About five years ago, I realized that I didn’t want a wedding. Weird? Maybe. But I don’t care. When my older sisters got married, my parents made them a deal: we give you the wedding of your dreams or we write you a check for what we would’ve spent. They both took the check — and I don’t blame them. If you want a wedding, you want a wedding, and no amount of money is going to get in the way of that. But the same goes for not wanting a wedding. If you don’t want a wedding, you don’t want a wedding, and no amount of beautiful dresses, bouquets, or “trash the dress” photos will change your mind. Unfortunately, my boyfriend isn’t really on board with the whole “let’s please run away to a beach somewhere and come back both hitched, and with a check for a pretty penny in our mailbox.” Yes, to him, the money is tempting, but we both have good jobs and can support ourselves, and he wants the tux, and the booze, and the memories, and…
…I’m dating Andy Bernard, apparently.
Well, as luck would have it, a new study was just released stating that couples who don’t spend a lot of money on/during their engagements/weddings tend to have a lower rate of divorce. Interesting, right? The bad news, however, is that a big, shiny diamond also means a higher likelihood of splitting up. So, that sucks.
The study, which was conducted out of Emory University and surveyed 3,000 couples, found that partners with weddings costing over $20,000 were 3.5x more like to get divorced than their couple friends who spent, say, under $10,000 on their nuptials. Additionally, men who spent between $500-$2,000 on an engagement ring were 1.3x less likely to sign divorce papers than those who paid more.
Personally, this is the greatest news ever for someone who wants to elope. Though, I will say, I’ll take my chances on the ring. Go big or go home, amirite?.