So there you haters and debaters! Frigging fantastic piece, Anne!

Weddings baffle me. Like you, I'd prefer to spend my money in a million other ways. And, I don't believe in the tradition (Is it an American tradition only?) of the bride's parents footing the astronomical bill for an over-the-top wedding.

I did not ask anyone to pay for my first wedding - although, it was very small in my mother-in-law's yard with food provided by her sister and an aunt. I wore a long, green dress with peachy flowers. The dress caused $20. I had one attendant - my sister who wore a long, peach-colored dress that cost $15. My husband-to-be and his brother, the best man, wore shirts and ties but no jackets. I didn't even want them to wear ties but they did to please their mother.

I didn't pay for my daughter's wedding, nor did she ask me to. Her fiancé had just graduated from college. They had no money and settled for a simple courthouse wedding and a small reception at a friend's home. More than a year later, after saving money from her husband's lucrative job in the tech industry, they had a large, fairytale wedding. Not what I would have done, but the extravagant ceremony and reception made them happy and they paid for it. To each their own. I did gift them the wedding cake - which cost nearly as much as the first car I purchased in 1974!

Ben and I decided to be together and he gave me a ring made by a local artisan. More than enough for us.

Like you, I shy away from elaborate ceremonies that are mostly all show. And, guess what? Our relationships are just as meaningful without a 3-tier wedding cake that costs as much as car!