Monday, May 04, 2009

Words Fail--the Infamous Gypsy Wedding

Let's get straight to the news reporting, because these pictures are worth at least a thousand words. (From the Daily Mail.)

What Daddy's little girl wants Daddy's little girl gets.

So when Missy Quinn insisted on a big white wedding with her boyfriend, her father said Yes. It didn't matter that she was only 16 and the groom 17.

Daddy also said Yes to a £16,000 wedding dress (which looked suspiciously like a crop top and skirt) and Yes to 150 guests at the reception. Then there were the cars, the hotels, the tiara and the £500 bouquet.

Closer Magazine. Missey Quinn is just 16 and lives in a caravan, but her flashy wedding could have put many celebs bashes to shame.

Missy Quinn, 16, in her £16,000 wedding dress, has enjoyed a £100,000 white wedding paid for by her father who lives in a caravan

In the end, making Missy's wedding dreams come true cost her father - who lives in a caravan and surfaces driveways for a living - a whopping £100,000.

But as his princess, who hasn't been in a classroom since she was nine and wants to be a glamour model, posed for photographs, her father Simon, 35, declared it was worth every penny. 'I'm very proud of her today,' he said.

Missy was just happy to be the undisputed centre of attention.

Her dress, studded with Swarovski crystals, and with a 10ft wide train, was so heavy that it took ten guests to help her struggle out of the Rolls-Royce Phantom that brought her to the church.

Enlarge Missy Quinn and huband Thomas Moghon, mum Theresa and dad Simon

Missy with groom Thomas Moghon, 17, her mother Theresa and father Simon

'It was huge. I wanted to outdo everyone else's wedding dress,' she said.

'It was extremely heavy and just standing in the church was really difficult. But despite all that, I felt just like Cinderella.'

The bill was around five times the cost of the average British wedding.

Missy said: 'It cost a fortune, but I've always wanted a big wedding and my dad has been saving for ages to pay for it.' She met Thomas at Alton Towers theme park when she was 13.

Enlarge nuptials.jpg

x

They continued to date despite her traveller family leaving their caravan park in Stoke-on-Trent every summer to tour the UK while Thomas lived with his parents in Wolverhampton.

Missy said: 'I just knew he was The One from the beginning. He's perfect.'

Her mother Theresa, 33, who married Missy's father at 16, said: 'I was surprised they wanted to get married so young in this day and age. But we could see they were madly in love.'

The couple married six days after Missy turned 16 at St Mary's Catholic Church in Congleton-Cheshire. After the ceremony-guests in feathers and crystals enjoyed champagne and an all-day buffet at the reception. Girls as young as nine showed off bikini tops, high heels and make-up.

Guest Victoria Docherty, 23, who wore a £700 hotpants and bra outfit, said: 'This isn't unusual - it's just what we do at weddings. It's all very extravagant. Everything is paid for by the bride's daddy.'

Missy and Thomas honeymooned in Turkey before moving into their own £18,000 caravan - a wedding gift from her parents.

This additional information is from Closer Magazine's online site:

For the five months leading up to the wedding, while other teenagers around the UK were revising for their GCSEs, Missy was busy preparing for her big day – she’s been home-tutored since she was nine and will not sit any exams this year.

But the youngster already knows what she wants to do for a career. “I want to spend my days applying make-up and styling my hair. I want to get into glamour modelling. I don’t know if Thomas will like it, but that’s his problem,” she says.

Missy and Thomas honeymooned in Turkey and are now settling into married life in a new £18,000 caravan – a wedding present from the bride’s parents. “I think there will be times I’ll miss my parents, but they’re in the same caravan park so I can always visit, says Missy.

“Thomas might expect me to cook and clean, but I’m not going to. He can look after me as far as I’m concerned!”

What can one say? These come to the top of my mind:

Well, the dad actually SAVED money, since he combined her Sweet Sixteen with a wedding, so he only had to do this once.

Oh, good. You know the look would totally have been ruined if she hadn't worn the veil.














Man! For that kind of money, he could have set His Little Princess up with her own pole dancing establishment--he's already got all the costumes. And the employees.














Do you think the groom's mother had any idea what her little boy was getting himself into?




















Forget Swine Flue. What we have here is a potentially fatal outbreak of More Money Than Taste Or Sense. Can we get these people quarantined before the contagion spreads?

Oh. Too late. It's already infected the youngsters.




















(Do you suppose the girl on the right was trying to steal the attention away from the bride by wearing her own white dress and garter to the wedding? If so, she seriously underestimated the Tacky Factor of the bride's dress!)

OMG--the bride's garter is as big as her skirt! Does she have the right pieces on the right places? How can you tell?

What do you expect from a girl whose parents did the same thing when they were the same age?

Wow. Is she in for a shock--her husband is NEVER going to be able to live up to her the standards set by her Daddy.

And you thought the bridesmaid dresses you had to wear were tacky!














I'll bet you ten dollars that all those bridesmaids actually DO wear those dresses again.

At today's exchange rate, that wedding works out to cost over $150,000. Daddy must be a REALLY GOOD driveway resurfacer.

Girlfriend is only 16? She looks like she's been working nights for a lot longer than that.

Well, if you're GOING to live in a caravan (read--mobile home/trailer), you might as well spend all that money on a wedding--what else do you need the money for?















Too bad you have to sit through this totally boring part in the church. Fortunately, there are balloons. And not just on the bride and her mother! Ba-dum-dum! Talk about your "hope chests!" Thank you, thank you, you're a great audience, I'm here all week, come back and bring your friends!

44 comments:

Librarygirl said...

This is just obscene. I can't believe anyone would let their daughter look like this, esp in public, not to mention the obscene amount of money the dad spent. Geez, does no one have any common sense anymore?

Jo said...

I'm afraid you can't quite see where these choices are coming from, culturally. Trailer trash doesn't really begin to cover it.

NatB said...

It was elaborate and fascinating possibly not to everyones taste but it was her big day and she did it her way and I think it was fabulous and if her traveller father could afford to lash out and pay for it all then good on him and I wish them the best of luck!

yummymummy said...

I'm with natb on this one their day their way. its up too the bride and groom what the wedding turns out like. good luck for the future guys don't be put down by shallow minds it looked like a brill day.

sam jo said...

i hope her day gos well as a gypes i should now that a gypes wedding is not a wedding with out a big drees i had my wedding not long a go and it was the best day of my life i had my wedding when i was 17 it is not bad to have a wedding at any age if you are in love dont let it stop you my daddy did not care how much money it was he just want to see me happy and he did but my daddy is lucky because he dose not have to do just one time because he has 6 more girls to go but his boy have allready had there bid day can not wait to see it on tv hope the best for xxxx

Anonymous said...

So this type of wedding may not be to everyones taste but I bet it was the most amazing day of this girls life, and it sounds like she got everything just the way she wanted it. When it comes to getting married all that matters is what the bride & groom want. Not what a load of people who haven't even tried to understand their culture think. Lets face it, if this was Jordon it'd be what half of you out there when you got married! Leave the girl alone. I say good luck to them!

Unknown said...

Living in the USA, I dont know how much you know about Traveller culture. Its generally an Irish thing but some Irish travellers have setteled in England, such as this family. They are not 'trailer trash' as you would know it but a sepparate minority group that has their own customs and even language. They traditionally live in caravans though some are 'setteled' in houses. By and large they dont mix with the setteled community and very rarely marry outside their own social group. Its a very sensitive issue in Ireland and to a certain extent Britain. As they dont put money into owning property big over the top weddings and funerals are customary.

Amy Adams said...

Well said, colleen! And really, my frugal Midwestern soul just cringed at what I saw as fiscal irresponsibility. On the other hand, as colleen points out, it's not like they were going to buy a house with that money, so why not spend it and be happy?

While I have a cultural bias against the bride's dress as something worn IN A CHURCH -- I guess Adam and Eve were naked, so who am I to judge.

Except being judgey is just so dang much fun. A wedding like this in Minnesota would raise so many red flags that there would be every reason to assume that the couple would already be divorced. I guess in Traveller culture, they're likely to be good for the next few decades.

Anonymous said...

i enjoyed the program, but feel awful sorry for the girls. Lets be honest the way they dress is like cheap hookers. My dad would be disgraced if i dressed as revealing as that. I also think the pictures of the children with garters on and ,make up are horrible. Question - why do they all have their boobs out at the weddings? Surely thats a disgrace to their families?

Anonymous said...

This is just intolerance for another’s way of life, I’m sure that they would look at the way you choose to live your life with disgust.

Anonymous said...

They are not allowed to 'date' and sex before marriage is banned. Most of the marriages are arranged by the extended family/parents. That's why they are married off so young. As traveller girls aren't allowed to mix with boys, weddings are the only place they can attract the attention of a potential mate for their own big wedding - hence the revealing dresses!

Anonymous said...

they all look like a cross between hookers, strippers, lap dancers and trailer trash. How any one would what to go to a wedding looking like that is beyond belief!!!!!!!!!!1

Ann by the Sea said...

They are living an alternative life and good luck to them. They are not slaves like us who are forced to pay taxes from our salaries when we eat, sleep and even when we go to the toilet.

They have very strong morals and strong family values. Perhaps we have a lot to learn from them?

Look at the teenage pregnancy rates in the UK and the breakdown of soceity. They have so got it right and I have a lot of respect for them as they get abuse from all angles and still they remained dignified.

Diversity in soceity makes life more interesting, live and let live I say.

Anonymous said...

It's their life, their money, as long as they are happy let them be.

Look at Jordan she really is trash, no morals, no taste and yet people keep buying magazines with her fake face on the front and funding her next tacky wedding. At least the traveling community care about the important things like respect, family and have morals.

It's not you wear it's how you live and treat those around you that makes the person you are.

Anonymous said...

What a load of rubbish!! They do not have morals and certainly aren't dignified in any way - they start fights for no reason and will steal anything! They dress in slutty revealing outfits ALL the time (not just at weddings!) even to visit the GP or going to the local shop. They are rude, abide by their own rules and cause friction with 'outsiders'. They don't pay NI/taxes so of course have plenty of money to pay for tacky, OTT weddings! The Irish don't even want the Tinkers. Please don't tell me not to tar them all with the same brush as I've had years of first-hand experience - Travellers, Tinkers, Gypsies, Pikeys; whatever you wish to call them, are all the same!!!

Anonymous said...

Reading a lot of these comments has just illustrated how prejudiced we are against those who are deemed 'different'. In the traveller culture, girls are expected to go their wedding night a virgin. Defying this statute results in great dishonour to the girls family. Girls are not allowed to 'date', go out drinking or go to clubs & pubs. Young traveller girls are even expected to take chaperones along when they go shopping. Morally, these young ladies have a stronger upbringing than most youngsters today. In the traveller culture, cleanliness of the home is exceptionally important & to keep a clean caravan you need clean children too! Showing their cultural differences by the creation of these spectacular outfits is no different than a Native Spanish dancer wearing a flamenco dress. I have a great amount of respect for these people who are shunned & treated poorly by society. If they were black or practiced Islam, the equal rights people would be up in arms. Sadly everyone turns a blind eye to the traveller culture.

Anonymous said...

the bride looks beautiful, i like the idea of that the gypsy's have of being different with there dresses each of them also the bridesmaids they all look well good, would love to have a wedding like this my self 1 day u only do it once so it should be good where do they get these outfits from i wana start planning mine =)

Sami said...

as to why the girls have everything on display at such a young age, weddings and horsefairs are the few times when thy get to meet other travellers out side there family, most of the travellers i have met and spoke to while i was working for a traveller newspaper met at some one elses wedding. tho the girls might look slutty to you, there much more tight legged than girls there age in the settled community and have a much stricter upbringing, no clubbing or pubs etc. so this is there chance to shine as well as the brides.

Amy Adams said...

learn about Traveller culture. I'm not sure I understand the point of the female display by the BRIDE, who is presumably NOT looking to meet somebody else on her wedding day. . .but I'm resigned to not understanding it.

As someone once said--if you've got it, flaunt it. There is some serious flaunt going on in these pictures.

Anonymous said...

Well, as long as they're both happy. Who are we to judge?

Anonymous said...

who r we to say what people can and cant wear we all have our own style and i think that if she felt like a princess on the day then let her wear what she wants to wear if it were my wedding day i would not want people saying what part of my body i could have or not have on show i think she is a brave girl for wearing the dress she did many girls would have not worn such a dress because they would be scared of what people would say and inn the case of the dad the dad just wants his daughter to have the day of her life is that so bad.i just want to say to the girl hope you had a good day and night.

Unknown said...

If I had a daughter like that one, I would pay any amount to get her out of my hair! Think about it ...now she's someone else's problem!

Anonymous said...

I, like quite a few others here, can't get over how narrow minded some people are! Really, what does it have to do with you? I don't honestly think she's going to care. Maybe you should do something worthwhile with your lives, stop moaning and try to be happy like this girl obviously is!

Unknown said...

Pikies I accept 1000% more than migrants but still hate them.

I think they are better than benefit thief's and dole bums who smoke pot all day and have no intentions of working, They are on par with migrants!

If most Pikies wasn't such trouble causing robbing a$$holes

They be ok in my book. They still pay tax on every thing they buy, maybe not for barrow jobs but who does.

NI...NHS well if the government has no procedure to stop those who don't pay from being treated then fair one! Everyone tries to get something for nothing these days, If the car park machine was broken, would you call the number on the board to tell them and pay? (Fu*k off you would) case closed.

I'm certainly not siding with them but at lease they are free from the government bulls%it and policies.

£16k for a wedding dress ????

Anonymous said...

i am gypsy and you cant judge every one the same there good and bad in every culture but you dont see any gypsy be done for rape or child abuse we look after all children in are family and out side of it, we do no harm to others its small minded people like the ones who have put these horrible comments on here about use calling use trailer trash and pikeys, that push us away from normal society thats why we dont socilize with gorgers (none gypsys).
and im getting married next year and im gunna have a big fat gypsy wedding because my dad only wants the best for me and if thats a crime then thats you problem so dont take it out on us gypsy it is against the law to be racist so why do it to us we have done no wrong to anybody.

Anonymous said...

If offended by the choice of attire and such... for the culturally stunted westerners especially.. it's a Gypsy wedding you idiots... look up Gypsy weddings in Spain. If you do not like it, everyone has a right to their opinions and taste, but you cannot judge just from a limited experience point of view.. so let's all stop judging other people's customs which we do not fully understand.

Leila said...

Who cares if you don't like it? It's not your wedding. Sounds like the bride and groom were very happy, and I hope they have a long and happy marriage. Traveller marriages are always very over the top but who cares! It's all good fun, and they obviously don't dress like that all the time.

Lily Militia said...

This looks awesome. I've been to settled weddings and they're so boring I could scream. I adore this, the OTT, out there and raucous fun! The thing is, I'd never be invited to a gypsy wdding because they don't like mixing with settled people. Their moral standards are far higher than ours. Don't judge by the naughty garter, under that short as hell dress is an intact hymen, how many of you, honest and true, could say the same about yourslves at that age hmmmm?

Anonymous said...

yes its a bit crazy but while you think its grose this is the way they live and her dress is like that to make her feel like a princess and if thats how she feels then good for her for not listening to all you judging losers that sit at a computer and complain all day because there life is so crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

to be totally honest people what is the big deal about are lives and what we do or wear shouldn't you all be worring about your own !!! but i'm a traveller and so is my finace i was young when i was perpose to on my 16 birthday and im 18 now , the way i see it people can think what the hell they want cause i dont care what they think about me, my family or any other traveller families AROUND THE WORLD . As you would call us "TRAILER TASH" and other sad names but at least we have a good life we listend to our mothers and fathers we didnt go out and get pissed or in figths with any body how many young 16 yar old girls have sex and get pergant ? but i cant truthfuly say that wouldnt happene in my communitiy young traveller girls do not have sex untill after marriage .we may dress totally different to everybody else but thats the way we meet our hushands cause the only time we get to go out is to wedding etc and that why we dress up but if that the one chance they got to find that one person they wanna spend the rest of their life with wouldnt any body "as you would say sluty or over the top " about our wedding that day is our that one day that its all about you and your husband to be and that no body can take that way from you so with out the big dress , the bling and the whole family there it would be just like any other flipping day of the week and i just cant wait till my wedding day in a few weeks for those few hours just to be about me and my finace , and it will be the best day of my life with out a dout and i can hold my head high for the rest of my living days and say the im proud that im a traveller

Anonymous said...

They only pay for this since they claim benefits illegaly. Bloody gyppers!

Anonymous said...

Each to there own, with live in a diverse and varied society and thats what makes it interesting. We should not pass judgement on the way people live just because they're different to us, cultural difference should be embraced, there would not be so much hate in the world if we learned to be tolerant

Liz said...

Its so sad that these girls are so poorly educated. You only have to look at the spelling and grammer in the comments left my them that education means nothing to them. It obviously much more important to find a man to be dependent on then to be a woman who can be proud of her OWN achievements. Wake up girls, there is more to live than being at a mans beck and call.
As for the weddings, fine its each to their own......but they are so so tacky. For a community that pins so much on morals and girls being virgins, how can it be right to allow them to dress like (sorry to say it) but hookers.

Anonymous said...

Dressed..or rather.... undressed like that in church!

Anonymous said...

ive just read this for the first time and i cant believe how many sad people cant mind there own buisness non of these gypsies have asked you to read about them or watch them on tv you all do it. they want to let you no that they are good people who can be trusted and i dont fully agree with what half of them wear but they all wear shorts under there skirts so you cant see up them any way what makes me laugh is people say things about gypsies when everyone knows that gypsies are private people by the way im a gypsie my self i got married when i was 17 and have been married for 5yrs how many non gypsie girls do you know at 22 can say they have only ever been with one man and will for the rest of her life the main thing is there is a saying (theres no point being the riches man in the grave yard) so why shouldnt he give her the wedding she wants i say i hope she has a good life and him too.

candi said...

I'm amazed at the number of intolerant comments...Also, virginity does not equal morality!

Jane said...

My mum is from Scotland and she remembers the gypsies in her village as being very poor and only had old wagons and horses to take the dead to the cemetery. She is 82 and is enjoying this series immensely but is wondering how they get the money to pay for these events. As a Catholic I am amazed at the priests allowing this amount of craziness. My family had to attend pre marital counseling for months as well as parochial classes for first communion. What gives?

TB said...

The hatred perpetuated on this site saddens me. While I may not understand the traveller culture, as humans, we all want to be accepted and loved; if this young girl, her husband, and their families and friends get joy from an expensive wedding day, who are any of us to judge? I'll leave that to my God. In the end, live is too short for such intolerance.

AmandaA said...

I think it's amazing how gypsies have been able to hold on to there traditions for more than 300 years. Its truly a BEAUTIFUL thing.
It is absolutely horrible how in this day and age there is so much discrimination, just because someone has different traditions and beliefs than you doesn't make it wrong or disgraceful. There is no reason to say such racial, hurtful and hateful things. If you don't like it then dont watch it, problem solved. Like I said, its amazing how they still celebrate some of there traditions and beliefs. Congratulations!! You are BEAUTIFUL!!

AmandaA said...

I think it's amazing how gypsies have been able to hold on to there traditions for more than 300 years. Its truly a BEAUTIFUL thing.
It is absolutely horrible how in this day and age there is so much discrimination, just because someone has different traditions and beliefs than you doesn't make it wrong or disgraceful. There is no reason to say such racial, hurtful and hateful things. If you don't like it then dont watch it, problem solved. Like I said, its amazing how they still celebrate some of there traditions and beliefs. Congratulations!! You are BEAUTIFUL!!

Anonymous said...

I would uphold the right of anyone to get married at any age in any sort of dress they like. What does concern me is the next 50 years or so. If traveller girls are always chaperoned and don't get a chance to get to know the boys they might marry, and rely on trashy displays of flesh at weddings and horse fairs to attract them, what are the chances of marrying someone they actually like, let alone love? No wonder domestic violence rates are so high.

Anonymous said...

It makes me sad that these girls assume their wedding day will be best day of their lives so they may as well go for broke. 17 seems a bit young to be going out in a blaze of glory ... but if you've left school and don't know anything about the man ...? you've married you are probably right, it will be all downhill from there.

Anonymous said...

I agree with both sides. Marriage is a very sacred thing, and the fact that these people remain chaste until their wedding day is something that is never seen nowadays. I also respect their devotion and family values. On the other hand, some of the attire worn in church seems highly inappropriate in my opinion. As far as the money spent, what girl doesn't want a big wedding?!

caomihe lvs paddy said...

im a traveller gel, im sixteena nd i wll be married on the day of my seventeenth birthday. i aint being funny, but who are you to judge my culture, you didnt grow up how we did, you havent lived like us so you cant comment. we r good, clean gels who do as our daddys and our mammys say untill were passed over to our husbands. so what if we have big dresses? thats what we like. so what if we dress revealing? thats what we like. i look at all you gorga girls in your baggy clothes and hoodies and i think you look silly cause ive not been broughtup with people whpo dress like that. if you were brought up as one of us it would seem normal to dress the way we do cause thats what out mammys and sisters did before us. please, stop hating my culture and preducising us because of one tv show that told lies.my upbringign was good, full of love and happiness, my parents love me and my daddy will give me the hugest, sparklyest wedding ever, cause im his youngest daughter, his baby princess. i wouldnt swap with a gorga for nothing. alot of you are unclean and shouldnt wear white on your wedding days as in the eyes of god, ye not pure. my gypsy pride i will not hide, my gypsy race i will not discrace, my gypsy blood flows strong and true, all you gorgas i wouldnt wanna be you.