Marriage itself used to be a costly signal of commitment. Today, extravagant weddings serve this purpose.

Growing numbers of people believe their marriage is only valid or legitimate if they spend 50 or 100 plus grand on a wedding—a dramatic shift from 50+ years ago. Our parents' and grandparents' generation considered it perfectly reasonable to have a very modest ceremony, go to the courthouse, sign some paperwork, and you're locked in.

Whereas now, because marriage is so easy to dissolve, you have to have a very costly and ostentatious display of burning resources to demonstrate your commitment. In a world where you can sign papers and have a divorce right away, how do you prove your commitment to this other person? You publicly burn $100,000 on a wedding.