"Death of the Dream Wedding" OR Decade of the DIY?

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I came across this RedEye article by Alice Truong and couldn't help but run through a series of emotions as I read it. If you don't feel like following the link, here's the synopsis:

• Weddings are expensive...I am sure this part is coming as a somewhat of a shock, so just let that sink in a second before you continue...
  
• The reign of the $50K wedding stuff is a thing of the past for most sane people.
• Chicago wedding costs are down by 6.5 percent to $22,642 for 2009, according to The Wedding Report, a Tucson, Ariz.-based wedding research company.
• In 2008, the number of Chicago weddings performed by Cook County Circuit Court judges dipped to 10,510 from 11,434 in 2005.
• Us Weekly and weddingchannel.com are holding their second annual Dream Wedding, which serves as sort of a lottery ticket done wedding style. Usmagazine.com began taking votes Friday to narrow it between 10 final couples.
• Destination weddings are increasingly popular, and according to theknot.com, one in five couples planned an out-of-town wedding in 2008. The article source attributes this to thinning the guest list, and while that's certainly part of it, I think the part where you can double-up the honeymoon and having a day-of wedding coordinator at your hotel helps cut out worrying about as many smaller details. Not mention, after dealing with hours of research and finding the same sad state of pricey places all around you, it's hard not to just want to say "f-this" and go get hitched somewhere warm.
  
• According to a 2008 survey by theknot.com, Chicago is one of the 10 most expensive cities in which to wed. And from the experience I am having, I completely agree.

Reading this made me feel like I am crazy for trying to have a wedding in Chicago, but I really can't think of anywhere else I would rather do it. It means something to have the wedding here, and if that means going through great pains to find the DJ that doesn't cost over $1200 or the caterer that will work under $5K for 250 people, then I guess that's what it is going to have to take.

Reading the article also made me feel like I have to prove we can do this for under $20K. (To both prove it and because we don't have that kind of money, but still...)

So eat that, average wedding. We're gonna go DIY or local like this city's never seen.