Because people have these movie weddings in their minds and are willing to pony up anything for a day to remember. Personally I find the whole experience rather sad and very very overrated. I have been to many weddings and opted out of the entire experience when it came to ours. Best decision I’ve ever made. Wife mostly feels the same but occasionally wonders what it would be like to have a traditional wedding. I don’t know, maybe the fact that I’ve been to so many weddings in itself has ruined the experience for me? Everyone I’ve even seen married never seem to have a great time - there is always a ton of stress, discomfort, expense and cliches that feel rather silly. I know women are the ones who mostly look forward to this, so hopefully they are getting their money’s worth and that day to remember.