The case of the runaway bride: Facing her pending wedding, the talk of her small town, with 600 invited guests and 14 bridesmaids, having already endured eight wedding showers, she just ran away, then covered with a twisted story about being kidnapped. . Here is a case of a grown woman, 32 years old, who just couldn’t say no. .I think you could argue that this is more than just “wedding jitters,” this is more like temporary insanity. And no wonder. We inculcate girls with the idea that this is their big day. Then they discover that they must go through with it for the sake everyone else. God forbid they should disappoint anyone. So whose big day is it?
The ironic thing is that if you google “kidnapped bride” today you get a story about women in Kyrgyzstan who are literally kidnapped by the groom and his friends and forced to marry. No choice at all.
FRONTLINE/WORLD . Kyrgyzstan - The Kidnapped Bride . Index page | PBS FRONTLINE/World ¬ The Kidnapped Bride ¬ The resurgence of a banned cutom ¬
Stories from a small planet. www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/kyrgyzstan


href="http://pittsburghlive.com/x/style/homegarden/s_329805.html">When wedding bells set off alarms - PittsburghLIVE.com: "The runaway bride had been scheduled to marry John Mason in an elaborate wedding with 14 bridesmaids, 14 groomsmen and 600 guests. News reports have said the wedding was the talk of the town and the bride had eight wedding showers.
'It turns out that Miss Wilbanks basically felt the pressure of this large wedding and could not handle it,' said Duluth Police Chief Randy Belcher. He described the woman as very upset, and said no criminal charges will be filed.
At Big Day Wedding Center in the Strip District -- a one-stop shop for couples looking to sample cake, tuxedos and gowns -- reaction to Wilbanks' disappearance ranged from giggles to disbelief to, at least among veteran workers at Carlisle's, unabashed anger.
'She's spoiled and selfish,' said Kathy Gallagher, of Sewickley, who has helped brides through the ever-agonizing task of picking gowns for more than two decades. 'She put everybody through this agony just because she couldn't decide what to do. It's annoying.' "