...wedding loans are a “thing” for couples who find that their combined student-loan debt doesn’t concentrate the mind wonderfully enough. “You shouldn’t let your finances or your credit keep you from having the wedding you’ve always wanted,” chirps the website Bridalloans.com, encouragingly. (Note to brides: Actually, yes, you should. It’s called living within one’s means, and those who do it fare better on every scale of physical and emotional health than those who don’t).
Another website, myweddingloans.com, frets with brides-to-be over the cost of the photographer ($2,000!), the caterer ($65 per person!), and the “Historic church you’ve always dreamed of exchanging your vows in” ($4,000!). You know, in case the Mandarin Oriental isn’t available. At least we now know what churches will be used for when the secularization of America is complete....4000 bucks?! Man, have I been cheating myself.
Besides that startling figure, the massive wedding, with its expenses and remarkable drama, is one of the signs of the emptiness of cultural nihilism. I've seen too many "big" weddings serve as the high point of a couple's marriage, especially since many already have children who pre-date the nuptials. Once the wedding is complete, there seems to be this sense of "Is that all there is?".
Apparently it is now radical to note that there is a substantial difference between a wedding and a marriage. To permit the former to color the latter with long-term and unconscionable debt is un-wise and, on the part of the lender, unsavory.