2 Things Baby Boomers Do At Their Kids’ Weddings That Make The Couple Wish They Eloped
DocPhotos | Shutterstock A wedding is the day for the couple to have all eyes centered on them, with the hope for a life filled with love and success. Yet, a Baby Boomer, be it a parent, grandparent, or relative, can still decide to destroy the atmosphere of the couple's special day by behaving in ways that are far less than desirable, even if unintentional. (Maybe that's why a survey found Millennials are not marrying as young, or as much as their Boomer counterparts? We kid.)
Many Bab Boomer parents genuinely want to help make their child's big day special, yet some of their most well-intentioned choices can leave the couple feeling stressed or sidelined. According to relationship experts, there are two common things Boomers often do during the wedding process that can make the bride and groom secretly wish they were already on their honeymoon.
Experts say there are two things Nboomers do at their child's wedding that make the couple wish they had eloped:
1. Baby Boomers bring up topics the couple would rather avoid
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Dr. Gloria Brame, Ph.D., acknowledges that one of the most embarrassing things Boomers do is overtalk. This leads to cringey confessions about their own marital struggles, lewd references to honeymoons, and grumblings about "Kids nowadays..."
What they don't realize is that modern couples are far more sophisticated than they are. They are mindful and better educated about intimacy. They have likely already done years of premarital work or therapy for intentional relationship building. The last thing they want on their wedding day is someone who thinks a bad joke about "the old ball and chain" is peak humor.
A Boomer parent might think they're showing love by "keeping it real" and cracking jokes instead of saying something authentic. Some even use their wedding speech to raise old grudges or tease their kids about embarrassing experiences in their past. All under the guise of it being "for their own good." Fun fact, it's never for the kids' good. But it is a good reason to have an unannounced Las Vegas wedding.
2. Baby Boomers treat the wedding like a trip back to their own glory days
Astrologer Aria Gmitter has seen more than her fair share Boomer who struggle with aging. They are the ones who want you to always guess their age so they can receive a compliment about how young they look. No moment hits a Boomer harder than a wedding because it typically reminds them of their younger days.
Older Boomers attend funerals more than weddings or baby showers. It's unfortunately part of the aging process when all your friends are the same age as you. Yet when you have a Boomer family member at a wedding, they often rely on perceived appearance and behavior to project youthfulness.
Nothing proves to a Boomer that age is just a number more than their perceived ability to draw inappropriate attention from a person a decade or two younger. Unfortunately, I've seen it happen all too often in highly energized situations like a wedding, particularly the reception.
The "forever single" and "happily divorced" Boomers see a person's kindness or politeness as a Studio 54 flashback to a hookup from their past. This is especially when alcohol is a factor. It becomes a chance to show they still have it and then boast about it. They can misjudge the room and read a person's playfulness as suggestive of romantic interest.
An open bar can lead to an overly intoxicated Boomer who is an embarrassment bomb waiting to detonate. Boomers were the generation who were the "age-is-just-a-number crowd", or "love in any form is beautiful as long as you feel free to express yourself."
In the end, most Baby Boomer parents or family members aren't trying to cause tension. But weddings have shifted over the generations. When Boomers focus on supporting that vision rather than making it about them, the day becomes what it's meant to be: a joyful beginning for the couple, not a moment anyone wishes had played out differently.
Will Curtis is YourTango's expert editor. Will has over 14 years of experience as an editor covering relationships, spirituality, and human interest topics.
