What's wrong with weddings

What's wrong with weddings via UK's Guardian The modern wedding is a celebration of the ego, which is the biggest enemy of the subsequent marriage

Most clergy he knows, he said, would much rather conduct funerals than weddings, because they are so much more honest occasions. But in fact the modern wedding, if it does anything, shortens marriages rather than cementing them. Here's why. The modern wedding, with its stupendous cost (£20,000 on average) and duration, is really a celebration of the participants. They really are unique and precious snowflakes, just as they have suspected all along. In fact, they are each and both of them just the unique and precious people they would like to be. Everyone pretends that for the day the couple really are starring in their own film: following the conventions of modern films, that means nothing really bad can happen to them.

A few decades ago, it was acceptable to be engaged for a few months and have a pot-luck reception at a local hall/social club. Today (in Massachusetts) engagements are 18 months+ and most wedding have sit dinners at a upscale hall, specializing in weddings. 18 months of prep for one day, you can even cut it down to 6 hours of time. How is it when we began to value marriage less and less, the wedding industry began?