To Chaverim: this is a rich tradition that fell by the wayside in frum US circles over the last few generations.
tzippi, I beg to differ! Who pays for the weddings (a considerable sum) these days?
And back in the heim, if families couldn’t do it guess what, the girls didn’t get married.
Forget the alte heim. That is exactly what the Tosaphists said (as I quoted above.)