You seem to be vasilating back and forth between "a wedding" and "marriage." Obviously a successful marriage takes far more grit and determination than a degree. And the journey is much longer. Yes, a marriage has perks as you point out, but a degree has perks to, such as the pleasure of learning.

I do agree with your critique a couple paragraphs later when you point out that we make a really big deal about weddings. To some extent I think we should, because marriage is a worthwhile journey. But I think the ratio of how much we care about weddings versus how much we care about anniversaries is off.

One thing I've been big on recently is the fact that we do a much better job recognizing and celebrating birthdays than wedding anniversaries. And I use a similar logic to you, the birthday is easier to come by: you just have to not die. To achieve the anniversary you need to not die AND stay married. Much more impressive