October 20, 2008 - PPM - Destination Weddings

This week’s PET PEEVE MONDAY (PPM) is about DESTINATION WEDDINGS.

The PEEVE comes courtesy of BIG AL from Chicago.

Last week, I attended a business conference in Florida with my wife as the “Trophy Spouse.” THE Ohio State University football team was playing and I decided to watch the game with some new found OSU converts at the hotel bar. (We were enjoying an all-expense paid trip, so these “converts” would have rooted for the Sisters of the Poor as long as they didn’t have to pay.)

The game started at 3:30 and all was well. About 4 p.m., bridesmaids, groomsmen, family and friends began to file into the bar. A wedding was scheduled for 6 p.m. on the Beach just outside the hotel bar. This is when I met Big Al from Chicago.

Big Al was about 55, stood 6 foot 4, and tipped the scales just shy of 300 pounds. Big Al was the Bride’s Uncle. When Big Al had a PEEVE, people noticed. He was upset for the following reasons:

- The Wedding was on a Football Saturday
- The wedding was NOT an “Open Bar”.
- The wedding was a “Destination Wedding”.

For the uninformed, a “Designation Wedding” is when the event is held in a city where NONE of the key parties live. That’s right, EVERYONE must incur travel charges to attend the wedding. Forget the exorbitant cost of a bridesmaid dress. Now, you can add in airfare, hotel and car rental charges.

When I lived in California, I was invited to several “House Party Weddings". This was where the new couple would register at Bank of America rather than Macy’s.

If you are from Michigan, they may be called "Trailer Party Weddings". Just substitute Check N’ Go and Wal-Mart. Below is a picture from a Michigan - Trailer Park Wedding.

The idea would be that the monies usually spent of frivolous marriage gift like blenders and toasters would be deposited into a bank account and used for house down payments. This was long before mortgage lenders decide that putting money down for a house purchase was unnecessary.

I thought House Party Weddings were tactless until I listened to Big Al.

Al’s argument is extremely valid. How selfish do you have to be to plan a “Destination Wedding”? To add insult to injury, the wedding started at 6:10 and was over by 6:30.

No one has spent so much money for a good time that lasted less than 30 minutes since Eliot Spitzer.

Isn’t your wedding a day to be ENJOYED by your friends and relatives? What if they cannot afford to attend the Destination Wedding?

My question is where do you go for your honeymoon after you already went to an exotic location for your wedding?

BIG AL, thanks for the PEEVE.