I don’t know, it seems to me that the standards we have nowadays for weddings are outlandish. Why is it necessary to make a wedding with a minimum of 400 people? Why must we make our weddings in halls whose costs fly through the roof?
Why does every event surrounding a wedding- l’chaim, vort, Shabbos kallah, aufruf, Sheva Brachos- have to be so elaborate and expensive?
Obviously, when I get married, I’m going to want my simcha to be on par with everyone else’s… but, you know what? As I have attended more and more of my friends’ simchos, I have been mentally keeping track of what costs I think are unnecessary and can be cut out. I would keep a wedding small, more intimate, and more focused on the simcha rather than the accoutrements.