wedding rants and raves

Since I have been looking through so much wedding stuff on line, besides the beautiful and sublime, I am seeing a lot of mundane, boring stuff and a lot of just plain bad and ugly. Since beauty and ugliness alike are just considerations (eye of the beholder and all that) this isn't surprising but in the interest of full disclosure, here are the things you will not see me recommending to you:

1) Wedding photographs set in urban/gritty settings. Okay, so in a few instances this works, like a charming wedding in someone's back yard, or in front of a beautiful old building, but an alarming number of wedding photographers all seem to have this thing for juxtaposing people in beautiful wedding clothes against urban blight. There's the bride and groom silhouetted against -- tacky motels! Power lines! Water Towers! Graffiti! Striding down a gritty downtown street! I even saw one where the bride and groom were artfully posed in a pile of garbage ! I kid you not!

2) Engagement photos in urban/gritty settings. There's the happy couple with their faces all intense and moody draped over industrial waste.

3) Wedding favors. Maybe I am really old fashioned, but -- why? Why would someone give increasingly expensive things to the guests? What -- are you paying them to show up? They need a reminder you are married? The party is no good unless they walk away with swag? I don't get it. (however, there are some just plain cute things done for this so I reserve the right to change my mind on this one)

4) Strapless bridesmaid dresses. Strapless is not really a flattering silhouette for the most part. And its uncomfortable, and depending on your build, you either are worrying about the dress staying up or the girls spilling out. There are some singular beautiful strapless dresses, but I've seen the most hideous photos of bridesmaids in different shapes and sizes, crammed into the same strapless dress. I think if someone loves the silhouette, is comfortable in it (can move, dance, etc.) then its good, but I just don't think you can line a number of women up in a row and hit the jackpot every time with this look.