Why are the recent Takanos by the Belzer Rebbe and others so narrowly drawn. They don’t seem to limit $ (or NIS) amounts, but rather limit choices.
I understand that musicians are particularly upset about takanos that limit the NUMBER of musicians at a wedding. Why not limit the dollar amount? If I wish to have a trio for two hours, rather than a single musican for six, what is the harm in that? The range in price of musicians also varies, we spoke to those who charged $80/hour up to $400/hour.
For our wedding, we chose to spend the bulk of our money on music and food, figuring that was the best investment in the joy of our guests. We spent almost nothing on gifts to each other, outside of simple 14k wedding bands, total cost about $270.
If you’re going to set up guidelines, why not peg them to family income — say, no more than 3 months income?
bests,
-rsr-