It's no wonder. Bride resource magazines, websites, and forums have encouraged this type of behavior in all their literature. "It's your day." "What matters most is that you do what you want to do." "This is the biggest day of your life, so you are the one who needs to be happy with the results." "This wedding is about you, not them." Bridal advertisers build an image in every bride's mind of herself as the princess, the fairy queen, the goddess of the wedding day. Something about her status gives her the right to dictate exactly how every detail will be, and she thinks she has the right to cause thunderstorms or rainbows with her magic wand.
At the heart of this selfishness is the anti-Biblical teaching that is prevalent in our culture today, as the absolute truth of God's law is pushed aside in favor of the relativistic, postmodern philosophy of lawlessness. The virtues of chastity, contentment, humility, and gratefulness are mocked, or at best, ignored. Lust, greed, self-esteem, and materialism are prized. Bridal resources make the most of this philosophical shift, and fuel these attitudes with their advertising by encouraging brides to give way to their desires. This produces self-centered bridezillas of the worst sort who spend their new family into debt and start their marriages believing they live to be served, not to serve.
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| We all know a Bratz when we see one. |
In the midst of all these cultural influences, it is so easy to forget that the wedding exists as a joyful celebration of what is to come, not as a celebration of momentary pleasures. It is so easy to forget that the event is created to surround a covenant and a relationship, not to surround a single person in all her "glory." It is so easy to forget that the wedding is made to magnify God, not to magnify the bride, the groom, or even their relationship.
Standing up against the bridal philosophies of today is the Christian Bride Resource, which has determined to cultivate a different sort of bride, as well as to provide the vendors, resources, and articles that will help this bride and her family in planning both her wedding and marriage. We desire to show Christian brides, grooms, and their families a better way than that which the world teaches: a way that doesn't appeal to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, but a way that produces righteousness, faith, and joy in the lives of the bride and groom, their families, and their guests.
We also believe God created beauty as a glorious reminder of His holiness. Every earthly marriage celebration should showcase God's strength and beauty as in the marriage of Christ to the church. Therefore, the Christian Bride Resource desires to provide a plethora of useful vendors, advice, and resources to help families plan a marriage ceremony and celebration that is Biblically strong and Biblically beautiful-- with dresses, tuxes, hairdos, jewelry, locations, vows, preaching, feasting, dancing, and music that may all be a part of this vision. Our growing Wedding Resource Directory page provides links to wedding vendors that we highly recommend for their quality and integrity, and our blog provides useful articles on preparing for marriage, planning a wedding, and highlighting other aspects of weddings and marriage that we think will be useful to you. In the future, we hope to expand to a full-fledged website with more articles from prominent and exemplary Christians on weddings and marriage, a forum for Christian brides and their families to exchange ideas and information, as well as a categorized local vendor directory for every aspect of wedding planning.
-The Christian Bride Resource
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