A song from the ’60s made popular by a group called the The Dixie Cups (not Dixie Chicks) was called “Chapel of Love” and the first line of the chorus is, “Goin’ to the chapel and we’re gonna get married.” To sing the song today, you’d have to say,

“Goin’ to McDonalds and we’re gonna get married.” That’s right. Along with a juicy Big Mac® and an order of fries, you can have your marriage ceremony at a participating McDonalds in Hong Kong. Are you lovin’ it?

If you want it “supersized” the franchise offers a cake made out of a tower of apple pies and guests receive party favors in the form of Happy Meal® toys. The bride and her attendants can also opt for wedding dresses made out of McDonald’s party balloons. The total cost is only a few hundred American dollars.

Now, what little girl hasn’t dreamed about all that for her wedding day?

While I’m all for cutting down on expenses for a wedding, which today averages about $30,000, I’m not so sure we’re heading in the right direction. Getting married at McDonald’s is wacky to me, until I consider other unconventional weddings that were held at places like T.J. Maxx’s shoe aisle, a tree stand in the middle of the woods for two avid bow hunters who were dressed in camouflage, Home Depot, and yes, even a steel cage where diving enthusiasts were hitched while sand tiger sharks and moral eels floated by. It’s crazy!

I’m all for individuality, but it seems as though people are trying to take the sacredness out of marriage. It’s like they put more energy into creating the most unusual wedding ceremony and less effort into the marriage relationship. While it’s fun to share the story of where and how you got married, it can be even more exciting to leave the legacy of a strong, lifelong marriage. It may be entertaining to say you had 110 bridesmaids and broke the world’s record for number of attendants at a wedding (an Ohio gymnastics teacher can claim that), a more significant record to break might be the number of years you stay married. That would be both exemplary and influential.

I don’t promote staying married without good reason. Longevity in marriage is a healthier choice mentally and socially for society. Studies have shown that marriage lowers poverty rates by reducing the number of people on welfare while divorce increases poverty of women and inflicts psychological and social damage on children. Outwardly, it may not seem like children of divorce are affected by the split, but if you ask our counselors at Winning At Home, I think you’d hear otherwise.

My concern is not necessarily with the types of ceremonies people are conducting, but with the levity people take with marriage. In 1997, the state of Louisiana offered the option of choosing either a covenant marriage or traditional marriage. The covenant marriage is new and legally requires couples to seek premarital counseling before marriage and to seek marriage counseling if problems arise in the marriage. Divorce is only allowed by proving abuse, infidelity, or abandonment. This legislation was put into place to help make divorce tougher.

I’m not saying wacky weddings are the problem or that covenant marriages are the solution, but any steps we can take to encourage couples to stay married longer, is moving in the right direction. That is why we have the STAY Married for Life movement (winningathome.com). Check it out to see how you can make your marriage worthy—not wacky!

A song from the ’60s made popular by a group called the The Dixie Cups (not Dixie Chicks) was called “Chapel of Love” and the first line of the chorus is, “Goin’ to the chapel and we’re gonna get married.” To sing the song today, you’d have to say,

“Goin’ to McDonalds and we’re gonna get married.” That’s right. Along with a juicy Big Mac® and an order of fries, you can have your marriage ceremony at a participating McDonalds in Hong Kong. Are you lovin’ it?

If you want it “supersized” the franchise offers a cake made out of a tower of apple pies and guests receive party favors in the form of Happy Meal® toys. The bride and her attendants can also opt for wedding dresses made out of McDonald’s party balloons. The total cost is only a few hundred American dollars.

Now, what little girl hasn’t dreamed about all that for her wedding day?

While I’m all for cutting down on expenses for a wedding, which today averages about $30,000, I’m not so sure we’re heading in the right direction. Getting married at McDonald’s is wacky to me, until I consider other unconventional weddings that were held at places like T.J. Maxx’s shoe aisle, a tree stand in the middle of the woods for two avid bow hunters who were dressed in camouflage, Home Depot, and yes, even a steel cage where diving enthusiasts were hitched while sand tiger sharks and moral eels floated by. It’s crazy!

I’m all for individuality, but it seems as though people are trying to take the sacredness out of marriage. It’s like they put more energy into creating the most unusual wedding ceremony and less effort into the marriage relationship. While it’s fun to share the story of where and how you got married, it can be even more exciting to leave the legacy of a strong, lifelong marriage. It may be entertaining to say you had 110 bridesmaids and broke the world’s record for number of attendants at a wedding (an Ohio gymnastics teacher can claim that), a more significant record to break might be the number of years you stay married. That would be both exemplary and influential.

I don’t promote staying married without good reason. Longevity in marriage is a healthier choice mentally and socially for society. Studies have shown that marriage lowers poverty rates by reducing the number of people on welfare while divorce increases poverty of women and inflicts psychological and social damage on children. Outwardly, it may not seem like children of divorce are affected by the split, but if you ask our counselors at Winning At Home, I think you’d hear otherwise.

My concern is not necessarily with the types of ceremonies people are conducting, but with the levity people take with marriage. In 1997, the state of Louisiana offered the option of choosing either a covenant marriage or traditional marriage. The covenant marriage is new and legally requires couples to seek premarital counseling before marriage and to seek marriage counseling if problems arise in the marriage. Divorce is only allowed by proving abuse, infidelity, or abandonment. This legislation was put into place to help make divorce tougher.

I’m not saying wacky weddings are the problem or that covenant marriages are the solution, but any steps we can take to encourage couples to stay married longer, is moving in the right direction. That is why we have the STAY Married for Life movement (winningathome.com). Check it out to see how you can make your marriage worthy—not wacky!