We’ve all watched it play out with at least one couple we know. They get engaged and are euphoric.

Then it begins. Planning The Wedding.

The Wedding turns into a production, nearly worthy of Broadway or the Silver Screen.

For months, it consumes the couple, their thoughts, their very lives.

Oh yeah, also their money. Pretty much all of it. Sometimes their parents’ money too.

It takes on a life of its own. And grows and expands

It generates tensions between the couple and between the couple and their respective parents. It ignites arguments.

But, hey, this is The Wedding. The biggest, most important, most memorable day of their lives, right?

Well, apparently the couple and their loved ones have some reason to re-evaluate The Wedding Plan.

Because a study out of Emory University finds that “the more you dish out on the big day the shorter your marriage will be”. (Ouch!)

This is true regardless of the couple’s income.

The clear import of the study is to hold the line at no more than … $1,000, or suffer the consequence of heightened risk of divorce.

So a couple’s best bet might just be a simple exchange of vows before a justice of the peace, followed by a long weekend at Disney. Then back to work and on to everyday married life.

Read more in this PBS NewsHour article: Why spending less on your wedding could save your marriage.