Why does the chasson need an expensive watch, and other gifts? Why do they need fancy Sheva brochos? Why do they need to invite 500 “close” friends?
When my daughter got married, the guest list was sharply limited to stay within budget, my daughter was happy renting a beautiful gown for $400 rather than spending thousands for a new one ( after all , she said that she wasn’t going to wear it again and people couldn’t tell ). Our machuten negotiated significant discounts for pictures,flowers and music and we didn’t go into debt.
As I said above, I’ve recently attended two weddings held in shuls. They were very nice and not expensive