Marriage is a union between two people, a binding of two souls, two lives becoming one. A wedding, however, is typically considered the Bride's day.
Don't get me wrong; I can understand why this is--men typically care a lot less about the particular events that do or do not take place during a ceremony or reception than do most women, but what boggles me is the question of 'why.'
I understand--well, don't 'understand,' but I recognize--that the majority of American girls and women fantasize and dream about marriage: a beautiful ring, a beautiful dress, a beautiful wedding, the whole nine yards. This is the part that I don't truly understand--why is this something that is apparently dedicated so much attention, thought, and in some cases worry, years and years before it happens?
I briefly considered that it's the feminine version of a 'pissing contest'--"I'll have a better wedding than you" sort of thing. While this is, apparently, not entirely untrue of the whole affair, it is also not nearly the whole story.
Discuss. <p><span style="font-size:xx-small;">"It's in the air, in the headlines in the newspapers, in the blurry images on television. It is a secret you have yet to grasp, although the first syllable has been spoken in a dream you cannot quite recall." --Unknown Armies</span></p>