re: Your ideal wedding scene?

My wife and I went to the Justice of the Peace. I don't regret it.

Just had my oldest daughter's wedding. Small church. Probably 200 at the ceremony. A few more at the reception. It was very enjoyable.

Some advice: regardless of how meaningful the ceremony is to your immediate family, don't get offended when those invited don't want to fully participate in the service. We are Episcopal but have several relatives who are Baptist and Pentecostal. We had quite a few hold-outs who refused to approach the altar and take communion or a blessing...the Priest always tells the audience that you don't have to take communion but can just come to the altar for a blessing. But nope, not for some. I think they thought there was at least a remote possibility that they would be witness to a chapter of the DaVinci Code, and they didn't want anything to get between them and the exit.