Twenty-First Century Shotgun Weddings

By: Alexine

The old-fashioned idea of a shotgun wedding paints the picture of a father threatening death upon his daughter’s lover if he chooses not to marry her after discovering she is pregnant. This was done to protect both the woman and her family from social scrutiny. While the death threat is not something that happens these days there is still a stigma associated with unwed mothers in society. Here are some examples of how and why shotgun weddings are still happening in the twenty-first century.

Celebrities

Many women in the twenty-first century still have a negative feeling about giving birth prior to their wedding and choose to get married pregnant. You can’t miss the tabloids in the checkout lines about celebrities getting engaged or married shortly after finding out about their unexpected pregnancy. This trend continues in a lot of relationships outside of the spotlight. However, it is becoming more accepted to be single mother or a family of two unmarried parents and a child that live together.

Wedding Dresses

Many wedding dress designers today are catering to the women getting married pregnant and have maternity wedding dresses in their collections. They are just as beautiful as the misses’ sizes with just a little special mid-section adjustment. If you happen to be getting married pregnant it is important to wait to get your dress until you are close to the wedding date to ensure it fits you. Also ordering a maternity wedding dress made of stretch material will ensure the perfect fit on your big day.

Deciding to Wed

Since times have changed the father is no longer doing the threatening when it comes to his pregnant daughter. The decision on whether to get married or not is now in the hands of the pregnant woman and father of her unborn child. If there was already talk about marriage when she finds out about the pregnancy then the couple will most likely get married during the pregnancy or shortly after the birth of their child.

Health Insurance

While health insurance is hard to come by in a job these days there are many couples that get married after finding out the woman is pregnant so she can receive proper medical care. Most family plans do not consider pregnancy a pre-existing condition and will cover the appointments and birth of the child. This is really helpful for the couple; however they must get married so sometimes people get married for the sole purpose of health insurance for the pregnancy.

Relocating

If the woman or man in the relationship is in the military or another government job then there is a high probability that the family will be relocated. When an unexpected pregnancy happens there is a high probability that the couple will elope to take advantage of the benefits and keep their family together. This is especially true when the person with the government job gets relocated overseas.

It’s Your Decision

If you choose to get married because of an unexpected pregnancy then make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. If you care about the person and want to stay together then by all means get married. Take the time you need to think things through and talk to each other about the decision. Sometimes things happen in a different order but in the end you get a happily married family.

If you would like to read more about pregnant brides check out this article on Pregnant Wedding Planning.