Is it so awful that I hate weddings?

Apparently I’m talkative today, I haven’t used up all 3 of my questions in a long time.

I don’t hate marriage or getting married, or even the ceremony around getting married. I hate the formalities. I hate that people spend a small (or sometimes not small) fortune and more or less dictate what their guests will wear, what they should buy via registries, and what lengths should be gone to in order to actually arrive at the ceremony/reception. Yeah yeah. It’s your day.
I feel the same way about baby showers/bridal showers/housewarming parties – any event that has been put together with the intention of having everyone else cater to your every whim and give you lots of presents.

When I tell people that I hate weddings, they look at me like I’ve grown a third arm. I’ve always been sketchy about weddings, but when I had to attend several in a short period of time recently, it occurred to me how brutal it was on my budget. And there was no getting out of it. When planning my own wedding (which was tiny), I can’t tell you how many people suggested that I send more invitations so that we would receive more gifts. I was completely disturbed by that.
Is it really so awful that it gets under my skin? Is anyone with me on this?