If you don't spend you life savings on your wedding and get those seat coverings, you don't 'really' love each other. If you don't play classical music to your baby in utero and spend $500 on a stroller your kid can drool on, then they ain't going to harvard. I think the baby industry spreads out the pain, where the wedding industry gets you in one big bang.
At least with those two you have a choice. You can give them money or not. If you fall into the clutches of the law suit industry you may pay rather you want to or not, rather you can afford to or not.
yeah, something about spending $40k on an EVENT (not a car, or a down payment to a house, or any other physical asset) rubs me the wrong way. and i agree, i think the baby products industry is getting a little crazy, and they take theirs over years. then of course, the kids are the direct funnel from your wallet to toymakers' bank accounts... lots of money to be made off of parents.
I think the key to the baby thing is "First Baby". First Baby, and Wedding are the two times in life where the woman has the man at her complete mercy. What man would 'fail to confirm' her choices for the wedding (Place, color, dress, guest list, invitations, place, and cost). Death-do-us-part would come before the wedding. During wedding planning is never a time for a man to have an idea. NEVER. First Baby pits all of the emotional swings of pregnancy against the wits of the husband. When she says she needs to spend $900 on baby furniture, how can he know if there is room for discussion, or if any hesitation will be the end of him and the beginning of a pregnancy related hormonal outburst. Just say yes, don't think, don't blink!
Yeah, we tried to do our wedding cheap and it still cost us more than we planned. And First Baby, yes - a direct funnel from wallet to toy companies, banana, graham cracker and yogurt companies...and than darned college fund!
I think it depends on what you mean by "Baby Industry". The way I can see it, societal pressures can make someone feel as though they must get married without placing undo stress on the environment and sustainability. In fact, when two people live together, they are actually better for the world. On the other hand, the pressures to have a child and use thousands of diapers is absurd. Must less a second baby; and a third; eventually a litter. THe "Baby Industry" as I view it is the constant bombardment felt by my wife and me by all those people who ask "when are you going to start having children?" And those people who, after ignoring my response that we've decided to not have children, respond, "you'll change your mind after you have one" and "oh; you might want to talk to your wife about that decision." And my favorite response: "that's pretty selfish of you to deprive your mother of grandchildren."
Hey, maybe I'm not a "typical" woman, but I talked my husband into a tropical wedding that was also our honeymoon - no big expensive dress or shindig (not that it took much talking on my part - he was thrilled!). He wore tuxedo shorts on the beach - it was nice & relaxing & relatively stress free for both of us. The in-laws were a little upset that we didn't have a big church wedding, but oh well. Also, we're never having kids, so I don't have to worry about the "baby industry" except as gifts for friends/relatives (in-laws not thrilled about that either, but they get to babysit our dog occasionally! Neither industry is making much $$ off me!
I guess I am not a "typical" woman either. I REFUSED to have a wedding. We went away instead. LOVED it.
