On why weddings are nonsense

Now that I have the engagement ring, now that I have receipts from a photographer, the event space, and I'm trying to scrape together a deposit for a caterer, I realize
It's all bullshit.
I thought maybe I'd get caught up in it once it started getting closer, once the planning really started. But honestly, it's all becoming more and more ridiculous. We should be using this money to renovate the bathroom so we can resell this place someday. But instead we are spending thousands of dollars to tell each other what we already know: we love each other, we'll be together forever, etc. Sure, the buffet we're having sounds DELICIOUS, and I'm excited to see all of our friends and family in one place.... but, really, it's just a big show. I didn't want to register for gifts, I wanted to ask people to donate to a charity in our name. But people got mad, saying that we needed to register so we could have a shower, and that we "needed" things. Now that we have registered, we have found things we really do need, but I don't care about stuff. I just want to be with David, which I already am.
I got on TheKnot.com today (a wedding site) to see if they had any pictures of decorated cupcakes. There's an advice column on this site with stupid questions like, Can I do this or can I do that... sure, it's your wedding! The question today was whether or not all the bridesmaids HAD to match. What law of nature would be broken if they didn't? Would the bride and groom be less married at the end of the day?
The banner at the top of the homepage was, "Who had the best wedding of 2007?! Vote now!" The best wedding? Please.
I'm not stressed about my wedding at all, but what I am stressed about is this heteronormative culture I am contributing to, this materialistic culture, and why I need to spend thousands of dollars just to validate my relationship.