I attended a wedding this weekend that was low-cost, simple, and do-it-yourself.  In our contemporary wedding culture of extravegance piled onto extravagence, this is often looked down upon and scorned by people wanting to be treated like royalty for a day.

I stubbornly and unceasingly have questioned this "high-brow" mentality, and the response I hear most often is that a wedding is supposed to be a transaction of sorts, a high-stakes barter where expensive gifts are exchanged for the cost of an expensive catered meal, mediocre wedding cake, and chocolate fondue fountain.  The cost of the wedding per person is supposed to be reflected in the market value of the gift, which must always come from the registry.

This mentality robs a wedding of its theme and purpose: a complex metaphor of community.  When two become one, that is community.  When people gather together in a church to commemorate an event through liturgy, that is community.  When people gather at a common table with common food (and a common cake), that is community.  When gifts are given to a new home, that is community. ... more