1) you get a chance to shine for one day

2) there isn't enough space to host all the guests at your won home

3) economic prosperity

4) you can get a wide range of services through a single organization

5) people are exposed to a certain picture of what a wedding should look like through media (so I guess the whole thing just
sort of fuels itself..)

6) the wedding industry is able to produce services that contribute to the wedding as a rite of passage
These observations are very accurate, I would say. The amount of money, time and energy a lot of people spend for a wedding is beyond my capacity. I would fall apart.

They say it is something needs to be done to show their appreciation to their parents and people who supported the bride and the groom, which I think is BS in Japan, since in many cases the parents often end up helping the couple pay the cost.

I have been to at least 5 weddings in Japan, and I have noticed that the grooms seemed less excited about it. All of them looked very happy, though.

Everytime when people ask me what type of a wedding I had, I get giggly because it was very cool.