盛大的婚礼能让婚姻更持久

2014-10-20 11:29:37来源：网络

　　If you're serving burgers and Bud Light at your backyard wedding, don't worry. You and your spouse may have the last laugh.

　　A new study found that couples who spend less on their wedding tend to have longer-lasting marriages than those who splurge. The study, by two economics professors at Emory University, found a similar correlation between less-expensive engagement rings and lower divorce rates.

　　The study's authors didn't examine why, although they floated a few theories.

　　"It could be that the type of couples who have a ... (cheap wedding) are the type that are a perfect match for each other," said Professor Hugo M. Mialon, who co-authored the study with Andrew M. Francis.

　　"Or it could be that having an inexpensive wedding relieves young couples of financial burdens that may strain their marriage," he said.

　　The research was based on a detailed survey completed by 3,151 adults in the United States who are, or have been, married. The authors believe theirs is the first academic study to examine the correlation between wedding expenses and the length of marriages.

　　Specifically, the study found that women whose wedding cost more than $20,000 divorced at a rate roughly 1.6 times higher than women whose wedding cost between $5,000 and $10,000. And couples who spent $1,000 or less on their big day had a lower than average rate of divorce.

　　The study won't be cheered by the booming wedding industry, which encourages couples to spend freely on everything from invitations and flowers to videographers and Champagne. Couples in the United States spent an average of $29,858 for their big day in 2013 -- a record high -- according to a survey of 13,000 brides and grooms by wedding website TheKnot.com.

　　"The wedding industry has long associated lavish weddings with longer-lasting marriages. Industry advertising has fueled norms that create the impression that spending large amounts on the wedding is a signal of commitment or is necessary for a marriage to be successful," Francis told CNN in an e-mail.

　　"Overall, our findings provide little evidence to support the validity of the wedding industry's general message that connects expensive weddings with positive marital outcomes," he said.

　　Planning a wedding? In addition to slashing costs, you might want to invite those extra co-workers and far-flung cousins, too. The Emory study also found that the greater the number of people who attend a wedding, the lower the rate of divorce.

　　"This could be evidence of a community effect, i.e., having more support from friends and family may help the couple to get through the challenges of marriage," Francis said. "Or this could be that the type of couples who have a lot of friends and family are also the type that tend not to divorce as much."

　　据美国有线电视新闻网报道，如果你仅有能力在你的后院婚礼上提供汉堡和百威清啤?别担心，你和你的伴侣可能会笑到最后。

　　新的研究表明，在婚礼上开销更小的夫妇婚姻通常比这些铺张浪费的夫妇婚姻持续得更长久。这份由埃默里大学的两位经济学教授所完成的研究，找到了低价婚戒和低离婚率之间的联系。

　　尽管研究者们提出了一些理论，但他们并没有找出原因所在。

　　“可能，恩，这些结婚费用低的夫妇正好找到了适合对方的另一半，”与安德鲁·M·弗兰西斯教授一同研究的雨果·M·米亚隆教授说道。

　　“也或者不昂贵的婚礼能够缓解财政上可能给婚姻带来的负担，”他又说道。

　　这份研究基于3151位已婚美国人士的详细问卷。研究者们相信这是第一份婚礼费用与婚姻持续时间长短关系方面的学术研究。

　　研究发现，这些婚礼开销超过2万美元的女士的离婚率比这些婚礼开销介于5000美元到1万美元之间的女士的离婚率几乎高了近1.6倍。而婚礼开销在1000美元以内的夫妇们的离婚率远低于平均离婚率。

　　正处于蓬勃发展时期的婚礼产业对这份调查研究当然不会感到高兴。婚庆产业鼓励新婚夫妇慷慨地将钱花费在请柬、花束、电影摄像还有香槟上。婚庆网站TheKnot.com对1.3名新人的调查显示，2013年，美国新婚夫妇的平均婚礼开销为29858美元。

　　“婚庆产业一直把奢华的婚礼和长久的婚姻联系在一起。行业广告刺激社会规范，给人留下的印象就是：婚礼高消费是承诺的象征，也是婚姻成功的必要因素。”弗兰克斯在给美国有线电视新闻网(CNN)的信件中这样说道。

　　弗兰克斯说，“总的来说，婚庆产业传达着这样的一个普遍信息，那就是高昂的婚礼开销和幸福的婚姻之间有着必然的联系，而我们的调查鲜有证据证明其正确性。”

　　正在计划婚礼?婚礼中除了高昂的开销，你可能想邀请同事们和远房亲戚。埃默里的研究也发现，来参加婚礼的宾客人数越多，这对夫妇的离婚率就越低。

　　“这可能是社区效应，比如，来自朋友和家人的支持可以帮助这对夫妇克服婚姻的挑战，”弗兰西斯说。“或者也可能这类夫妇有很多婚姻长久的朋友和家人。”