An impassioned article recently published online at Quartz includes a shocking thesis sure to anger brides past, present, and future. Writer Assya Barrette argues that “It’s time to say goodbye to the wedding industry’s most unnecessarily extravagant fantasy,” the wedding dress.

Yes, this already-married writer thinks that your beloved wedding dress is nothing if not an “extravagant” waste of money. She goes on:

“Material possessions have become a part of our identity. Brands are the new tribal symbols, monetary value the new measure of our self-worth.
Modern wedding dresses in particular represent a microcosm of consumerist ideals, complete with lace, beading, and perhaps a mermaid train.”

Of course, Barrette isn’t suicidal. She wouldn’t risk angering brides-to-be with such a controversial idea without including a number of If’s, And’s, and But’s in her article. Of course you deserve to look beautiful on your wedding day, and of course you should keep your dress if you want to, etc.

But does she have a point? Has our cultural obsession with ridiculously expensive wedding dresses gone too far? After all, you only wear the thing one time, right?

Wrong. The wedding dress is an iconic part of one of our most important cultural institutions. However, it is worth noting just how much wedding traditions vary across cultures, and just how quickly traditions can change. For instance, in recent years more and more brides are adopting a three-dress plan for their wedding. One dress for the rehearsal, one for the ceremony, and a third for the reception. And as same-sex marriage recently became the law of the land, no doubt new traditions inspired by the LGBT community will soon spread, for better or for worse (hint: it’s for the better).

For instance, while throwing rice used to be a staple of the wedding ceremony, today’s weddings are more likely to include a wedding sparkler send off. Yes, wedding sparklers have quickly become a popular, personal touch to include in the best day of your lives. Some couples use indoor sparklers for weddings, while others use extra long sparklers to capture colorful, unique time-lapse photographs.

But no matter what kind of special tradition you invent for your wedding ceremony — whether you use extra long sparklers or throw rice like your grandparents did — there’s no doubt you’ll still want to opt for a wedding dress, as well you should. For more information see this.