She said that the Church does not consider a couple married unless they are married in a church building. That shattered my dream. I have always been taught that the Church is more the people than buildings.
Marriage is a lifelong commitment, which the larger faith community has a responsibility to nurture.
Linking weddings to buildings used by the faith community is one way of making that point. People are obviously more important than buildings. Once you move weddings out of a church building, however, you face potential questions about having them on a roller coaster or Ferris wheel, while scuba diving or skydiving, or in some other location which the couple considers ideal. I have read news reports about weddings in all these places. That community certainly has a stake in the success of every marriage its members enter.