I'm with Nicola and others here - it doesn't have to be banal! We were married in Rome and even there (where there are a lot of weddings in one day!) we had what we wanted, despite it being a civil ceremony in one of the two registered venues. We both thought the civil bits were amazing as did our guests (so different!), and we had live music which was wonderful. The only thing we couldn't do was to write our own vows which was fine by us!
In many ways I think a wedding day is what you make of it. The ceremony is one part ... and oh that Italian wedding cake!!!