the wedding-industrial complex thrives on a string of mistakes nearly everyone makes. it starts with paying a fortune for a material that isn’t actually rare (diamonds) and continues through overpaying for every little bit that is somehow wedding related.

Because this event is (ideally) once in a lifetime, that also means that vendors can appeal to consumers’ sentimentality, urging them not to cheap out on the “most important” day of their lives. Because of similar concerns about guilt-tripping salespeople, the Federal Trade Commission requires funeral homes to provide its bereaved customers with an itemized price list.

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