Musings on Matrimony

Weddings are interesting. I say interesting in a sort of ambivalent way because I'm not entirely sure where I stand regarding weddings. On the one hand, they hold out the possibility of true love and happiness, endless promise for the future. On the other hand, with the divorce rate at about fifty percent (didn't someone once say that most statistics are made up on the spot? but I do think that it's somewhere around 50%) marriage seems to be a little antiquated at best, and a complete and total farce at worst.

When entering into holy matrimony, how does one set the tone for one's future life together? I see news reports or shows where couples are married sky diving, or perhaps snorkeling, or any number of activities that are fun and exciting. Or, a couple could choose to go to Vegas and be married by an Elvis impersonator or in the CSI mode, a fake alien. Some people go to great lengths to make their wedding absolutely perfect: perfect dress, perfect venue, perfect food, perfect music, perfect flowers - all at a price guaranteed to make the bride's parents weep. Yesterday I was informed by the person I went to this wedding with that her fiance's sister spent $20,000 on her wedding (and by spent money, I mean her parents) and then got divorced one year later.

The wedding I attended yesterday was short and sweet. The bride looked lovely, the groom looked very much in love with his wife, and there was no puking among the flower girls. All in all, the ceremony went off without a hitch. At the reception, there were two kegs, spiked punch and a hot buffet, which was incidentally quite tasty. The wedding was overall cute and sweet, but also a tad cheesy and tacky, which reflected the bride's interests and personality quite well. I know nothing of the groom except that he spent two terms in Iraq. 'Nuff said.

In an age of high divorce rates and a lack of respect for tradition of any kind, is marriage antiquated? What makes people so certain that getting married is the right thing for them to do? I read once that because marriage represents hope for the future and the permanent side of love, it's worth entering into. Still seems like a huge risk - and a HUGE expense - to me.