The United States economy, at the moment, isn't so great for minor things like employment, investment, or retirement.
The silver lining? If you're feeling gutsy and want to pocket around $20,000 bucks, it's a hell of a good time to get eloped.
As explained in The Plunge's Get Out of Wedding Free Card article, the most persuasive eloping-reasons involve finances:
1. Think of the Children
A little farfetched? Yep. And it's a dirty card to play, and you're playing it from the bottom of the deck. Women only have one kind of guilt that's more potent than Bride Guilt...and that's Mom Guilt. If money's tight, tell her that you're risking your unborn child's food, health care, and tuition for a glitzy party and lobster bisque. Imagine what $20,000 invested now could be worth in 25 years ("Have you ever heard of compound interest?"). You are spending your children's legacy. Can she ever live with herself?
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4. Wedding vs. Home
Pretend that someone gives you a choice: you get to drive a Lamborghini for one day, or you get to own a Lexus, no strings attached, for the next decade. This is the wedding/home tradeoff. The wedding weekend is only 48 hours, and the capital you waste-$20,000 or more-could be parlayed into a mortgage. Wouldn't the home be smarter?
Thanks to this recession, it seems like more and more couples might be going this route. In a wildly unscientific study that may or may not be indicative of some larger trend, we spoke to "Graceland Wedding Chapels" in Las Vegas--you know, the kinda place where you get hitched by Elvis--and they reported an uptick in business.
"We've actually done quite well in times of recessions or economic downturns," said General Manager Brandon Reed. "I'm not a statistician or actuary, but I know that people are looking to save money, to stretch their dollar for as much as they can, and that's what Las Vegas weddings are known for."
In 2008, while the housing market collapsed and the economy slid into the dumpster, Graceland Wedding Chapel's revenue increased by 23%, according to Reed.
Will this work? Will she go for it? Probably not. But if you want to sidestep the entire wedding, at least now you have some ammunition. Click here for the full story on eloping.
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