I’ve resisted saying anything about Jennifer Wilbanks until now (particularly yesterday because I wanted to think about happier weddings) but I thought I should add my two cents, especially after seeing her bridal registries and hearing the statement on the news.
(Her registries are here, here, and here. I got this information from a friend who got it off of WeddingChannel.Com.)
I wish I could shake this girl. Her wedding has 14 bridesmaids and 14 groomsmen. She invited 600 guests. I’m thinking this wedding costs 6 or 7 figures. She claims she ran away because the stress was too much. Well DUH! She’s doing the stereotypical fragile Southern belle routine and it’s really annoying. The items on her wedding registry combined are worth more than the parsonage, Jon’s yearly income, and all our possessions. Can you say “greedy”?
My wedding had 3 bridesmaids, 4 groomsmen, and 2 flower girls. I had 100 of my closest friends and family there. It cost 4 figures and people still talk about how it was one of the best weddings they’ve been to. WeddingChannel.Com and others cater to the HUGE affairs and it annoys me to no end because people end up focusing on topping one another instead of celebrating a special day when two people commit their lives to each other.
I really hope that they make her pay back the amount that was spent searching for her. Granted, it might equal the cost of the wedding but still… normal people see psychiatrists and some even get Valium or Xanax to deal with the stress. (I’m not saying I approve of or condone drugging the bride during the week before the wedding. I’m just saying that it happens.) You don’t run away because “the stress of it all was too much”. If that kind of stress is too much, scale down your wedding, honey.