Mental blanketing may actually be a silk tulle veil that trails for several feet. I wonder how much of the domesticated fairy dust is the conflation of a wedding with marriage itself? There is no other 'arena' where we celebrate women, literally setting them on a throne FOR A DAY. Some brides actually choose to wear a crown, spending the cost of a home down payment on THE party. When else is one's name letterpressed in stationary & people RSVP by flying from across the country to blow a whole weekend - forget registered waffle makers although those are bequeathed too. People conduct a whole year around brides: showers, engagements, and the coup-de-gras day now oft stretched into a weekend of revelry. I recall years ago, some A-list actress shrugging when asked if she regretted eloping as doing so meant that she apparently 'missed her moment'. She answered that she'd walked the red carpet to receive her Oscar so had no need for another extravagant dress. I found this pop culture quip peculiar in its profundity. If we decided to craft a society where women could be as opulently celebrated publicly for our accomplishments or better yet, just honoring our honed attributes, perhaps the wedding (which some confuse with matrimony) would not be framed as the pinnacle of a woman's life journey but instead just one optional road of many. One alternative turn or bend along the most fantastically magical sojourn that is our sole existence. Sole. Soul.