1700s, the dowry a wife brought to marriage was often the biggest infusion of cash and property a man would ever acquire--and endowing a daughter placed a much heavier strain on a woman's family than any modern wedding.
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www.oGills.com
There's a reason why weddings bring out the worst in some young couples: A profound social shift has transformed marriage, and today's wedding ceremonies reflect this change. Marriage is now based on the love of two partners who have an equal say in determining how their commitment will work. As a result, constructing a marriage is now a more personal undertaking--but it is also more precarious.
The contemporary romanticization of marriage would be unrecognizable to the majority of people in the past. Through most of human history, marriage has been a practical economic and political institution over which the betrothed had little control. From the early Middle Ages to the 18th century, marriages for upper-class Europeans were the way that families raised funds, sealed political alliances and made sure that no former lovers or illegitimate children could make claims on their wealth. Elite weddings were extravagant affairs that involved expensive negotiations and festivities, often carried out over a period of months. But these elaborate weddings were not about the personal relationship between bride and groom, who might have never met--and might actually have been in love with someone else.
In the middle classes, marriage was predominantly a business proposition. It was one of the main ways that men raised capital, and the only way that women established economic security. Right up through the 1700s, the dowry a wife brought to marriage was often the biggest infusion of cash and property a man would ever acquire--and endowing a daughter placed a much heavier strain on a woman's family than any modern wedding.
Brought to you by:
www.oGills.com
posted by Birthday Cards at 6:30 PM
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