Posted 5/18/2005 05:24:00 PM by Douglas

What's even dumber than shucking out thousands of dollars so you can show up to your buddy's wedding? When they ask you to help pay for their madness.

Georgia Lawther-Richmond, 27, from New York went to a wedding in Oregon recently. Instead of sending out a traditional gift list, the bride and groom posted an Internet appeal for contributions towards wedding and honeymoon items. Lawther-Richmond offered to split the cost of the honeymoon rental car. “We sent the money straight to the travel agent,” she said. With an average New York wedding costing USD 40,000, the big day is often beyond the means of parents and couples. Wesley Puryear and Valerie Hernandez are able to spend USD 51,000 on their August nuptials, complete with a string quartets, by tapping guests for USD 150 a head to recover half the cost. Wells Fargo bank has set up a “Wishing Well” service. “Instead of registering for dishes and wall hangings, have your guests help out with the burdens of the cost of the wedding itself,” it advises.

It's time to stop the insanity. Why would these idiots even want to shuck out $50K for one day of a crappy party with their loser family and their new loser in-laws?