DaasYochid – That is a very good point, and one that needs to be made. There has to be different solutions for different classes (in the Marxist sense) of people. Those who can’t make ends meet, or can’t put away money (even a rather small amount like $10K per child) should recognize that they can’t make the same Chassunahs that others are making. If that means they can’t marry a Wolfson or Rothschild, so be it. It is not the responsibility of the Klal that every Ani should be able to marry Rothschild’s son. If the marry someone similar to themselves, expectations will be lower and they will live on less, maybe much less. The wedding might be rolls under a canopy, or in a shul, but they will still be married.
Those who can put away a smaller amount than what is “Socially acceptable” should make a smaller wedding, not beg others for money for what is a 5 hour event. This may help:
VFNIX (Vanguard 500) had a 4.1% return over the past 15 years (on average), as an example.