true! or instead of spending all that money on one girl, they can help a family who has a girl but cannot afford to wed her off.
i've been to quiet a few simple weddings ( in my extended family)............where the only highlight was nikah , rukhsati and valima , menu was too simple and allhamdulillah those couples r as happy as those who had lavish wedding ceremonies............... i personally believe that if one ( esp bride's family) have the money and means to have a lavish wedding party they should instead give that money ( in the form of cash itself or as some investment or a property or gold which i guess families usually do) to their daughter than spending too much just on just few outfits , makeup & photography etc i believe it's good for a girl/ bride to have some bank balance or cash or investment at the time of wedding ( either she earned it or her parents gifted that to her) than to have expensive designer clothes in her closet and lavish portraits in her room
And how do you know that the family that has the lavish wedding ALSO gives to charity and helps a needy family out?
Personally, maybe girls don't need the 60-100 outfits that they get (go look in the "how many outfits" thread) or spend an arm and a leg for decorations..but Professional photography is an absolute must. simply relying on friends and family (unless they happen to be true real professionals) for the fotog and video is not going to result in anything good i think. That is the one wedding expense that is worth every penny and photographers can be found for every budget.