I've never heard of the junior bride/groom practice. When my dad and stepmonster got married, I wore a blue dress because all the women standing up with stepmonster had blue dresses and I wanted to fit in(that was before the monster part) Mom and stepdad went out of town and saw a judge.

The fact that you are concerned that you MIGHT have been crazy goes a long way toward proving you weren't.

Not really. The current clusterfuck wedding situation I'm in has at its center a bride who is very worried about being high-maintenance, and asks about it all the time. (Of course, she's only asking because she wants to be reassured that she's a wonderful person, but still. Asking the question doesn't mean jack shit.)

Bride is staging this elaborate and expensive production and she wants everyone in the production to not see each other backstage?

Yes, exactly. She wants noone to see anyone until they are stage ready. I'm surprised she's letting Joe and I sleep together the night before.

I was wrong, it's this dress.

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I was wrong, it's this dress.

Which is cute, and can be made by any talented seamstress for about $90 in materials, if that.

My *only* confusion about expensive wedding dresses is that most women are only going to wear them one time, and spending that much money on a single-use garment seems ... odd to me. On the other hand, I've seen some absolutely breathtaking dresses that look worth every penny.

I think the national average is around $1500 for a dress.

The ones my friend looked at for her very expensive wedding ranged from about $1100 to about $3000. I think the one she went with was about the average cost. The second choice was closer to $3000.

I have no problem with the $3000 for a dress. None at all. I was glad mine was only $100 and I loved it.

On the other hand, I've seen some absolutely breathtaking dresses that look worth every penny.

Having seen pictures of Jess's dress, it is, IIRC, pretty damn gorgeous. I'm not generally crazy about strapless wedding dresses, because they seem too Prom-y on most women. And yet -- Jess's dress completely puts my theory to shame. Nothing about it was Prom-y. It was lovely and elegant.

I'm surprised she's letting Joe and I sleep together the night before.

Don't tell her, she might have just forgotten to mention that you can't.

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This is her dress.

My *only* confusion about expensive wedding dresses is that most women are only going to wear them one time, and spending that much money on a single-use garment seems ... odd to me.

This is true. My wedding dress is currently sitting in a box in the closet of my old bedroom in my parents' house.

I keep thinking I should sell it on eBay and use the money to pay off credit card bills, but since I didn't pay for the dress in the first place, I'd feel kind of awkward asking my parents for permission to sell it.