I don't hate weddings per se - I have been to some which were lovely, but those tended to be the weddings of close friends/family where there was lots of people I knew and which were relatively close by.
I do find all weddings quite stressful as a guest however - and it almost seems quite gauche to admit this as you are "supposed" to feel happy for the couple, which of course you are, but that doesn't mean the whole thing isn't stressful. Like others have already mentioned, I find getting a suitable outfit a nightmare .... yeah, if I had loads of money, it'd be a pleasure to shop for the sake of it, but because I don't, and because my day to day wear is completely casual, I can't just go and indulge myself without thinking about how I'll justify the expense. As an aside, I once bought an expensive hat from John Lewis, then regretted it after & took it back only for the snooty sales woman to announce loudly "modom, there is foundation inside the brim" .... I kept a dead-pan face and lied (which I know was naughty) "well, that must have been there when I bought it because as I said, it hasn't been worn". I wouldn't normally be so blatant, but I needed the dosh and had checked very carefully before returning it and it was immaculate - think she had me sussed though and it was a game of double bluff.
Anyway, aside from that, there's all the kerfuffle of staying over - depending on where it is and the time of the ceremony, you can end up paying for 2 nights B&B, as well as a present, and in the end, that can amount to hundreds. And unless an entertainer / creche room / kid orientated food has been provided, you get even more stressed trying to keep them in order .... particularly if placed at a table of strangers. It can end up feeling akin to torture - sorry to be such a mis !
I'm engaged and hoping to persuade Dp we can go abroad, just the 2 of us and have a fantastic honeymoon and think of only ourselves for a rare couple of weeks.
Secretly, I would love a "big" wedding, but cannot justify the expense (god knows when we'll ever be able to afford a decent honeymoon) - and if we were going to do it that way, I would want to make sure that as few guests as possible were put out, which of course makes it even more expensive.