Weddings, Inc.

Say YES to the Dress, Cake Boss, Bridezillas, Engaged and Underage, and My Fair Wedding are evidence that weddings are big business -- big television business. Too bad the father of the bride in this parable had such a hard time attracting guests.

Wedding dress? Check.

Flowers? Check.

Cake? Check.

Preacher, DJ and photographer? Check, check, and check.

Documentary film crew, ready to capture every second of your incredible day, edit it down to 22 minutes and air it on basic cable so that women everywhere can critique it and men with the remote flip past it? Check.

That's right. Weddings aren't just private, family affairs that suck up Saturday afternoons anymore. They're now the hottest setting for entertainment on television, and getting some aspect of your big day featured on the small screen -- be it the buying of the dress, the making of the cake, or even the moment you chew out your Maid of Honor for forgetting that it's "your day" -- is arguably the ultimate accessory to the 21st-century wedding experience.

Don't buy it? Just take one trip around your 100 or so basic cable channels and you're guaranteed to stumble upon any of a number of wedding-related reality shows.

There's I Propose which follows nervous boyfriends as they...