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ABSTRACT
Cultural discourses surrounding weddings and wedding planning are commonly focused on the bride. Relational Dialectics Theory 2.0 is used to conduct a critical analysis of wedding planning discourses through a Critical Interpersonal and Family Communication (CIFC) lens. Contrapuntal analysis is used to analyze interview transcripts of women talking about planning their weddings. Dominant discourses include the idea of the wedding as the perfect day, a day all about the bride. Competing, marginalized discourses wherein resistance to the central discourse is manifested include the idea that the marital relationship, not the wedding day, is the important focal point. The cultural ideology of the wedding day belonging to and being about the bride is central and powerful. Considering this discourse from a CIFC perspective, the status quo (i.e., weddings are all about the bride) is largely reinforced. This dominant discourse of wedding planning is one of individualism with the bride’s pursuit of perfection prioritized over relational discourses. Resistance to the dominant ideology is noted, but there is little critique or transformation. Although the brides appear to operate from a position of power and self-interest, the question must be asked, who does the discourse of the status quo serve?
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Laura Stafford
Dr. Laura Stafford is Professor Media and Communication and the Director of the School of Media and Communication and Bowling Green State University. Her research centers on romantic relationships with a focus on relational maintenance and long-distance relationships. Her research has been published in venues such as the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Communication Monographs and Communication Yearbook.
Sandra L. Faulkner
Dr. Sandra L. Faulkner is Professor of Media and Communication and Director of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at BGSU. Her research interests include qualitative methodology, poetic inquiry, and the relationships among culture, identities, and sexualities in close relationships. Her latest books are Poetic Inquiry: Craft, Method, & Practice (Routledge); Poetic Inquiry as Social Justice and Political Response (Vernon co-edited with Abigail Cloud); Scientists and Poets #Resist (Brill coedited with Andrea England).
Allison M. Scott
Dr. Allison M. Scott is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Kentucky. Her research focuses on improving the quality of interpersonal communication in health contexts. Her work appears in Communication Monographs, Health Communication, and Communication Yearbook.