<p>I don’t decorate them so what do I care? I’ll never pass up cake! 
And it’s rare I don’t like one.</p>
<p>If I thought that the wedding was overdone or tasteless, I’d say so. Gold leaf all over the food, living-statue models, a 40-foot train, fountains of Cristal champagne…that’s the kind of expenditure I find tacky, even though it helps the economy just as much as elegant choices do. There’s a line between luxury and conspicuous consumption, though everyone draws it in a different place.</p>
<p>To me, a wreath of flowers doesn’t necessarily say '70s. It’s probably the single most traditional thing for a bride/attendants to wear…it’s traditional in dozens of different cultures.</p>
<p>I agree that there are cultural issues at work, too. One of my law school classmates married into a well-off Indian-American family, and they had him arrive at the wedding by riding down Michigan Avenue on a white horse, dripping with gold, accompanied by marching musicians. Outside the Indian context, where such a procession has a long history, I’d find that very ostentatious.</p>
<p>[Jenna</a> Bush’s Wedding Album - FAMILY PORTRAIT - Weddings, Barbara Bush, George W. Bush, Jenna Bush, Laura Bush : People.com](<a href=“http://www.people.com/people/gallery/0,,20199244_20454734,00.html#20454734]Jenna”>http://www.people.com/people/gallery/0,,20199244_20454734,00.html#20454734) </p>
<p>Go to photo 6. The flowers look like a bad wreath on sister Barbara’s head! hee hee</p>
<p>I think Jenna’s hair was too messy for the formality of the dress. But again, the family looks happy so it’s all OK. :)</p>
<p>My wedding cake was delicious, but it was a plain (by today’s standards) 3 tier cake with one layer of vanilla, one layer of chocolate and one layer of good old fashioned southern caramel cake. My bridesmaids chose which jewel tone they wanted to wear and each bought their dress separately. Even though none of them had seen the others’ dresses before the wedding day, it was amazing how similar they were. I had to point out to people that they were different.</p>
<p>Jenna’s dress was beautiful, and what a happy bride she made.</p>
<p>I’m not fond of Barbara’s dress, but love the flowers in her hair. Then again, I like flower wreaths for weddings.</p>
<p>Now Laura Bush’s dress… satin is so difficult to wear. That’s not an awful dress, but neither the style nor the color does anything for her. It looks appropriate; that’s the best I can say for it.</p>
<p>To understand why economists don’t recommend that rich people cut back during recessions, do a Google search on “Paradox of Thrift.” I haven’t heard of any economists who have made that recommendation; what are the names of some people who do recommend that rich people cut back on consumption?</p>
<p>I don’t get the criticism of Chelsea’s parents throwing an expensive wedding. It was within their means. I don’t see the difference when you look at it relatively speaking…a person who earns $60,000 per year may throw a wedding that costs $9000 which is a big chunk of change for them. A person who is worth millions might spend $900,000 on the wedding (let alone of their only child) and it has a similar sort of “bite” out of their pocketbook. It is no different to me than a wealthy person owning a Mercedes or Jaguar and a middle income person owning a Ford Focus or Honda Civic. The budget for these items are in relation to their income or savings. </p>
<p>Why shouldn’t rich people spend more than middle income people? And isn’t it good that they are spending money and cycling it into the economy and employing lots of people? It was a large wedding that was out of town using top of the line goods and services, but not ostentatious. I see nothing wrong with it. We each decide what we value and wish to spend money on and spend amounts commensurate with our pocketbooks.</p>
<p>One more thing…this was a personal event and not a political event. The Clintons are parents. This wasn’t a lavish state dinner or some such in relation to their careers or politics. It was a personal expense and they have a right to be parents and choose to spend a chunk of their money on their daughter. Just because they have careers in politics doesn’t mean they have to consider political ramifications about personal expenses unrelated to their jobs. The fact that a war is going on? There is always a war going on. Tighten our belts? I haven’t heard that rich people need to tighten their belts. I don’t think the Clintons have to adhere to anything when it comes to their kid’s wedding, as it was solely a personal affair.</p>
<p>Is it an optical illusion or do we have the ‘Leaning Cake of Crawford’ in that Jenna Bush album?</p>
<p>Barbara was probably maid of honor. I read elsewhere that Jenna had 14 bridemaids.
<a href=“http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004404850_jennaquiz10.html[/url]”>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004404850_jennaquiz10.html</a> They were referred to as “members of the house party” according to this article.</p>
<p>You can get wedding cakes that are both gorgeous and delicious. Like at the last wedding we went to, where the bride and groom got their cake from [Rosebud</a> Cakes - The Last Word in Original Cake Design](<a href=“http://www.rosebudcakes.com/]Rosebud”>http://www.rosebudcakes.com/). I suspect that the tasty-but-plain cakes and the beautiful-but-dry cakes cost less. That works out great for those who care about how the cake tastes, but not as much about how it looks. Or vice versa. Then the savings can be used to pay for something else. The couple with the cake from Rosebud probably spent $$$ on the cake, but used an iPod and speakers instead of a DJ or band.</p>
<p>Being in the “house party” is different from being a bridesmaid. I’d never heard of it until I moved to Texas. I admit that I don’t quite get the concept…I guess friends who didn’t quite make the bridesmaid cut? I don’t know what their duties are. Some of the brides at our church will have a dozen bridesmaids, then another dozen members of the house party…maybe those are the girls who were in the sorority house with you that you didn’t really like?</p>
<p>I went to a wedding where the cake was individual cupcakes, Yummy!</p>
<p>I think Cbreeze has zoned into the difference between the Michelle Obama Spain trip and the Clinton wedding. Anytime the first family travels, even if they pay every penny of their personal expenses themselves, it costs the govt a lot of money in terms of security and other necessary items. Though there was probably some state/federal/town monies spent on the Clinton wedding, most of it came from their pockets.</p>
<p>However, with the recession the way it is and with so many out of jobs or on tight budgets, many of those who are wealthy, are being less ostentatious in their spending. It just doesn’t seem right to flaunt how much you can spend when so many are having a hard time meeting absolutely necessary needs.</p>
<p>(Since it’s okay to bring in politics again…)</p>
<p>It was our President himself who admonished us to “tighten our belts” on Feb. 3, 2010 at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire: “When times are tough, you tighten your belts. You don’t go buying a boat when you can hardly pay your mortgage. You don’t blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you’re trying to save for college. You prioritize to make tough choices.”</p>
<p>Maybe this is more an issue of having the President decide <em>where</em> we should be spending. Of course, if we save for college, that is not consumer spending at the present time. Just the other day the President mentioned that his daughters’ college funds have gone down. I guess that is to show he feels our pain although his family has had several vacations this summer, with one more 10 day one planned for later this month. With these confusing signals, it does not surprise me that people are put out or downright angry about Michelle’s trip and that Obama’s popularity numbers are plummeting.</p>
<p>What a cute site:</p>
<p>[Funny</a> wedding cakes](<a href=“http://www.uglyweddingcake.com/sillycakes.html]Funny”>http://www.uglyweddingcake.com/sillycakes.html)</p>
<p>Enjoy. :)</p>
<p><a href=“Since%20it’s%20okay%20to%20bring%20in%20politics%20again…”>quote</a>
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</p>
<p>According to whom?</p>
<p>I have to say, I am just amazed that people seem absolutely <em>unable</em> to resist posting things that they know will be inflammatory and rile other people, and have absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand, on what I consider a light, fun thread and really make it unpleasant for those of us who just want to talk dresses, cake, and Bill’s weight.</p>
<p>Sheesh, people, lighten up and take your soapbox elsewhere.</p>
<p>Added: Thanks Bunsen for that.</p>
<p>how does bonniemom have “0” posts if we are reading one of her posts? sorry to take a tangent off the thread…</p>
<p>I’m hoping she’s a figment of our dark side imagination.</p>
<p>Who said it was “okay” to bring up politics again?! I say - more cake talk!!</p>
<p>By the way, Rodney - I think that posts in the Parent Cafe don’t count towards your post count.</p>
<p>Post counts are not affected by posts in the Cafe. </p>
<p>Um, I don’t think anyone said it was OK to talk about politics on this thread. This thread was about the wedding. The reason it isn’t in the Politics Forum is because it is not about politics. If you want to talk politics, please visit the Pol Forum. If you opt to turn this into a political discussion, it likely will be moved to that forum. For almost two weeks, many of us who have been participating here, have been discussing the lite topics on the wedding and would not necessarily opt to visit the Pol Forum. So, if you want to discuss politics and spending policies or presidential popularity polls, please start another thread in the Pol Forum on that! Thanks! </p>
<p>In any case, I don’t think “tightening our belts when it comes to spending” applies in this case. I think the point is to not spend on unnecessary items if you can’t make ends meet on your necessities. In Chelsea’s parents’ case, spending on a wedding is not keeping them from paying their regular bills. I’m commenting on them as a family and nothing to do with politics.</p>
<p>Sorry, the thread took a political turn again in several posts so I took the liberty of explaining the “tighten the belts thing.” I’ve also been called names and disparaged in several posts. Am I supposed to report those or something? I’m simply giving my opinion…something others have done.</p>