Well no matter how inappropriate for the occasion, at least Krueger had the body for the dress. I thought the shoes were tacky.
Agree that by posting the incident online she has now made the wedding all about herself. And that’s really tacky!
I don’t think it was a particularly attractive look, though. FWIW. With a body like that, she could do something simple and elegant and everyone would KNOW there was a hot body beneath it!
True story from a friend of mine: The friend was getting married, and her sister wore an actual wedding dress to the friend’s wedding. I could not make something like this up! I have seen the pictures!
Acquaintance had a very dressy wedding, and her attendants had lovely, long, classy dresses in the palest of pink. (and they were all young gals that could have easily been models). Just beautiful.
But viewing the wedding pictures, the eyes could only focus attention on the MOB. She had on a long, strapless, very low, sleek, sexy, mermaid style with a small train, almost looked like a prom dress.
Oh yes, and it was in NEON pink. And huge, dangly, sparkly earrings and bracelets and a huge sparkly necklace. She’s a very attractive woman, but she looked like a hooker or Vegas showgirl…and just so out of place with the wedding party. Way to upstage your daughter…
The weirdest one I remember is a wedding where the minister was the uncle of the bride who had been like a father to her since her own dad died young. He began his homily by saying that he had prayed for her every day of her life but today was the last day he would ever pray for her because she had a husband to do it now. There was a huge gasp from the audience and the bride burst into tears then wailing sobs. Once the bride was calmed down enough to continue the uncle continued on with the most convoluted, paternalistic (IMHO, unbiblical) nonsense.
The groom was a grad school colleague of my husband and we spent the reception at a table of fellow students (mostly foreign) explaining that no this was not normal for a Christian wedding.
My idea of a tacky wedding is the ‘canned’ one available for weddings. My experience was I Baltimore, where girls grow up dreaming of having a reception at one of these places. The building is a huge round one. The rooms have dividers like in a hotel conference room, and you get your ‘piece of the pie’ depending on how many guests you have. There is a house band in each room, and while I’m sure you can eliminate songs, I’m not sure you can add them. I was sitting by the wall and the band in the next room was one song ahead of ours. They played all the wedding favorites, like Daddy’s Little Girl for that dance (bride did not like her father). It was all timed, from the cocktail hours (those who had been to many of these weddings knew to get two drinks as the bar would close promptly in 1 hour). Meals were standard, drinks standard. They serve a flaming dessert, so a piece of wedding cake was wrapped and give to every guest.
It wasn’t to my taste, but as I said those I worked with grew up expecting these receptions. The June dates were booked 18 months in advance. It certainly is easy on the bride as far as choices go- there aren’t many.
Tacky is Vegas–back in the early 80s, my friend and I were there with our law firm. On a whim, we decided to check out one of the wedding chapels near the casinos. The proprietors kept urging us two females to tie the knot to one another. She and I were giggling hysterically.
Friend’smother got remarried by the Elvis impersonator. I’d cal that kitschy.
Bumping up to ask this:
I just got invited to a bridal shower that I am unable to attend since I’ll be out of town.
The bride, B, is the daughter of my husband’s cousin L.
I am friends with B and L on Facebook but that’s about the extent of any contact. Years ago, we would see L and B once or twice a year at family gatherings on my husband’s side, but that hasn’t happened in at least 15 years. We ran into L a few years ago just by happenstance at a restaurant. There is no ongoing contact, though.
They are very nice people, however, and I would certainly wish them well and would have happily attended if I were in town.
I RSVP’d to the hostess (I don’t know any of them) and let her know I couldn’t attend but I’d be happy to bring by a gift. They’re registered at the “usual suspect” places and I can see gifts ranging from $10 to $500 so I’ve got a wide range to pick from. What amount would you all spend? I have something in mind, but curious as to what you all would think.
I don’t know yet whether we’d be invited to the wedding, and it appears that it will be out of town anyway, so it will be H’s call whether he wants to attend since it’s his side of the family. I don’t care either way.
Shower so early, before invites even go out?
I still have no idea what my D should give, what some average $ we think is reasonable. I’d be tempted by a $25-50 gift, for a shower I wasn’t attending.
Then again, does L expect…
Curious to see other input. I’m sure I’m not the only one wondering if I’ve been stingy with others’ weddings.
I think something between $10-25 would be fine, especially if you may not be invited or attend any future wedding for these folks and haven’t had much to do with them for the past 15 years.
I RSVP’d to the hostess (I don’t know any of them) and let her know I couldn’t attend but I’d be happy to bring by a gift. They’re registered at the “usual suspect” places and I can see gifts ranging from $10 to $500 so I’ve got a wide range to pick from. What amount would you all spend? I have something in mind, but curious as to what you all would think.
I don’t know yet whether we’d be invited to the wedding, and it appears that it will be out of town anyway, so it will be H’s call whether he wants to attend since it’s his side of the family. I don’t care either way.
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I think $50-75 would be enough given the “level” of your relationship with them.
If I were in that situation, and I couldn’t attend the shower, the amount I would spend on a shower gift would be zero. I wouldn’t think to give a shower gift for a shower I couldn’t attend unless it was someone very close to me. It seems a bit odd to send a gift to the shower under those circumstances.
I would be happy to be invited to a shower for a long lost cousin, though. I think of those events more as family reunion events than as an event strictly to honor the bride. If I could attend, I’d bring a nice though not extravagant gift – maybe in the $75 range – though honestly if I hadn’t seen the person or her parents for 15 years, my sisters and my mom and I would probably just go in on something (assuming they hadn’t seen the bride and her family for a long time either). Or maybe one of us would go to represent our branch of the family and the rest of us would go in on a $100 gift.
But back to your question: Would the gift be a combined shower and wedding gift or just a shower gift? If just a shower gift, under the circumstances you describe, I’d probably try to find something on the registry in the $50-$60 range.
LF - Sure … that doesn’t surprise me at all. I always saw bridal shower invites happening well before a wedding. In this case, the shower is in mid Aug and the wedding appears to be late Sep (based on what I see when I log into the registry). That seems entirely normal to me.
I don’t think either L or B have any “expectations.” They aren’t those kinds of people. Not gold-diggers!
Does it mean you would get a more expensive gift if you were attending? “Cover the plate”? 
@lookingforward, sorry to be picking on you.
Forget covering the plate; think of it as an investment scheme. You send $100 check to B, L’s only child. The precedent is now set, and L will now feel obligated to send $100 to EACH of your two kids upon their marriages. Presto! You’ve just doubled your money. 
If you expect to be invited to the wedding I’d stay around 35 for the shower. If you don’t, I’d go 75-100.
Tough question PG - I might ask, what would you typically spend on a shower gift for a family member like this that you DO see often and know well? I mean, I could say you should spend $50 on this not-well-known family member but maybe that is way off what you normally would spend!
It is my thought that if you are invited to a shower you are also likely to be invited to the wedding, no? In our circles I would say yes, unless it’s going to be a very, very small wedding.
“If I were in that situation, and I couldn’t attend the shower, the amount I would spend on a shower gift would be zero. I wouldn’t think to give a shower gift for a shower I couldn’t attend unless it was someone very close to me. It seems a bit odd to send a gift to the shower under those circumstances.”
Really? Huh. I’m happy to send a gift in this circumstance, as we always liked this “branch.” (And that can’t always be said, ha ha.) As I said, I would have been happy to attend if I’d been able to.
"- though honestly if I hadn’t seen the person or her parents for 15 years, my sisters and my mom and I would probably just go in on something (assuming they hadn’t seen the bride and her family for a long time either). "
Yeah, that makes sense. If it were my family, I could see going in with my sister and my mom. Since it’s my husband’s family, it is probably best if I don’t go in on a gift with my sisters-in-law or my mother-in-law – it will keep any drama to a minimum 
I changed it to 25-50, but I think that’s what I’d envision, either way, for a shower. Depends on what’s on the registry that would be nice and you know I’m not giving a toothbrush holder.
PG, would you go to the wedding, if invited? Or you feel too distant to them to make it a priority? and is this a test question? ;))