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Arsh Gill, Low Entropy Volunteer Writer

With a wedding comes union, love and sacrifices, but also expectations. Sometimes expectations come from what is rooted within an individual, and other times expectations are brought in with the guests. Regardless, expectations can cause an overwhelming sense of pressure that may lead to unreasonable decisions, misaligned with one’s actual wants, to spend excessive amounts on the ceremony.

A lot of guests expect weddings to have large venues, big cakes, grand decorations and magical experiences, because they expect a certain level of entertainment and memories to be generated at such an event. Alongside that, sometimes the pressure to spend big on weddings comes from the hope to outdo others to whom you feel you will be compared and judged alongside, to see who had the most grand and memorable wedding. Regardless, when inviting people to take time out of their busy lives and attend an event to celebrate your love and soulmate, the pressure feels intense to make it worthwhile and enjoyable for all. Overall, this can lead to springboarding your marriage by spending an unjustifiable sum of money. 

As spending big on weddings is starting to become a common ritual. Lots of brides feel pressure to book a high-end makeup and hair artist who can cost thousands of dollars in order to be more impressive than the last bride and the next. The list of reasons to splurge can be extensive, depending on the individuals and their customs. Brides may feel pressure from their own family and friends to look their best, but pressure to look your best or flaunt impressive backgrounds and displays also come from the fact that some couples pay for a media crew who take pictures at every moment that could later be on show for the rest of the couple’s lives. 

Being Indian, I can also speak to how m culture can affect the amount of pressure that comes with spending big on weddings. A traditional Sikh wedding is usually around seven days, which means seven days of different venues, hair and makeup payments, catering, decorations, and media teams. On each of these days there’s a different event, and with this comes the pressure from guests and traditions to make each event unique and flow with different themed set-ups. This means it’s often very difficult to do anything for cheap, as simply sticking with cultural rituals requires extensive planning and organizing. 

Regardless of the source from which pressure arises, it can be daunting on a couple. The pressure can lead to spending habits that carry couples into debt, unnecessary loans and overall poor financial decisions that make a marriage take a troublesome first step. 

Instead of trying to impress others with a monumental and extravagant wedding, focus on what makes you and your partner the happiest! When you look back on your priceless images and see the couple staring back at you, make sure you see a version of you who is pleased with the path of your life, rather than miserable at your poor decision-making.

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