Cookie Parker

Some interesting thoughts on how much to pay for a wedding ring and what could the money be used for other than the ring.

Column: What else could that ring buy? - Opinion - USATODAY.com

[QUOTE Valentine's Day is here again, and with it, a perennial bloom of marriage proposals from the romantically inclined among us. In our consumer culture, that means that over the next week, thousands of prospective brides will don new diamond rings, with friends noting the size as evidence of the groom's devotion. Even with the not-so-sparkly economy, the average couple spends (according to the 2008 Wedding Report) $3,215 on an engagement ring and $2,036 on wedding bands.

It's a lot of money, a testament to the power of love and De Beers' marketing. But after interviewing lots of weary young parents over the years, I've decided that there's an irony to this purchase. That five grand, and indeed, the whole $20,000-plus average wedding tab, is spent when a marriage least needs it — when love is gleaming as bright as a diamond. It's later that "life gets in the way of marriage," as Dallas-area marriage therapist Corey Allan puts it. Then, the money could be invested more strategically in making a couple live happily ever after. Unfortunately, few couples basking in the glow of early romance consider the practical side of what all that wedding cash could buy them.
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Any thoughts?