We all have opinions on just about every aspect of a wedding—no matter whether it’s someone else’s or your own—so it was only a matter of time before wedding dates kicked off another debate.
In a TikTok that’s gotten over 1 million views, Ellen Marlow, an actor best known for starring in the film adaptation of The Clique, called out a particular aspect of people’s weddings that she didn’t like: The wedding date itself.
“If you decide to have your wedding on a holiday weekend, you’re an asshole,” Marlow said. “I do not wanna spend my three-day weekend going to your wedding. I know you think your wedding is like, the biggest thing that ever happened to all of us. It’s not.”
@ellen_marlow Everyone has lost their gd minds with these weddings 🙄 I said what I said. #labordayweekend #holidayweekend #weddings #foryou #fyp ♬ Paint The Town Red – Doja Cat
The video’s description doubled down, with Marlow noting, “Everyone has lost their gd minds with these weddings 🙄 I said what I said.”
She posted the video around Labor Day, the kind of national holiday that gives many workers a three-day weekend. Labor Day might not be the kind of high-profile holiday that people would normally associate as a prime day to get married the way they might with Halloween or New Year’s Eve, but it does offer something else for people. For those who have to travel to attend a wedding and stay the night, it gives them more travel time to work with.
For those who agreed with her, another aspect made holiday weekend weddings so unappealing. It might cost more to travel during a holiday weekend.
“Especially when flight prices are so much more expensive over holidays,” one person commented.
Many didn’t mind weddings held over holiday weekends. For some, it allowed them to save their PTO because they didn’t have to use it for that wedding. Others appreciated the longer allotment for travel time.
But as they touted the many benefits of weddings during three-day weekends, they had a similar message for Marlow: If you don’t want to spend a holiday weekend going to a wedding, don’t go.
“Pretty easy to just RSVP No,” one commenter said. “They invited you because they care about you, and if you don’t feel the same a polite No works just fine.”
“If people don’t want to spend their weekend with me, great!” another commenter, who is planning to get married during Memorial Day weekend. “Less money I have to spend on them for food.”
In a follow-up video replying to the comment about travel being more expensive during holiday weekends, Marlow said she wasn’t invited to a Labor Day weekend wedding. It’s something that happened to a friend of a friend, who complained to a friend of hers about the wedding she had to attend. But it’s a sentiment she agreed with—and still does.
@ellen_marlow Replying to @Avery to each their own! #holidayweekend #labordayweekend #ldw #foryou #fyp #weddings #fypシ ♬ Beat Automotivo Tan Tan Tan Viral – WZ Beat
“And what I was referring to in that video mostly was Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend because I know people do weddings on those weekends, and honestly, I think it’s rude,” she explained. “And exactly for this reason. Just like, the inconsideration of your guests is wild to me.”
Marlow, who turned the conversation into a larger discussion about the scourge of the wedding industry complex, says Memorial Day and Labor Day are weekends she spends with family. So, being asked to travel and spend more money to attend a wedding that takes her away from them doesn’t make sense. And though it might be cheaper for the couple getting married to do so on those dates, in her experience, the guests will eventually eat the costs.
