The Generation Gap: Weddings through the years

Swimming Upstream Radio Show

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We're pretty sure Co-host Ray Miller Still is a millennial. It doesn't do to make too much of a point. Ray is the editor of the Enumclaw Courier Herald which is the only paper of that name in the United States. This Week we're joined by our Producer, Jason Falls, who is a member Generation X. Swimming Upstream Host Dorothy Wilhelm is a member of The Silent Generation. For those who are thinking, "C'mon, she's never been silent a day in her life", that name refers to the fact that members of that generation never protested. They followed the rules. On today's show, Generation Gap covers Weddings. We're talking about weddings - are they necessary? We'll look at how each generation has seen them and what we know now that we didn't know earlier.

In the 50's, weddings were not generally fairy tale events. Dorothy recalls that her wedding dress cost $50- you couldn't buy a shoelace for that today, but remember at that time, a semester's college tuition was $80. People made their own finery - or did without. Dorothy recut three prom dresses for her bridesmaids. The high point of the reception was pulling her 12 year old brother out of the bourbon fountain. We looked for different things in the 50's.

But as the decades went by, the weddings became more and more lavish with unforgettable ball gowns, 25-foot-long train, and perhaps arrival via horse-drawn carriage—inspired a generation of brides to embrace the more-is-more aesthetic of the 1980s for their weddings. “It was part of the Superwoman myth of the 1980s—you could work at home, and you could work in the marketplace; you could be married, but you could also have a career,” says Karen Dunak. “There was this idea that you could be a strong woman and also be a bride like a princess on your wedding day.”

Weddings became increasingly opulent, elaborate, and lavish, while remaining a symbol of wealth and status for the bride’s parents. “In the ‘80s, ‘90s, and even early aughts, it was all big, big, big," affirms Miss Manners."Very few people were doing the small-wedding thing.

So what are we talking about on the show? Let's take a look at how different our expectations are. When Dorothy was engaged, nice girls didn't rush the wedding celebration so it was no problem thinking of things to do after the ceremony. Today a destination wedding seems a requirement. The different generations will have a lot to say about that.

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