Overwhelming stress can overshadow Big Day, poll finds
#Weddingstressmuch?
Social media is creeping into U.S. nuptials, but Americans don’t necessarily see that as a good thing.
A new poll — a collaboration from The Associated Press and U.S. cable network WE tv — says 57 per cent of them see social media as having increased the stress involved in planning a wedding, while just 12 per cent think the opposite. The poll was conducted by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
There is no doubt that American weddings and social media are a solid union. Getting perfect pictures already had been a stress point for wedding couples, with 55 per cent of those who have been married saying they were at least moderately concerned about those fantastic portraits.
But social media is creeping into the process in other ways, too.
Twenty-two per cent of Americans have been to a wedding with its own hashtag. And 27 per cent who have attended a wedding have been invited at least once with an online invitation rather than a more traditional package of information.
There’s an age split, too: Four out of 10 Americans under age 39 have been invited to a wedding with an online invitation. Only 17 per cent of those age 60 and over have been invited that way.
And where weddings with their own hashtag are concerned, a third of the youngest adults have been to one. But just 10 per cent of their older counterparts have.
As the average expense of weddings continues to rise in the U.S., it’s no surprise, perhaps, that the betrothed are opting for budgettrimming, real-time options in planning and celebration.
Printed invitations, for example, can cost hundreds of dollars when stamps and calligraphy are factored in, not to mention paper.
“You help the Earth when you choose digital invitations and cards,” says one vendor of online correspondence, Punchbowl.com.
There are weddings with drones taking footage and weddings in which the hosts find it necessary to formally ask guests to refrain from posting the festivities to social media to keep the party “just between us.”
But for all of the innovation, 38 per cent still call weddings “stressful.” And three-quarters think Americans in general spend too much money on weddings.
“They’re very expensive and then six months later, they get divorced,” said Soraida Cisneros, 80, of Fresno, Calif.
“When I hear how much it costs to get married, when I look back, I think the wedding ’s so not important compared to the rest of your life,” added Pam Rieth of Mansfield, Mass.
When it comes to their own weddings, 40 per cent of Americans said they were very or extremely concerned about costs when they got hitched, another 28 per cent said they were moderately concerned and about a third said they had little to no concern.
Women are more likely than men to think that couples expect too much money from their wedding guests, 45 per cent to 36 per cent.
For those who have planned a wedding themselves, other stressors include being concerned about guest behaviour, with 32 per cent at least moderately concerned about the issue.
Three in 10 people said they were concerned about the impact of stress on their relationship. About 20 per cent said they were concerned about being too demanding and about eight per cent were concerned about being stood up at the altar.
As for size — apparently, it does matter. Most Americans say they, themselves, would prefer a small wedding. Overall, 66 per cent say they’d prefer a small wedding if they were planning on getting married this year.
By contrast, just 37 per cent say they’d prefer to attend a small wedding as a guest, with the largest group saying they’d prefer attending a moderately sized one.
Overall, Americans still have mostly positive thoughts about weddings. Seventy per cent describe them as “heartwarming” and two-thirds describe them as “fun.” Women are more likely than men to describe weddings in those terms by about 10 percentage points.
And despite the bad rap that bridesmaids’ dresses sometimes get, Americans are far more likely to say they ’re generally stylish than ugly, 61 per cent to eight per cent.
The AP-WE tv Poll was conducted online Jan. 11-16 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
When I hear how much it costs to get married ... I think the wedding’s so not important compared to the rest of your life.