If you’ve ever made a wedding you know it can turn into a bottomless money pit. It’s not just the hall and the caterer. It’s all the extras that have inexplicably become de rigueur: videographer jewelry music wigs setting up an apartment outfitting the bridal party… need I say more? It’s enough to put a family in debt for a long time; if you have multiple children to marry off maybe forever. Most people feel pressure to make weddings that comply with the standards of their social milieu and even those who don’t care may feel pressure from their children to have a wedding like their friends had. What’s a parent who isn’t a Rothschild to do short of suggesting his children elope? Despite the pressure some people have the courage to buck the trend to make a cookie-cutter wedding. Others aim for a conventional wedding with clever adjustments that skirt the high costs. Take a peek at how a few families contained the costs of frum weddings.
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