By the time this column gets published, my daughter will be married. That got me thinking about weddings as economic development and people attraction.

When I was married 20 years ago, I did the same thing my daughter is doing. I was married in the town where my future spouse was living. Fortunately, that was close to where my family was from. The only cost to attend was the drive. In my daughter’s case, we will not only have a long drive but a stay in a hotel as well. In order to help with final wedding plans and to have a bit of a Christmas celebration, we are staying almost a week. My wife’...