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Average Cost of a Wedding (for the Guest): $673
~ American Express 2015 Spending & Saving Tracker

One of the hottest news items about weddings this season is the average cost of a wedding -- for the wedding guest. According to the American Express 2015 Spending & Saving Tracker, that bill comes to $673 per guest; a member of the wedding party can expect to pay $701. But, the real shocker might be that this type of spending has been trending for years; last year the average cost for a guest was $592 and for a member of the wedding party it was $618.  And, these costs are per wedding! For students, new grads and young professionals who are beginning to receive multiple wedding invitations this can be a real financial threat, especially on top of staggering college loans and other expenses combined with a still-recovering economy and employment issues. Even for those who have good paying jobs, this type of expense can upset the budgetary apple cart.

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"The excellence of a gift lies in its appropriateness
rather than in its value." ~ Charles Dudley Warner

A Stroke of Genius

In a stroke of marketing and customer-centric genius, the great and storied Chicago department store, Marshall Field & Company, established the first bridal registry in 1924 to provide a means for engaged couples to communicate their china, silver and crystal preferences. Thus began an enduring wedding custom that has provided a convenient means to help guests to provide just the right gifts that are appropriate and desired by the wedding couple, at any price. 

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Rise of the "Wedsite"

Social media is woven into our personal and professional lives in so many ways; therefore, it's natural that it should be part of one's wedding planning. This revolutionary movement has given rise to the wedding website, often called a "wedsite," which is now de rigueur for the modern bride and groom.

"Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June." ~ Al Bernstein

You've imagined your wedding, figured out your budget and have narrowed down a few possible venues. It's now time to slide another piece of the wedding puzzle into place: the wedding date. 

Setting the date involves some puzzle pieces of its own, so here are some clues:

Should you hire her to plan your wedding?

Having planned my own, admittedly smallish wedding (60 people) many years ago in simpler and less costly times, and having been a Fortune 500 corporate executive assistant and later a vice president and manager, I'm experienced in planning events and inclined to handle any personal happening -- including a wedding -- myself.

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“Many a wedding has ended in tragedy when the bride, halfway down the aisle, suddenly discovered that the flower girls are wearing the wrong identical hair thingie, causing the bride to throw down her bouquet in despair and run from the building, never to be seen again.”
~ Dave Barry, Miami Herald, June 17, 2012

Now that the easy parts are over -- falling in love, popping the question, picking out the engagement ring and telling your parents -- here comes the hard part: planning your wedding!

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"Is this the little girl I carried? Is this the little boy at play?
I don't remember growing older. When did they?
When did she get to be a beauty? When did he grow to be so tall?
Wasn't it yesterday when they were small?"

~ Sunrise, Sunset, From Fiddler on the Roof 

For the purposes of this entry, I'll be addressing the etiquette guidelines for couples who are engaged and marrying for the first time. At the end, I'll comment on the protocol for those who are experiencing love the second time around.

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"A diamond is forever."

Historians credit Archduke Maximilian of Austria with presenting the first diamond engagement ring to Mary of Burgundy in 1477. But it wasn't until 1867, the Victorian era, when a large cache of diamonds was discovered in South Africa that this beautiful and storied stone really caught on. That event was followed in 1886 with the invention of the popular Tiffany setting. During the Great Depression diamond engagement rings were sacrificed in favor of more practical investments by couples headed to the altar, such as homes, appliances, and cars. As the economy improved following WWII, everything changed again. In 1947, the giant diamond dealer De Beers, launched the slogan, “A diamond is forever,” and captured the imaginations of women of all ages everywhere. Created by Frances Gerety, a copywriter for ad agency N.W. Ayer, the pithy catchphrase established the diamond engagement ring as an integral part of modern betrothals.