Culture

Some couples want to avoid family dramas. Some want to save money. And some seek a more intimate experience. Yes, there may be circumstances when eloping makes sense. But for most couples, eloping is a mistake. Weddings are meant to be shared. It’s a public presentation of your marriage vow before your community before entering…

Marriages are more mixed than ever. The Knot tells us that 51% of couples marry someone with a different background, whether of a different race, religion, ethnicity, or geographic area. The Pew Research Center studies marriage trends. They learned that in 2015 forty percent of marriages were between interfaith couples compared to just nineteen percent…

The year of the Coronavirus crisis will usher in a new era of marriage. If you’ve been contemplating marriage, this is the time to act. If you’re already engaged and have plans disrupted by this national lockdown, don’t give up the ship. This disruption will make your pending marriage better, even if you have to…

The Coronavirus will pass. The lockdown will end. Life will go on. In the meantime, our lives have been upended more dramatically than by any event since World War II or 9/11. Wedding celebrations have taken a hit. Many courthouses are closed across the country, so it’s hard to secure a marriage license. But even…

The advantages of marriage are amazing. The public hasn’t caught on, though, according to this article in the Wall Street Journal: “Middle-class Americans are forsaking marriage amid financial insecurity, effectively making the institution more of a luxury good enjoyed by prosperous Americans.” According to the article, finances are the reason: “More couples are deciding to…

Samantha Clowe went on a crash diet to prepare for her wedding day. She shed 52 pounds in eleven weeks, before dying from heart failure. Think twice before going on a crash diet for your wedding day. You face health risks if you try to lose too much too fast. Bridal publications make it hard…

DJ Brian Anderson writes about a wide range of wedding-related subjects on this blog, with a special focus on details surrounding your reception and ceremony. We ran across an interesting article on men’s health by the Harvard Medical School (HMS) we thought you’d find interesting, because it’s about the health benefits of marriage. Marriage seems…

Marriage makes you richer. No matter where you live, government data shows marriage is a good financial move. The Journal of Sociology explains: What impact do marriage and divorce have on wealth? US data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), which tracks individuals in their 20s, 30s and early 40s, show that over…

What do the Mayo Clinic and the Catholic Church have in common? They both recommend pre-marriage counseling before you get married. If you’re not religious, keep reading because this applies to you, too. Even Psychology Today says pre-marriage counseling is beneficial: “Studies reveal that premarital counseling is an effective tool to use as you begin…

Will it never end! The celebrity wedding crasher epidemic has reached a fevered pitch. Former presidents, country singers, actors, and comedians continue to barge into the wedding celebrations of unsuspecting couples. Will you be next? Tim McGraw seems like a nice, sensible country western singer. And yet watch how he sneaks onto the stage at…