Trust us, calling would-be brides, bridezillas are sexist and stereotypical, and it has no place in 2023. In recent years we’ve gotten acquainted with new phrases, such as minimonies, micro weddings, later moons, change-the-dates and so on. But amongst them, the word that doesn’t seem to fade is perhaps the most damaging the ‘bridezilla’.

 

It has become one of the most common wedding terms out there. Is your friend stressing out over the décor settings of her mehendi? You might address her as a bridezilla. You must have watched Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway fighting over a venue in the movie Bride Wars. They’re termed bridezillas too. That influencer you follow on Instagram must be talking about her wedding on Instagram stories repeatedly. You may call her a bridezilla too. It is very easy for other people to give this tag to any stressed-out bride and people have been doing it for years but now it’s time that we should forget the term bridezilla once and for all.

 

Experts have also argued that this term vilifies women just for having standards and expectations for their weddings as it is a lifetime event. This term is denigrating and pathologizing what really is a normal process of responding to a high level of stress. And, above all, it’s a sexist term.”

 

So here’s the truth: While calling someone a bridezilla may sound funny and maybe a way to joke about weddings, but the word is rooted in stereotypes—and should have no place in 2023.

 

What is a Bridezilla?

 

Before getting into the discussion on how to retire the term, it’s essential to know the meaning of the term “bridezilla”. It was basically a compound of “bride” and “Godzilla,” which is used to describe women who plan their weddings with outrageous standards and bad behaviour. They are known for having unreasonable expectations and emotional outbursts because of high levels of stress and demands perfection from friends, family, and wedding vendors. Some writeups also classified bridezillas as women who “lose sight of the solemnity of the wedding”.

 

The stress, anxiety, as well as pressure involved with wedding planning, have all been around for a long time, but it got magnified because of the media, and more specifically social media. But not everyone is like that as we as vendors meet so many brides-to-be on the daily basis. There are so many of them that are very kind and considerate. You should know that, calling anyone a bridezilla is sexist. Also, the concept of denigrating women’s behaviours is not a new thing in our society, and the term bridezilla is just another way of doing it. We would also like to mention that this term also reinforces the narrative that women make their wedding day all about them.

 

Addressing to-be-wed women as bridezillas also reinforces the narrative that they’re too emotional

 

TBT, it’s not the woman who is emotional, but the whole process of planning a wedding is emotional and overwhelming. It is easy to scoff at women that they are obsessing over minuscule issues, like their wedding invites, couple stage and so on. The most unfortunate fact about weddings is that women are made to believe that this day is the most important day of their lives, which implies that they have only one shot to get it all perfect. This is their once-in-a-lifetime moment which makes them particular about everything.

 

It is also referred to as the big day and as a result of the pressure and that intense focus on it, there is not enough attention paid to the fact that the wedding is one day but the marriage is a lifetime. With increasing social media and societal pressures, wedding planning has become harder than ever before.

 

Though the internet helps in finding innovative ideas for wedding inspiration, discovering vendors, and connecting them but too much exposure can also lead to comparison and stress. That constant depiction of viral outfits or lavish floral décor can make people question their decisions. It can be inspiring and encouraging, is it making you feel that you’re caught in the comparison game and not feeling positive about your wedding…

It’s time to shift the focus to mental health support for to-be-weds instead of referring to them as bridezillas

 

Calling someone without giving it a thought is not only damaging, but it steers the conversation away from what’s important in that process. Rather than giving them a tag for just having emotions about their weddings, it’s time to focus on changing the system and helping them with the resources needed to enjoy the planning process, rather than dreading it.

 

It’s time to normalize mental health conversations surrounding weddings and married life. The concept of talking about wedding planning stress and acknowledging the pressures of making perfect arrangements placed on couples was taboo for a really long time. It’s not a good thing to label anyone with a name, and we shouldn’t call people bridezillas.

 

To summarise we just want to say that having a healthy balance of passion and respect is the best way to tackle weddings in the coming years. It’s best to retire the term bridezilla, it’s also time to approach weddings and planning with grace and empathy. We hope there will be a new term where brides can emerge as heroes around this concept of love and celebration, and have the opportunity to gather with friends and family in a healthy, positive way and celebrate the union.