Of the estimated 1.2 million couples who will tie the knot this year, as many as 65 percent won’t survive.
You get better odds in Vegas – especially if that’s where you tied the knot.
Why such dismal numbers?
My thoughts are that the average couple stumbles to the altar after years (or months) of free-fall dating, then spend the engagement period furiously preparing for a wedding, not a marriage. The decision of whether to add a groom’s cake to the menu or engrave your invitations becomes the focal point – and may be really important at the time – but doesn’t exactly train people to deal with the hurts and dashed expectations that can hit after the honeymoon.
In an ideal world, couples would attend months of premarital counseling with qualified therapists, and they would go before the engagement, not after.
And that’s just the average couple.
When Kim Kardashian announced her engagement to basketball player Kris Humphries, a public hype began that was only formerly rivaled by the royal wedding in April.
Now, 72 days later, the relationship has been given an equally public ending, the wedding fanfare forgotten and replaced with public humiliation.
Shows like “Bridezillas” and “Say Yes to the Dress” have encouraged a cultural fascination with weddings, but when the wedding becomes more about the “big day,” as opposed to your life together, it may be a warning sign that perhaps this is a union best avoided.
Enter WE TV’s original series, “I Do Over,” a show designed to give happily married couples a second chance at the perfect wedding.
Having designed elegant ceremonies for celebrities including Toni Braxton, Martin Lawrence, Usher and more, Diann Valentine knows what it takes to turn a treasured wedding day into a glamorous fantasy. And if that’s not challenging enough, she only has five days to pull it off. She and her team pull together elements of grandeur these couples could never imagine.
I got a chance to talk with Diann about her favorite episodes, do-it-yourself brides, outrageous wedding party demands, and yes – the importance of focusing on the marriage and 20-year anniversary celebration, in addition to the wedding ceremony.
“I Do Over,” premieres Sunday, Nov. 13th at 10 p.m. EST/PST with six one-hour episodes, as part of WE TV’s “Wedding Sunday” lineup.
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Nikki Woods is senior producer of “The Tom Joyner Morning Show.” The author of “Easier Said Than Done,” the Dallas-based Woods is currently working on her second and third novels. You can friend her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter: @nikkiwoods.
