I don't know that Americans travel so easily for a wedding, unless the two people getting married are originally from two different areas.
I was actually home for my sisters wedding two years ago. A friend that we grew up with was getting married the weekend before, so we went to his wedding which was a 5 hour drive away. So, my mother, father, sister, and myself packed in the Nissan whatever, and made the trek. It was fun... but I have no clue how we did it so often (we took 2-hour drives all the time) as youngsters. Maybe I spent too much time in a train-friendly country.

Oh -- the wedding was a blast, and wasn't really that fancy. It was outdoors, and quite homey.