"Prior to" vs. "Before"

So, I know this blog is supposed to be about fun and exciting travel news but this has been bothering me lately. The difference between "prior to" and "before". Being a language critic/lover I notice these small and otherwise unnoticeable nuances. So, I went on a quest to find out why "prior to" felt like nails on a chalkboard to me, when used in casual conversation. My guess was that it was grammatically incorrect and that's why red flags would go up in my head every time I heard it. In reality this is what I found. Quoting from Language Usage Weblog

There is no difference between the two except length and a certain inescapable affectedness on the part of prior to.
Bill Bryson (all references can be found at the end of this newsletter.)
For a less stuffy and bureaucratic tone, replace prior to or prior with before or earlier whenever possible.
Jack Lynch
Previous to and prior to are grammatically blameless, but that does not justify their use as substitutes for before because they are thought to be grander or more genteel.
H.W. Fowler
Prior to is preferred to before by most medical writers. There are grammatical reasons why prior to is incorrect but a better reason for writing before is that ‘before is simpler, better known and more natural, and therefore preferable’ (Gowers). Bryson is less forgiving and describes prior to as ‘longer, clumsier, and awash with pretension.’ Trask writes, ”This ghastly thing has recently become almost a disease.’
Goodman and Edwards (This book is aimed at medical writers and is highly recommended.)

And there you have. There is nothing actually wrong with using "prior to" except it is "pretentious, longer and clumsier."