500 Wedding Ideas

Could the reason for the decline in marriages be the failure of the brides family to provide a dowry?

You know it used to be that the brides family would pay the husband to take her off their hands.

Public Comments

1. Right, because 4 camels and 5 gold bracelets can really create bliss in a marriage.
2. no, i think the decline was when they made raping your wife criminal... i mean, how the hell is she supposed to be financially dependent on her husband if she refuses to get knocked up? and he can't even beat her into compliance any more!!
3. Nah, dowries aren't necessary any more. These days women make as much or more than men. I think there's just not enough time anymore. These days, kids grow up with every waking minute doing some activity like soccer, piano, dance, basketball, tutoring, etc. Then they grow up and its the same with work, networking, social groups, political groups and community service. There's no time to fall in love. People are just too busy.
4. Perhaps it is because women have learned that other than the obivious reason of procreation, they do not really need a man. Or perhaps it is because women are just being more selective in their choices or they are just too busy trying to make a living that they have no time for "love". How sad! =P
5. The decline in marriage coincides with the increase in options for both men and women. When marriage was the only game in town, most people stayed married. Now that people have choices, a lot of them are choosing to not stay married. So the problem is marriage itself.
6. Yes, and prospective grooms today are just DESPONDENT because it's not the 1700's anymore. Please.
7. Dowry is just a politically correct term for slavery. He buys her from her parents, thus she is his property. Slavery is against the law.
8. Uh, dowries haven't been standard practice for nearly 200 years in our society and the divorce rate has only gone up - and the marriage rate has gone down - in the last 40 years or so. Julie M, is that really how you think marriage has always been until the dawn of feminism? Really? LOL Man, I'm glad I've never taken a women's studies course. : P
9. Few women I've know I'd pay for.
10. No because there are many cultures where the husbands family pays the dowry to to family of the bride.
11. No, the reason is women now have a choice and so do men. Nobody is forced to remain in an unhappy or abusive marriage anymore, that is the reason divorce is up and marriage is down. Everybody should be counting their blessings on that one, men and women alike. ;-)
12. The idea of the dowry was that it would contribute towards the support of the household. Nowadays most women work outside the home and bring in money anyway, so I suppose that is the equivalent of the dowry in today's terms.
13. Now the husband pays for taking his wife of his hands. It is called alimony, child support, etc.