Week 4 - Does a wedding create an industry or an industry create a wedding?

I look through the multiple magazines that I can't stop myself from buying and the list of things that goes into a wedding continues to grow. Unlike my budget. From those glossy magazines, down to the last wedding favour the industry surrounding your special day can't stop growing.

I'm booked in to visit 'The National Wedding Show' next month and I already know exactly what it's going to be like. A large room crammed with stalls and samples showing their finery and wears. Does this type of pressure stress a bride to be out or does it just add to the experience ?

For me, it adds to the experience! Sure when your reading magazines and on every page there are pairs of shoes for £2,000 and wedding cakes for £1,500 it gets insane. Who can afford these things, unless you're successful middle aged business woman or getting someone else to pay for it. I guess everyone has those core parts that they are happy to splurge on. For me it's a reception venue and a band.

The industry itself though is intriguing and only explored deeply by those who are probably far too excited to assess things logically. Yes, I know i'm one of those women. Are couples being ripped off though for the perfect wedding? I love reading the wedding blogs and the case studies in the mags, and it's fantastic that people have themes and go against the ideal to cut costs, but for me I kind of want the common idea. Maybe not the meringue dress but definitely a beautiful venue, church wedding, nice dress, good photography so I guess I am the reason there is an industry.

A lot of the weddings you read about are unique and my wedding will also be unique but this is where I get my ideas from. I could have a country fete themed wedding cut costs and get married in a field, but I don't want too!

So prices soar and by the end of it you could have put a deposit on a house for the amount that's spent. However, this is one of the biggest days of a person's life. Choosing to spend the rest of your life with the person you love and being able to remember that day in it's glory when you're both elderly and looking back at some exquisite photographs (because you had a damn good photographer). That's the reason you do it and that's the reason I will enjoy every second.

So I welcome the dresses, suits, flowers, cakes, wedding bands, venues, transport, honeymoons, entertainment, catering, hair styling, makeup, decorations and everything else and without this vast industry I would never be able to find the perfect things for us for our price.