Diamonds and Orchids and Designer Gowns- oh my!

I was watching a show called "Platinum Weddings" earlier today. It was a marathon of "Platinum Weddings", actually. Oh man. One of these shows I was watching, they had six courses of food. Six courses, hmmm. I don't know if that's really necessary. I feel like the weddings we see on TV are all about excess. It's as if a normal man and woman finding each other aren't good enough, we have to dazzle it up with jewels and sparkly chandeliers and make it so grossly over the top that it wows everyone who walks in the door. Who started this tradition of having grossly overstated weddings?
I wonder. I mean, I always thought of weddings as things in huge churches, with high ceilings, and dressed with long trains. However, there are other people in the world, besides Christians, and other places to get married, that don't have high ceilings. And it's not even really about the ceremony, it's all about the reception.
While watching this show today, I was amazed at the insanity of some people's receptions. One couple had a white "seamless" dance floor put in. I don't even know what that means. Another couple had various Las Vegas acts perform and two bands, and fireworks and pyrotechnics. There are children starving in Africa, why do you need fireworks at your wedding?
Another couple had over 50,000 dollars worth of flowers at their wedding. I mean I love flowers, but don't they want to save for retirement?
I feel like people think that weddings are outside all practical and rational thought. But the truth is that they are far from it. One must think rationally about these affairs, otherwise they become larger than life, and larger than the thing they are actually celebrating.