So “sanctity of marriage” is a phrase that almost always means “we’re talking about gay marriage”. But it shouldn’t. There are other fish to fry, and the The Daily Beast has a feature article called The ‘Me, Me, Me’ Wedding serving up a big one: the superficiality and selfishness of America’s bridezilla culture. From the article:
In many pockets of 21st-century America, the idea of the wedding as something communal is anathema—a relic from a bygone era or the realm of the devoutly religious. Nuptials today are defined by your Pinterest board, of which there are a multiplying number of wedding-related ones, three-day destination extravaganzas, and $200 spoons from Michael C. Fina. So, many American weddings have evolved into a fixation with material details, trials of abject devotion by members of the wedding party, and resigned acceptance of bridal crusades for perfection that threaten to crush all in their path. Because, well, you deserve it—it’s your day.
The article also points out that this wedding culture is just a a toxic spawn of conspicuous consumption more generally with this memorable line:
Peggy Olson or Don Draper couldn’t have conceived a better marketing slogan than “This is your day”—the kind of tagline that so deeply, and reliably, influences consumer behavior.
The whole thing is worth reading, both on its own merit and as a reminder that the institution of marriage in the United States has many, many problems.