89% of couples who hired me for their weddings are still married!

If you're planning a wedding, ceremony or other special event this summer, now's the time to find a band.  Let me help you!

1.  Strolling violin - I've performed as a strolling violinist for over 300 events in the last 10 years.  Samples: http://myspace.com/sweetcelticmusic
2.  Celtic A Do - a beautiful celtic duet offering songs, ballads and instrumentals from Eire and beyond.  Samples: http://myspace.com/celticado
3. 
Fiddle Hill Music - a wedding band extraordinaire!  Offering new
england contra dance music, jazz, klezmer, and world beat, we have over
150 wedding experiences to offer our clients.  Samples: http://myspace.com/fiddlehillmusic
4. 
Woodkerne Celtic Band - a traditional acoustic quartet consisting of
violin, banjo, guitar and bodhran and offering up songs and melodies
from the old country that will sate the yearnings for any special
event.  Samples: http://myspace.com/woodkerne.
5. 
Maple Ridge Bluegrass - having a barbecue or down-home kind of party,
pig-roast or celebration?  Then you'll want to hire Maple Ridge. 
Bluegrass, western swing and old timey music for any out-door party or
event.  Samples: http://myspace.com/mapleridgebluegrass

As you can see, there's quite a mix of music available for your special event.

Please call me 413-351-2261 as soon as you can.  Let's work together to make your event more than memorable!

anybody getting married soon?

So you're saying that 1 in 5 of the couples that hired you have now broken up because of it?

I don't like those odds....

HAHAHAHAHAHA

A funny selling point!

hmm.. did it always say 89%? I swear when I posted the "1 in 5" thing it said 80%

Well 1 in 10 still isn't that great 

Statistically, 1 out of 4 couples divorce within 1 year of marriage.  1 out of 5 within 3 and 1 out of 5 within 4 years of marriage. 

 89% is statistically higher than average.  In my book, these are marriages where the spouses work together, or can compromise well

well you folks are so happy in your marriages, how can I go against you?  but for the rest of us losers (not the people who answered my post - they are the happy positive lovely beautiful people - not you and me), how do we fare?

*scratching head*

I have no idea 

re: well you folks are so happy in your marriages, how can I go against you?  but for the rest of us losers (not the people who answered my post - they are the happy positive lovely beautiful people - not you and me), how do we fare?

excuse me but you indicate:

1. 25% (1 of 4) in 1 year
2. 20% (1 of 5) in 3 years
3. 20% (1 of 5) in 4 years
   

In quick search most recent numbers I found for australia:

DURATION OF MARRIAGE OF DIVORCING COUPLES

In 2001, 17% of couples had divorced within the first five years of marriage, while a further 26% had divorced in the following five-year period. The most common single interval between marriage and divorce was between five and six years (6%). In 2001 the median duration of marriage to divorce was 12 years, up from 10 years in 1981.

So:

1. 17% ( ~ 1 of 6) in 5 years
2. 43% (>  4 of 10) in 10 years
3. 50% ( 1 of 2) in 12 years

Me at 34 years and counting... and I thought it was my wife just being able to put up with me despite long odds... and all the time it was the saxaphonist (or guitar or drummer or? ) of the wedding band.... silly me.

HEHEHE!!!

yeah, the "1 out of 4 couples divorce within 1 year of marriage.  1 out of 5 within 3 and 1 out of 5 within 4 years of marriage" bit sounds dubious to me

Especially since you'd expect those to be cumulative - if 25% divorced within one year, they also fit into the "divorced within 3 years" category, unless "within 3 years" is actually "between 1 and 3 years"

second marriages have a much higher failure rate too

yeah I agree.  but the 3rd one is the key.  by that time you either figure it out or you never will

Or you're just so cynical about the whole thing after 2 failures that you can no longer be bothered to divorce because you don't expect to find anything better

See, I keep telling everyone to stay clear of it.... but no one listens to me!

Well, I'll have been married for 9 years this July, and I have to say I agree with Bricoleur, it's got far more to do with the ability to put up with each other than it has having a band at your wedding. 

I did the music for our reception myself in fact.  

What kind of music did you  have Zenith?

i honestly didn't know that the type of band u have at weddings could affect the duration of the union. sheesh...and here i was thinking it's all abt cohabiting, maturity and love...

celtic music it's from Ireland/Scotland/UK

....and France

There is only 1 reason for a man to get married and sign those papers!

Actually it is the same reason why all the the women are so desperate in getting married. 

There is only 1 reason for a man to get married and sign those papers!

Actually it is the same reason why all the the women are so desperate in getting married.

Would that reason be to avoid having face the inexorable approach of the howling void of death on your own?

Or is it for the sex? 

I can't think of any reason....

Someone enlighten me pls 

Sex, friendship, companionship, inspiration, shared experience, a family if you wish...

But those aren't exclusive to marriage.... 

it depends on what your belief system is, well at least the sex part

Honestly, in this day, it there weren't that many legal benefits, the marriage rates would be much lower (I'm speculating)

I'm not sure that there are legal benefits to getting married?...and marriage rates are lower:divorce rates have never been higher

In the States at least, couples benefit 2046 ways more than singles

I think I read somewhere that men in relationships live longer and women in relationships die younger

Not the opposite?

no: the theory is that single women "spinsters" who live alone live longer and similarly spinster men die younger

Woo hoo! I have hope!

from the "shaking his head in wonder, but  he posts it anyways" department:

Studying what holds together happily married couples Dr. Richard Cohan, now CEO of Fingerprint Dating - stealthy Israeli startup, has come to unexpected conclusion – fingerprint matching may be a reliable predictor of couple relationship and compatibility. Dr. Cohan has analyzed about 15,000 patterns of happily married couples living together for more than 20 years. By using sophisticated methods of Fourier analysis with wavelet filters, Dr. Cohan discovered that so called Y-factor, unique and distinctive feature of every fingerprint, has higher correlation in spouses with long term strong relationship.

There you go... test your fingerprints then go with the right music at your wedding and it will be 'til death do us part''...

fingerprint dating is in alpha now according to this report

Hewwwwlp

But I thought i was....

Well you're not!

hehehe 

I like being married. I like being committed to something...

I think commitment is really important too but marriage is so transient these days it does not represent anything to me at all: when a couple tell me they're married it has about as much meaning to me as them saying they had a nice holiday last year.  I think that children however, if you are fortunate enough to have them, represent a commitment that says more about the relationship than marriage does - it also outlasts the relationshp in many cases too!

But commitment is not exclusive to marriage either.....

I am as committed to my friends etc as a couple might be to each other....

So the question remains 

Getting married is a great thing to do, it's a celebration of your relationship that involves all your friends and family.  I'll certainly never forget my wedding day (not because it was extravagent, it wasn't, we were on a tight budget).  But I don't believe it's a necessity.  In fact I never thought I'd ever marry either, but my then 'partner' was so keen on it, and I had no real reason not to, so we went ahead.  It took a while for him to persuade me though.  

A sign of commitment?  I think a mortgage / household bills / children etc are far more significant in that area. 

We are coming up to our 15th anniversary and I am wondering whether to renew our vows. I think it would be a nice thing to do. The kids would be there. We could throw a party for our wonderful friends and family. (My parents were unable to come to my original wedding overseas so it would be special for them). I feel like celebrating our relationship and all that we have achieved together...

You could get celticagent to sing at your party; you could get me - celtic: a gent - to attend.  just give me time to get out of this crotchless vinyl wetsuit first (we dress down here on Fidays)

Could be just what we need Rira...

At the banquet of their 25th wedding anniversary Tom was
asked to give his friends a brief account of the benefits
of a marriage of such long duration.

"Tell us Tom, just what is it you have learned from all
those wonderful years with your wife?"

Tom responds, "Well, I've learned that marriage is the
best teacher of all. It teaches you loyalty, forbearance,
meekness, self-restraint, forgiveness -- and a great many
other qualities you wouldn't have needed if you'd stayed
single."

(couldn't help myself)

He he.

Actually, my sister-in-law had an Irish band and dancing (line) at her wedding and they are still happily married. It's been four years.

Seriously though, as a guest, it was the 'funnest' wedding I have ever been to. Great music.

The next day we had a wild,wet and windy walk along the beach and cliffs. (Pembrokeshire, Wales)  I put some of the stones we collected in the garden yesterday actually... (Sydney, Australia)

@dekrazee1, but a good many cultures have had and many still have "marriage" rituals.  It's just a social task that many maintain as much as they feel attached to culture/society. 

the real question(s) is(are) this:  "is marriage harmful? or is a society that doesnt get married healthier?" 

is a society that doesnt get married healthier?

I would imagine the VD rate in a promiscuous society would be higher 

I think it would be wrong to say marriage is harmful..... but it leads to certain forms of relationships/ties being valued over others. It takes a lot away from 'communal' living, because the family becomes the bedrock of 'society'

@super-king, i wonder how true that is, on american campuses there is more whining related to not teaching (offering means of) safe sex because of large christian populations (at least this is true of the midwest).  These populations are the same ones that fight for marriage benefits (and against for non-heteros)

@dekrazee1, I like that.  You're saying that with a marriage-level society, "families" are considered genealogical and can also further jingoism/prejudice on a much more local level  

yeah

Plus it cuts off other form of being that are deemed 'illegitimate' when compared to marriage and the family unit.

So the law won't recognise the right of a life time friend (say a medical decision needs to be made abt me) but it will listen to an estranged family member wrt to the decision needed to make abt me

yeah.  I think all of that stems from a very rigid cultural model.  But apparently america is one of the few countries that still holds so strongly to marraige. it must be our puritan upbringing

here's a nice link connected to this topic

I've heard that fundamental christians have a higher divorce rate than atheists of similar demographic

yeah i've heard that too. wonder if i can find it anywhere on the net

http://www.creationtheory.org/Morality/CrimeAndDivorce.shtml

3rd paragraph 

It takes a lot away from 'communal' living, because the family becomes the bedrock of 'society'

That is such an interesting point. That is definitely the case here in Australia. Lots of my single friends, some of whom do not have children, say they feel 'invisible' a lot of the time. The last time one of them said that was during the media coverage of the budget. It was all focused on families.... 

Exactly

I tend to feel the same way

doc - re the link -

why do so many people still get married all?

I have a few theories. Of course, one can't count out social pressure. Then there's the meta-narrative of live everyone follows/is supposed to follow - you're born, go to school, graduate, get a job, marry, have kids, retire, die. Then there is the subjective aspect. Singles are seen to be defiencient in some way, or made to feel deficient. As in, there must be something wrong with this person's very being if they can't find a mate and settle.

There are also define and tangible legal and financial benefits. In the States, it was found that married couples benefit in 1048 ways more than singles (I'm pretty sure I've got the number right). This includes health care, taxation, property  and hereditary rights.

My reason was to affirm my love for Phil.  It was a symbolic gesture.

I have never thought about it in some of those other ways. Eg. I have been married for 15 years and we didn't get into the whole financial treadmill thing until around five years ago. So I was blissfully unaware of any benefits. Now we are more liquiditous so I am starting to notice those benefits - and we have children now so that leads to other monetary incentives from the govt.  

I never felt any pressure to conform. Funnily enough, I never planned to marry... Now I champion it in a way.  I always planned to be in committed relationships and knew I would eventually have children but I did not think marriage was a necessary framework for those things to come about.

why do you think like this

Which bit?