Couples who have big weddings stick together, but brides with expensive dresses end up divorced?
Research carried out by two psychologists from Denver University suggests a link between the size and cost of a wedding and the likelihood of divorce. They found that well attended weddings correlate with lower divorce rates. In other words, the more guests who witness couples marrying, the higher the quality of marital bliss.
The academics speculate on a number of possible reasons for this. They suggest that standing up in front of family and peers to make a public commitment makes couples work harder on building their marriages. People, generally, like to keep their word of honour. Small weddings in Las Vegas with a couple of strangers as witnesses may sound romantic, but it’s often done because of the disapproval of the couples family and friends.
The researchers also concluded that those who insist on lavish spending on outfits and go for a Cinderella-style wedding are more likely to have a fantastical, fairy tale expectation of their marriage and therefore more likely to end with a failed marriage. Such couples tend to have outdated, outmoded expectations that just don’t work in the modern age. Expecting the husband to be the alpha male breadwinner; tough and always decisive usually results in resentments developing on both sides. The bride who desires and expects her handsome knight in shining armour to protect her from the harsh realities of life usually finds herself feeling controlled, rather than protected.
The researchers found that those couples who splashed the most cash at their wedding, on average, risked a far greater risk of divorce. They hypothesised that expensive weddings put enormous amounts of stress on the couples who build up dangerous levels of expectations before their married life has even started.
The researchers studied over 1000 Americans aged between 18 and 34 who were in a relationship for five years. During that time 418 of them got married. The survey also revealed that those who cohabit first before marrying also have a higher divorce rate. This is believed to be because they often drift into marriage for convenience rather than making a conscious decision to commit to their partner.
