50 Years of Weddings

My mom is great about saving wedding related articles that she comes across to show me. Sometimes it's not even a full article but rather simply a picture of a theme wedding that was just so wild she held onto it to show me. She's seen some great pictures in the Sunday edition of our local paper that are just that - wild and/or great.

The other day she gave me the AARP Bulletin for this month and in it was a comparison of weddings, 50 years ago and today. So the article, "Something Old Something New", according to the author, Betsy Towner, had the following bits of information. I hope you get a kick out of it like we did. Let me know your thoughts!

The Years: 1958 & 2008 (respectively)
The Big Picture: Golden Anniversaries - Clementine & Winston Churchill / Joanne Woodward & Paul Newman
Annual Weddings: 1.5 million / 2.4 million

The Groom -
Age: 22 / 28
Life Expectancy: 57 / 70
Tux Rental: $5.50 / $69.95
Annual Income: $2,396 / $34,167
Most Common Name: Robert / Michael

The Bride -
Age: 20 / 26
Life Expectancy: 65 / 78
Gown: Princess lace, handmade by Belgian nuns $135 / Strapless and sexy $1,317
Annual Income: $1,572 / $30,719
Most Common Name: Mary / Jennifer
The Stereotype: Blushing Bride / Bridezilla

The Reception -
First Dance: "All I Have to Do is Dream" Everly Brothers / "No One" Alicia Keys
Party Song: "At the Hop" Danny and the Juniors / "4 Minutes" Madonna with Justin Timberlake
Trendy Gift: CorningWare Casserole $12.95 / Nintendo Wii $399

The Expense -
Postage for Invitations: 3 - 4 cents / 42 cents
Marriage License (in North Dakota): $1 / $65
Piece of Cake per Guest: 35 cents / $4.52

The Escape -
Honeymoon Destination: Niagara Falls / Hawaii
Likely Getaway Car: Chevy Impala convertible $2,700 / Toyota Camry $18,570
Honeymoon Cost: $237 / $3,680
Gallon of Gas: 30 cents / $3.80

The Future -
Divorce Rate: 33% / 50%
Number of Children: 3.6 / 2.1