Four years ago, I made one of the biggest financial decisions of my life. Loverboy and I decided to get married.
Not for the faint-hearted, a modern girl like me covets a style of wedding that reflects entirely my Sydney style, how thoroughly contemporary I wish to be portrayed to our well-wishers, and of course a nod to the fantasy-land my mind often wanders into. This equation inevitably ends with a multitude of dollar signs and/or lengthy credit card statements which somehow must get paid. Burdensome stuff.
Bridesmaid and the Bride: D3000 f/3.8; Exposure 1/60sec; ISO-200
Fast forward to the now: to Dubai, and its off to the 2012 Bridal Expo that trusty Nikon and I beat a path to. Its a double role I play today, for not only am I documenting the voluminous frocks and endless rhinestone corsets on display, but two of my dearest BFF are soon to get hitched and its as their objective observer that I accompany them to the glittering show.
Mannuequin Bride: D3000; f/3.5; Exposure 1/40sec; ISO-200.
With annual revenues of $53.3 billion and employing hundreds of thousands of people, the wedding industry contributes handsomely to many an economy and causes pockets to burn. Gone are the days of sweet religeous services, hand-me-down dresses and home-made fruit cakes. The average wedding held in the USA, Australia and other relatively strong economies ranges from $36,ooo to $50,000. And this is the lower end, mind. I won’t even mention the right side of the all-out spending bell-curve.
Wedding Cost Through the Years
Any way you cut it, couples are today forking out the equivalent of a 10% deposit on the median-priced capital city home for their wedding. For their friends to eat cake; for their loved ones to drink their fill of fizz…for one frazzled night.
So why have weddings become so expensive? Just have a look at the asking price of “The Gown of your Dreams” and you may get your answer: hyperinflated highway robbery. Multiply that for every aspect of the wedding, add afew more zeros to the end of the price tag, add an overzealous bride and an anxious-to-please husband-to-be, and the end result is a king’s ransom.
Suck it and See Corsetry: D3000 f/3.5; Exposure 1/60sec; ISO-200
Many a cost-conscious bride will moan about the ”wedding premium” charged by venues, florists and make-up artists. Cost of a makeover? About $100. Cost of a bridal makeover? Triple it.
The Modern Bride. D3000 f/3.5; Exposure 1/50sec; ISO-200
However fair play to the modern bride who is a busy creature what with juggling work, wielding positions of real power let alone fretting over linen napery and ice sculptures of her dream nuptules. This thoroughly modern Milly is prepared to pay a premium for someone to organise the details of her big day. In economics jargon, the opportunity cost of a woman’s time has risen.
And that is something truly worth celebrating. Lets eat CAKE!
Cupcake Heaven. Nikon D3000 f/3.4; Exposure 1/60sec; ISO-200
1 Response to Froth n Frou-Frou