Maggie's Farm

1) People don't want kids at their weddings anymore because they no longer see having kids as part of the point of getting married.

2) The word "wedding" no longer refers to the marriage ceremony. It refers to the celebratory party afterwards. And that is all about fulfilling some fantasy that the bride has starring her. Anything that interrupts the script or draws attention away from her - like a crying kid - cannot be tolerated.

I sing. Tenor, classical stuff. Not professionally - let's call me an advanced amateur. I ask people what kind of music they're going to have for their wedding and they start talking about band vs. DJ. I say "No, I don't mean the reception. I mean the wedding. What kind of music are you going to have for the wedding?" Well, hell - none. Why would they waste money for music during something as trivial as the wedding?

Ever watch "Four Weddings"? It's a show where 4 women who have never met all go to each others' weddings and rated them. They score the bride's wedding dress, the reception venue, the reception food and the overall experience. They do actually go to the wedding. A common complaint there? "It was too religious." Invariably what they are complaining about is a vanilla Catholic or Orthodox or other mainline religious ceremony inside an actual church where the priest actually has something to say about what marriage means. Invariably they love something held outdoors where the bride and groom recite bad poetry and the officiant - who may or may not be an ordained priest or minister - has as little to say off-script as possible.