Cost-conscious weddings back in style

By Karmel Melamed
Published on July 18, 2012

Lavish weddings featuring guest lists upward of 500 people were seemingly de rigueur in Southern California's Iranian-Jewish community just five years ago. But the growth of six-figure simchas strained middle-class families, leading some couples to either call off a wedding or divorce a few months after getting married.

Balancing family and friend requests not an easy task

By Dana Greene
Published on February 7, 2008

Getting married is a balancing act. I never quite understood this until my guy proposed.

What's the big deal in wedding planning? I always thought. You set a date, pick a place, settle on a band, choose a few of your favorite flowers and do a dinner and cake tasting. What's difficult about that?

It's not difficult. In fact, that part's been rather fun. However, the part that I am complaining about is the negotiations between family and friends. Trying to please everyone is proving impossible.

It’s about the marriage, not the wedding

By Leisah Woldoff
Published on December 13, 2007

It's the marriage that's important, not the wedding.

When planning my wedding, I repeated that mantra each time wedding details began to overwhelm me. Hors d'oeuvres, centerpieces, flowers, music, cake -- the to-do list kept growing.