The Langham Hotel in Chicago recently introduced an "ultimate luxury wedding package," priced at $500,000 -- which includes hotel rooms for 32 guests, ceremony and reception for 200, pre- and post-nuptial events, a $15,000 wedding gown, an $8,000-per-night presidential suite for the bride and groom plus more. No takers yet, but it's just a matter of time. While the marriage rate has gone down dramatically (from 9.8% in 1990 to 6.74% in 2015), the price tag has gone up in equal measure. Nationally, the average wedding in 2019 is estimated to cost $29,858 -- higher for: Manhattan ($88,170), Metro Chicago ($49,151) and Los Angeles ($36,745). Everything about weddings [...]

Photo by Drew Coffman on Unsplash When a couple gets married, who gets the better deal? Although men make jokes about marriage -- "Take my wife . . . please" -- the truth is they have more to gain from the union than women. A recent article in a Harvard Medical School Journal cites evidence that married men are healthier and live longer than their single counterparts. At the same time, a Michigan State University study concludes married men are also happier than bachelors.  The researchers believe, "People, on average, aren't happier following marriage than they were before marriage, but they are happier than they would [...]

Marianne Murciano and Bob Sirott have been both business and life partners for 20 years. We all know marriage is hard, very hard. For two individuals to forge a life together, they have to compromise, accommodate, forgive and overlook — on a daily basis. That’s a pretty tall order. But what if these individuals also work together?  How much harder is that? To find out, I talked to several such couples. Chicago broadcasters Marianne Murciano and Bob Sirott didn’t know each other when they were paired to co-anchor the morning news on Fox TV in Chicago. The working relationship came first. They went from strangers to friends to lovers over [...]

In an era of match.com, Tinder and dating-by-algorithm, it's nice to know that unexpected, heart-stopping, romance-by-chance is still possible. Even better, it can happen when you're dipping your toe in the dating pool for a second time.  Here're three such stories. A Tale of Three Steves Sharon was 39, newly divorced from Steve #1, and the mother of two small boys when she went to a single's dance on Long Island to meet her date, Steve #2.  She was there only a few minutes, when Steve #3 asked her to dance. While not quite ready to ditch Steve #2, she agreed to dinner the next night. Three days [...]

Many are the comedians who've earned a living making fun of marriage: Henny Youngman famously told audiences, "Take my wife, please." Roseanne Barr countered with, "You may marry the man of your dreams, but 14 years later, you’re married to a couch that burps.” All kidding aside, there's another, more positive, aspect to marriage. Whether you know it or not, your spouse might be saving your life -- on a daily basis. According to an article published by Harvard Medical School's Health Publication, studies show that, when compared to singles, married adults tend to live longer, have fewer strokes and heart attacks, are less depressed, survive major surgery [...]

It's a known medical fact: most men are not born with the gift-giving gene. This time of year, you can see them stumbling around shopping malls, glassy-eyed and desperate. With Christmas just a few days away, I'd like to offer a few suggestions to those most in need. Gentlemen, here's what not to buy your wife or girlfriend. Gifts You Want Yourself While you might have your heart set on a beer cooler, power mower or roadside emergency kit: she probably doesn't. (Here's a secret: women have the crazy notion your gift should be a symbol of how much you love her, appreciate her and understand her needs.)  [...]

Photo Credit: New York Post Dating in the 21st Century is not for the faint of heart.  So many apps.  So many options.  So much technology. Not to mention a lot of swiping, winking and messaging. But there is help out there. There are websites, YouTube channels and blogs willing to help you slog through the dating swampland. And, of course, you can also hire your own personal dating coach. I managed to nab an interview with one of the best.  A former psychotherapist, Meredith Golden turned a life-long predilection for matchmaking into a business more than three years ago. She launched the SpoonMeetSpoon website, thinking it might give her [...]

I was sitting around with a group of girlfriends last week when the topic turned to: "why men pee outdoors." The discussion began with Jennifer, who owns a small rental building in the city and recently installed security cameras around the property. While the camera hasn't recorded any burglars, it has caught two different male tenants (on separate occasions) peeing al fresco. Given that both men have perfectly good toilets a few steps away, my girlfriends wanted to know what's going on. Performing a quick Google search on their behalf, I discovered that men actually enjoy peeing in gangways, alleys, bushes and outside the occasional sports bar. I [...]

I've frequently joked that most men can't tell the difference between pink and coral or taupe and beige. I've even suggested married men should be required to show a note from their wives before selecting paint colors. Turns out, it's no joke. I recently stumbled on an article on Health.com that suggests women not only distinguish colors more precisely, they also taste, smell, hear and feel textures more accurately than men. While researchers agree that women have superior senses, they don't always agree whether the differential is biological, psychological or societal. When it comes to the sense of smell, biology plays a major factor. On average, women have [...]

(Photos: Courtesy GOP.org, Democrats.org) With the November 6 midterm elections approaching and political discord heating up to an all-time frenzy, it's increasingly imperative to date along party lines. Through the miracle of dating apps, it's also easier. Like-minded partisans can find each other on a number of different sites. Conservatives Only, which boasts the motto "Because Liberals Just Don't Get It," promises to match people who share a passion for, "life, liberty and love." On the other side of the aisle is Liberal Hearts, which urges you to "meet your 'politically correct"match using our uniquely "progressive" match system. Libertarian Passions is the site for singles interested in [...]