it's a druken punch-up at a wedding

My officemate-turned-friend is getting married pretty soon. She's nothing less than a June bride, of course. Thing is, my friend is ready to throw the whole thing overboard. Her problems started when her groom-to-be's family offered to foot the bill for everything, with the exception of her wedding dress. And because 'tis so, she cannot tell them which photographer she wants to go with, what church, which print house to go to for invites, which flowershop and all those other bothersome details that brides should busy themselves with. The boy's aunts are supposedly "taking care of everything."

To put it politely, she's a nervous wreck. On top of everything, she has been quarrelling with her boyfriend lately about money. Or his lack of it, more specifically. The guy works in a bank and earns around P 7,000 a month and we all know that that won't be enough if you're planning on starting a family. He is insisting that they put their resources together (read: their respective salaries) and try to save up. He tells my girl that the right thing to do is that she put all of hers in, a sum which is definitely higher than what he's earning. She doesn't think it's fair and rightly so.

My take on the matter of money or shared expenses is this: it's okay to pool in resources as long as the amount put in by each party is equal; no one puts in a cent more than what the other has given. These days, women need to fend for themselves financially. Saving up a little something for yourself is not an indication that you are unsure about your man's ability to commit. It's just that these things happen and if he loves you, he would also want that you be independent financially.

Anyway, as I was saying, I don't know why people bother with big marriage ceremonies anymore. I don't get what all this hooplah is for. I've written something about this in my previous blog. I've attended a total of 8 marriage ceremonies, all of which were uninventive and frightfully blase. Except probably for Manang's, but, well, she's always the exception.

Back to my friend. She's having second thoughts about this guy and I think that's scary shit if someone even entertains a slight glimmer of doubt at this point. I'm trying to make her hang in there; I've given half of the payment for my blasted gown already.

She has also entrusted me with making the playlist for this event. Here are the songs that I've picked so far:

Stuck In a Moment -- U2

Hard to Handle -- Black Crowes

What the World Needs Now is Love -- Burt Bacharach

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow -- Carole King

True Colors -- Cyndi Lauper

We've Got to Get Out of This Place -- The Animals

These Boots Are Made for Walking -- Nancy Sinatra

Nowhere To Run -- Martha Reeves

Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead -- The Marvelettes

Under Pressure -- Queen

Tell me what you think about them.