→ No Reception
this is such an amazing idea. i couldn’t think of something better. as i’ve gotten closer to the possibility of marriage, i’ve realized how much i dislike the stress, the cost, etc etc of the typical american wedding traditions. the average american wedding costs $28000. now that is probably a lot more than the average mormon wedding (younger bride and groom, still in school, etc). but as ramit sethi said [1],
My point isn’t to judge people for having expensive weddings. Quite the opposite: The very same people who spend $28,000 on their weddings are the ones who, a few years earlier, said the same thing you’re saying right now: “I just want a simple wedding. It’s ridiculous to go into debt for just one day.” And yet, little by little, they spend more than they had planned — more than they can afford — on their special day.
— The $28,000 question: Why are we all hypocrites about weddings?
so how do you really have a simple wedding? i think you need to lose all of the preconceived notions of what a wedding is. forget about dresses, forget about cake, forget about invitations, forget about receptions, blah blah blah. none of those are really what a wedding is about: two people in love committing to be together forever. once you have forgotten about all of those traditions, start planning your day. who do you really want to be spending that day with? how do you really want to be spending the first day of your life together with someone you love? how do you really want to be spending that money you have in your savings account? my mom taught me the importance of “less”. if you haven’t guessed, i have started becoming a strong believer that a simple, minimalist lifestyle is a key to happiness. in fact, it aligns exactly with my religious beliefs. so why not keep your wedding a very personal, simple day? big parties are not a good way to associate with friends and family, so why do we feel the need to throw them for such a special, personal event? i don’t find that romantic at all. anyway, enough of this rant. do what you want for your wedding. but i plan to keep my wedding as simple, minimal, and stress free as possible. to me that is romantic. props to ben and his fiancée for sticking to their principles and going against the grain.