Ultimately camera gear is just tools and like any tool, you want to select the right one for the job. Good camera gear also doesn't mean that you'll get great photos. That's your responsibility. The camera merely takes a picture but you're the one that makes a picture. What I'm basically saying is that the equipment doesn't define the photographer.
Having said that, it does make a photographer's job easier and enable you to push the boundaries or work in more challenging lighting locations. While others may be shooting with non-professional equipment in your state, they also may be shooting weddings in well lit venues. In nominal lighting conditions even old entry level cameras will still hold their own. That doesn't mean at some point in the future those same photographers won't come unstuck.
I'll give you a real life example of what happened to me. I shot a wedding for a family member a few years ago. I'd only been into photography about a year or so at the time and despite my protests, they wanted me to do it just for sentimental reasons. Reluctantly I said okay. The location was a chapel that was beautifully lit, with light pouring in from both sides. My old Nikon D90 was certainly up to the task, so I was more relaxed about shooting there. However, on the day of the wedding, we arrived at the venue only to be told that the night before, thieves had stolen the lead from roof and water had been pouring in, making the chapel unusable and unsafe. Just what you want to hear!
All was not lost, at least as far as the wedding was concerned. They had a different chapel in another part of the building. It originally belonged to Anne Of Cleves, one of Henry VIII's wives. Bearing in mind that the building dated back to the 16th century and everybody apparently was a Munchkin by today's standards, I was faced with very low ceilings. To make matters worse, the ceilings had heavy oak beams every 3ft, which formed little square enclaves. This resulted in any flash being fired at the ceiling, being contained in those enclaves and not traveling where I needed it.
The entire room was lit by 3 very old fluorescent strip bulbs that were throwing out a 50w of light each - and that's probably being a bit generous with the wattage. 2 small windows lined a wall in the room. This would have been some small saving grace if it weren't for the fact a 6ft flint wall was directly opposite it and blocking out the majority of what little external light there was. It was also late December at about 2.30pm, on a grey day and the light was fading fast. To make matters worse, the guy performing the ceremony told me that flash was not permitted during it. I could have punched him!
There I was with a Nikon D90, in the most poorly lit room you can imagine. I could have cried. I had to raise the ISO up to 6400 and rest the camera on the Best man's shoulder to stabilize it. I was shooting a Tokina 28-80 f/2.8D at the time, which was soft wide open anyway. Coupled with the ISO6400, the resulting image quality was utter garbage. Needless to say, that kind of put me off doing weddings.
However, the example stands testament to what can happen through no fault of your own and even scoping a venue out prior, so you know what to encounter. Had the roof not been stolen off the building the night before, my photos would have turned out okay. At the last minute, that venue got scrapped and I got dropped in the proverbial manure and I wasn't coming up smelling like roses. Had that of been a paid event, I would have been in serious trouble. I'd of had nothing to present to the client. My reputation could have been ruined. I could have been sued. I could have had lovely composition and captured some great moments (I didn't as I pretty much sucked at that point in time lol) but the limited low light performance of the D90 was woefully not up to the job.
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