....to think that weddings have just turned into a shitstorm

[DesolateWaist]

Based purely on threads on here it seems that weddings are just insane now.

If it's not about the venue it's about the invitation, the dresses, the gifts, who is invited, the food or if you can or can't bring children.

AIBU to think that everyone needs to calm this shit down? It's just one sodding day and you end up just as married no matter what colour your cousins dress is or how many flowers there are.

[LowlandLucky]

One of my relatives had a huge expensive wedding, both bride and groom had 3 stage/hen do's, 1 abroad, 1 in a UK city and 1 in their hometown. Months later they were divorced. He is on to the second marriage now is having an even bigger wedding this time.

[valerianaofficiana]

Marriage is primarily a legal contract stipulating responsibilities and rewards of the parties entering said contact. Why are people willing to spend their house deposit for one day of feeding all and sundry on mediocre food, cheap wine and forced conversations with people who will never meet again is as mystery of 21st Century.

[Kite22]

Ignoring the Zombie thread issue, OP is not wrong if you think all weddings are like the ones posted on MN.

I enjoy reading the wedding threads on here as some of them are SO ridiculous, they are funny.
But it is a bit like reading the Relationships Board and then saying "nobody is happy / likes their spouse or dp / likes their in-laws / has any friends anymore" - people usually post when there is an issue.

[thecatsthecats]

Assuming the multiple people who spontaneously tell us that our wedding was the best/one of the best they've been to, our "OTT" wedding was well received.

Accommodation paid for by guests - self catered apartments on site. We provided food and a free bar all weekend. Lovely area and late ceremony so people could enjoy it beforehand.

No wedding cars photographers or gimmicks. (ok one gimmick, but it's outing!). Just stuffed everyone to the gills with booze and food for 48 hours for the price of a cheap hotel room, with everyone dancing in their socks at midnight, and all the dogs we invited howled when the music turned off. Oh, and we hired registered childminders to look after babies and toddlers during the ceremony.

It cost £13k. People don't know how to place it between extravagant and frugal, because we did extravagant things on a budget. I decorated quite a lot with the ivy that needed trimming from the garden anyway!

[LottyD32]

Yanbu op. A lot of people seem to think they are celebrities or something.

[Whatislife990]

Yep!
We will be having a registry office, with just family and a few close friends.
Then a meal at a pub I reckon!

[FangsForTheMemory]

I had two friends planning their weddings a year apart once. This was in the 1980s. It was like The Bridezilla Wars.

[Doodar]

@AmberNectarine

People do seem to get aerated about anything wedding related. We had whinging because our (very, very low key) wedding had a gap in the middle. Ceremony at lunch time (only 10 people invited a - v close family), reception from 6pm (a lot more
Guests). We had an 8 month old and we went home and put him down for a nap. MIL had the right arseache over having to amuse herself (in London, with her close family) for a few hours. I don't think it was wildly unreasonable but you can't do right for doing wrong when organising a wedding.

DH and I have just this evening paid out nearly four figures to attend a child-free destination wedding for one night - I don't mind at all. Their wedding, their choice - if we hadn't have wanted to go/couldn't afford it, we wouldn't be attending. As is so often quoted on here, it's an invitation, not a summons.

I would have been pissed off at that too TBH

[EllaVaNight]

I've not been to many weddings but the best were very informal and relaxed, plenty of food and drink and just fun!

The worst one I went to was so boring! The bride and groom went off for OVER THREE HOURS to have photos! Which left us all stood outside with nowhere to buy a drink. Everyone was hungry having to listen to boring speeches. I was starving as they said they would provide a gluten free meal but didn't (I have Coeliac disease so gluten makes me very ill).

Because they'd spent so much time pissing about with photos the meal was interrupted to have their first dance. I had to leave before dessert as I had my toddler there and was a single parent (this was around 9pm). Quite a few people left as they also had young children.

They also had a bloody poem asking for donations to their honeymoon and one of their mums said in her speech they were all hoping we had all been generous enough to pay for the honeymoon in it's entirety as the bride and groom had spent over 20 grand "for us all to be able to share their big day".