WEDDING PRESENTS
Enough With the Bridal Showers!
Make it rain for the single people instead
In more traditional times, brides and grooms used to prepare for their weddings in slightly different ways: She would attend a party in a church basement, where she would open gifts like sheets, towels and casserole dishes. He and his friends would go to a strip club.
There’s your traditional marriage!
We’ve made certain changes since then. Some couples opt for co-ed showers for both the bride and groom. Brides may have bachelorette parties (though they don’t usually involve male strippers.)
Brides used to need stuff
Women moved straight from their parents’ house to their marital home. They needed all kinds of household goods, and the shower served a practical purpose. It’s not like their new husbands were going to help set things up.
Men, of course, had much more important things to do. I don’t know what they were, but I know they couldn’t be bothered with making sure they had enough skillets.
My mom was only 18 when she got married one month after graduating from high school. This was not uncommon in 1965. She could have used a bridal shower. She told stories about using a glass Coke bottle to…
