Accidental Retiree
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2012
- Messages
- 1,500
It's a matter of not picking a battle that you can't win. My DW has never been this excited about a project or event. I think she's been planning it for years.
I am sure it will be a beautiful wedding, and it's great that you and your wife have built assets such that you can give these gifts to your sons and also let your wife bring to life one of her dreams in her retirement. As you said, with two sons, it's not exactly traditional, so it's worked out nicely for her to achieve something she really wanted.
You posted an interesting comment here, at least to me, as I've often wondered how others' weddings, especially the really big ones, end up being expected to be paid for by the parents. Recently, a friend's 23 YO daughter, planning her 2nd wedding, told her mom and stepdad that they and the other 3 sets of remarried parents were going to have to pony up $5000 each to pay for her dream vineyard wedding, complete with Jimmy Choo shoes and a second outfit for the reception.
My jaw dropped, and I really wanted to be a fly on the wall for the "come to Jesus" about wedding planning and budgets. The mom had already paid for wedding #1. Now she was being pre-dunned for #2.
I just could never imagine expecting such a thing for myself, so your post brought that up again and made me wonder where such expectations come from. Maybe because I never heard it growing up, it came as a surprise and it's quite traditional?
I can see how that expectation could strain the w*rking parents' budget, let alone their retirement budget, but if it's in their financial plans -- or even if not, and they choose to use their resources that way--it's a wonderful gift.
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