Divorce Expo 2012 visits Chicago, Miami: It's the wedding un-planner!

BY PAM LOBLEY

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

NOW THAT’S FUNNY

If you’re getting a divorce and need some one-stop shopping for all your divorcing needs, look no further! The Divorce Expo has events and exhibits to help you navigate the ugly waters of marital unraveling.

Christie Brinkley, are you listening?

Remaining dates for The Divorce Expo 2012 (TDE) will take place this year on August 18 in Chicago and October 13 in Miami. Attendees can find out about many topics, including family law, retirement and insurance, (co-)parenting, personal care, and relationships and dating.

At the recent TDE in New York City, guests could enjoy a free haircut or attend seminars like “My Formerly Hot Life.” TDE was started by the mother/daughter team of Nicole Baras Feuer, a divorce mediator and divorced mother herself, and her mother, Francine Baras, who is a family therapist.

The two started the expo because, although divorce is quite common, they felt there was still a stigma to it. Baras Feuer realized that people going through a divorce would benefit from “a place to come and meet professionals face-to-face and not get everything from a book or a website, to bring everything live and let people have all the accurate information under one roof instead of piecemealing it."

Well, that’s a practical approach. With divorce so prevalent, I suppose there’s no reason to be shy about it. I say kick off the weekend with a Larry King Honorary Cocktail party. Guests can mix and mingle while they sip Single Malt and listen to Paul Simon’s “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover.”

Since divorce is becoming a fact of life all over the world, expos like these can only increase. In Japan, a divorce ceremony is sometimes employed to help couples separate with a clean break. The package can include a buffet meal to share with friends, a custom-made dress with an especially attractive back so you look good walking away, and a smashing of the wedding rings with a hammer.

I call that a reality show waiting to happen. Aren’t we all sick of bridezillas? I think Americans are ready for a show in which couples break up with all the trimmings: fancy food, slick lawyers, and tearful family members. Don’t let Splitsville be dull. Go out in style!

If you are going through a divorce, you don’t have to do it alone. Find out more at TDE www.divorceexpo.com. I hear the Kardashians’ seminar is selling out.

Pam Lobley writes the “Now That’s Funny” column. Follow her on twitter @plobley.