Wedding Advice From Mike Leach

I'm with XM on marriage (it can and should be a blessing.) But as a pastor, I can say unequivocally that weddings can be a royal pain. And it isn't always the bride.

This summer, I performed a wedding ceremony for a medical student (the female) and a water quality engineer. (I mention their occupations only to say they were successful, and their families had financial resources.) They both, especially the bride, wanted a very simple wedding. To their irritation and discomfort, they received a ton of family pressure to have a reception. They compromised and had dessert, fruit, cheese, appetizers at the church in a large fellowship area, for about a hundred guests. It was a very nice event, and saved them thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars.

Many of my most favorite and memorable weddings have been simple, relaxed, inexpensive affairs, with the focus on the marriage, and not on all the details of the wedding day.

As regards Mike Leach, he's hilarious. And absolutely right:  I don't care about the color of the invitations, the bridesmaid's dresses, the flowers and table centerpieces, the music, and on and on and on and on. I could add a ton of stupid details that don't matter at all.

Here are a couple of things I hate:

1. People can choose to do what they want. It is their wedding, after all. But I get uncomfortable with the money being spent. I know a wedding where they spent 100k, JUST ON THE FLOWERS!!! That's crazy, imhe. However, in that case, they had the money. What's even worse is to see people way overspending, when they don't have the money. I hate seeing people, whether the bride and groom or parents, go into hock for a lousy party.
2. I really don't like the overdone bridal party entrance into the reception hall with blaring music and a DJ MC and lights and dance moves and the like. I guess I'm just being a grumpy old man (get off my lawn!) but I have seen some of those things really go overboard.

My favorite non-Michigan coach.  Swing your sword!

 

Underwhelming benefits.
Unacceptable risks.
Worst contract ever.
Read the termination clause.

Whatever you choose to do, just remember the gun is always in the room. Amd thr only important question is whether she still has the benevolence not to use it.

of course I want to win but will be hilarious listening to this guy's interviews all week and post game. 

I had to try extremely hard not to bust out laughing and look like a buffoon at my desk listening to this. Awesome.

Wazzu should definitely sign that guy to a lifetime contract

Funny. I'll say that having a proper wedding has cultural significance which I feel strengthens the bond of the marriage in some instances. My current marriage required certain ceremonies valued in my wife's native culture and a big reception that had about half a thousand people come (maybe 20 people from my side of the family). All the gifts were cash so it paid for the reception and honeymoon with no cost to us. Being known as a wedded couple to that whole community adds something in my opinion. Eloping would have been insulting to her family.

I find a lot of correlation between the couple's focus on the WEDDING versus the MARRIAGE translating to how successful the marriage is.  Not always true, of course, but there is correlation.  If they feel the best day they will ever have in their lives is the day of their wedding, what about the rest of their time with the person?  

I've been to big weddings and to simple weddings and have seen very devoted, firmly in love with each other couples at both, but those who were simply thrilled to be with each other for the rest of their lives have a pretty good track record thus far.   

The wedding isn't so much the finish line as it is a starting line!  

/rant over

I'm glad my wife and I had a full wedding and didn't elope.  We had the cerimony at our church (Catholic) and the receiption at a nice outdoor venue.  We didn't have anything over the top like horse drawn carriages but it wound up being a decent chunk of change.  The key was we didn't micro-manage it, you're paying experts to help so let them do their job. 

 

CJK5H