Because there's really no way for you to know that I have been at and in some of the most cheapest weddings you will ever hear of. I am a downright expert on how to have a nice wedding and not spend money. I have been to multiple receptions held in driveways. My favourite wedding was a potluck with a bonfire. There are a million ways to marry for cheap.
But. There are families where that just flat out isn't going to fly. A whole lot of them.
I have told my sister to just go to city hall and tell no one.
It's not going to work for her family dynamic.
A friend of mine is Punjab and she RUSHED to get married in 2020 because it was the only way to do it without three straight days of parties with hundreds of guests (not to mention skipping the thousand of inter-family debates, since her fiance was Hindu.) Theoretically they would do the celebrations "later" -- but four years later, she still hasn't planned a thing.
I have another friend who is Filipina. She's better off living wtih her partner and taking the heat for that than to have a wedding. She chose to own a home instead of get married.
Some people simply can either have peace or they can have $10k but they can't have both. And most of the people I know who have decided not to get married are doing it because of money or because of family politics.
