Bridal Magazines

Lately I've become interested in reading bridal magazines. At first I had good intentions - I was only going to buy one, and only so I could see what trendy ideas I could recreate myself for cheap. And, in my defense, my plan worked. I got some good ideas of crafts my mom and I could make to cut corners and still have things look impressive.

Then I got another magazine as a little gift from someone at work. And I bought another one when I was out with Mike. And I got another to read during my lunch hour since I'm sick of the newspaper. And at this point, I'm not reading it to get fake-it-for-cheap ideas. I'm reading it for the same reason most women read bridal magazines - for the pleasure of shaking open those glossy pages and, without saying a word, reaffirming your status.

No, not my status as a bride, silly. My status of not being as gullible as all hell.

See, bridal magazines embody everything that's wrong with the wedding industry. It's the message that you have to spend a ton of money, endure a bunch of stress, assume that your wedding is the center of your family's universe, and make everyone around you jump through your wedding-day hoops so you can have a wedding that's "beautiful," or "memorable" or "magical."

It's silly. To me, what will be beautiful and magical will be the opportunity to wake up next to Mike each morning for the rest of my life. Spending ten grand on a wedding, while certainly memorable, wouldn't be a positive experience.

So I like flipping through bridal magazines becuase it gives me the smug sensation of knowing that I'm getting married without going insane. "Six thousand for a wedding dress? A thousand for a honeymoon suite? Someone bothered to coordinate the color of the cake frosting with the flower girl's shoes? Oh boy," I crow as I toss each magazine aside, "Everyone who's getting married is stupid except for me!"

And then I log onto eBay to look for wedding shoes. I wanted to wear flip-flops but my mom nixed the idea. Ah well, you can't win 'em all.