You know the big fancy wedding for 50-300 people in a hotel? That's expensive. I forget the sociological terminology but getting married has gone from a "We're getting started" to a "We have arrived" statement and the wedding is meant to show that, which is expensive.
Well sure, but that's just one example of how corporate interests tend to push tradition into being as expensive as possible (holidays face a similar fate). They're creating social pressure to solidify their revenue.
A wedding can be whatever you want. It's not "unobtainable" unless you're treating it like a class-based measuring stick.
There were 4 people at my wedding. It was only marginally more expensive than the paperwork.