Love and Cheeseburgers (and Tacos)

February 27, 2017 10:00 AM

Claire McNear of The Ringer takes a look at the weirdly burgeoning "fast-food wedding industrial complex".
posted by Etrigan (15 comments total)

As silly as they might seem, I'd rather have a fun McDonalds wedding than a $50K banquet hall wedding, especially if there's some attachment to McDonalds as part of the relationship.

I draw the line at Taco Bell, though. No bride wants to have the shits on her wedding night.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:16 AM on February 27, 2017 [2 favorites]

Holy shit, I went to school in Normal. I don't think I know the guy, but I might know people who do.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:25 AM on February 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

The sanctity of marriage, everyone!

Just kidding, I'm just happy that they're happy.
posted by blnkfrnk at 11:01 AM on February 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

As silly as they might seem, I'd rather have a fun McDonalds wedding than a $50K banquet hall wedding, especially if there's some attachment to McDonalds as part of the relationship.

You could split the difference and have the wedding at an upscale fast food joint, like the DC-area chain &pizza.
posted by Cash4Lead at 11:03 AM on February 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

The sanctity of marriage, everyone!

Just kidding, I'm just happy that they're happy.

"Caragh and Paul Brooks — who split up after 11 months and divorced two and a half years after their ceremony..."

Fast food wedding, Vegas divorce.
posted by Devils Rancher at 11:06 AM on February 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

It's not weird at all.

Young folks don't have as much disposable income as their parents did. Real wages (adjusted by inflation) have fallen a lot, as much as a quarter relative to a 25-30 prior in some counties. Compounding that youth unemployment is up as well.

Most younger folks are used to fast food. It's been a feature of their lives since they were infants. Many like it, it doesn't trigger allergies for many (not all, but many people). Most importantly, it's cheap and low-hassle.

1+2=cheap and cheerful weddings.
posted by bonehead at 11:09 AM on February 27, 2017 [3 favorites]

Mandarin (a chain of Chinese buffet restaurants) has banquet rooms in some of their restaurants. I would rather go to a wedding at a Mandarin than one at most hotels or banquet halls as the food is guaranteed to be better.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 11:12 AM on February 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

I'm surprised this article didn't mention Domino's pizza registry: "The first registry for couples who prefer delicious melty cheese to crystal gravy boats."

Edit: Oops, crap - it does mention it. Nevermind!

Who wants pizza?
posted by jammy at 11:21 AM on February 27, 2017

Probably the most controversial decision of all: do you get the Hawaiian for Aunt Gladys, and risk offending/grossing out cousin Kelsy who has to sit at her table? Or do you punt and just do a standing only cocktail reception?
posted by bonehead at 11:54 AM on February 27, 2017

"With this onion ring, I thee wed."
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 12:23 PM on February 27, 2017 [6 favorites]

I would rather go to a wedding at a Mandarin than one at most hotels or banquet halls as the food is guaranteed to be better.

If anyone Toronto-area mefites want to get married at Mandarin, I'll fly up and attend. As you say, it beats some caterers.
posted by GuyZero at 12:43 PM on February 27, 2017

Points deducted for not titling post: "I once got married in a Burger King bathroom."
posted by klangklangston at 2:41 PM on February 27, 2017 [6 favorites]

In-N-Out catering your wedding is definitely a thing. The best thing, in fact.
posted by Room 641-A at 3:39 PM on February 27, 2017

So, in general I think the idea is fine, but some of these anecdotes just read like capitalism horror stories:

"married his Waffle House coworker in the restaurant’s parking lot after he finished his morning shift"

"was given away by her former manager"
posted by ckape at 11:08 PM on February 27, 2017 [2 favorites]

"And why, in a land full of churches and temples and beaches and city halls, do some lovebirds flock to their neighborhood burger and taco joints to tie the knot?"

I'm reminded about something Eyebrows McGee said about their Master's Thesis that has stuck with me:

"Part of my masters' thesis (in liturgy) was about how in the absence of appropriately symbolic and resonant cultural or religious rituals, people start inventing them to fill the holes (because humans gonna human), so you end up with dumb stuff like people drinking themselves stupid on their 21st birthdays, because American society has no significant ritual to mark the transition to adulthood. I also suspect the dramatic escalation in wedding rituals (bachelor parties, showers, engagement parties, weddings, receptions, wedding breakfasts, wedding weekends) is due not just to conspicuous consumption but also to the dramatic gap between American understandings of marriage and religious understandings of marriage (along with declining religiosity generally), which renders the religious ceremonies not very resonant or complete for the majority of Americans getting married. So they unconsciously fill the gaps with what they see in the media."

posted by Blasdelb at 5:46 AM on February 28, 2017 [6 favorites]