The Real Reason We Should be Offended by Kim Kardashian

Is it time to put an end to the epidemic of tacky, over the top weddings?

Kardashian is not alone on that life raft to Tacky-ville. Countless celebs who have bragged about their bank accounts and endlessly flashed bling, have then turned around and asked for their friends to foot the bill for a bunch of china and other house wares they will probably never use, with Donald Trump being one of the most egregious examples. Here’s a man who has engaged in multiple feuds with those who dare to insinuate that his net worth is not greater than God’s, and yet if he has all of this money, why did he need to register for gifts for his third marriage? (Yes his third.) [Read "The Most Expensive Celebrity Weddings"]

Wedding registries were originally intended to help friends and family members of young couples buy the household necessities needed form them to start their new lives together. (The first is believed to have originated at Marshall Fields back in 1924.) Last I checked Donald Trump is A) not young and B) is all set in terms of necessities (and has many of them tastefully gold plated too.) But apparently he and his new bride still “needed” a few more items—from Tiffany and Bergdorf Goodman of course, among them a $4,000 sterling silver coffee server, rumored to be among the cheaper items listed on the couple's registries.

To be clear, I don’t begrudge people who have wealth, at least not those who have actually worked hard to earn it. (Sidebar: There are fewer of those wealthy people than the myth of the American Dream would have us believe. For instance, despite his image as a self-made man of the people, Trump actually inherited wealth but has spent much of his professional life adding to it.) I am also not someone who believes we should become a country where people should be made to feel embarrassed or ashamed for earning a lot of money and enjoying it. Nor do I believe we should judge people for doing so.

But I do believe we can judge people for how they choose to spend it, and how they encourage others to do the same. And if you are someone who chooses to have a multi-million dollar wedding, or even a wedding in the six figure range, and then asks your friends and family who have less than you do to shell out hundreds or thousands of dollars to buy you something that you can buy yourself, it may not make you a bad person. But it also doesn’t make you a very good one.

The good news is that more and more couples appear to be coming around to this thinking, among them the most high profile newlyweds of this century. Prince William and his new bride used their big day not to stock up on new hand towels for the palace, but to raise more than a million dollars for charity.

Who knows? Maybe Kim Kardashian will follow suit for her third and fourth weddings.

Keli Goff is Loop 21's Senior Contributor. Learn more about her at KeliGoff.com.