Goomba wrote:

>
> If you can't afford to host a big reception, you should host one you
> *can* afford. Cake and punch with plentiful well wishes is all that is
> necessary and can be done quite tastefully.

> Weddings are also family reunions, college chum reunions and
> occasionally business pay-back events. Some families are celebrating a
> happy event with all their friends and neighbors and aren't putting a
> dollar value on it. As long as a couple and their family can afford it,
> more power to 'em, I say!
>


But the whole discussion started about families who COULDN'T afford it
and went into major debt (house remortgage) to pull it off. Your first
paragraph dealt with that well. "Afford" is the operant word but not
the only one. Culture/ethnicity, sense of obligation, and the family's
concept of what a wedding should be also are really important.

gloria p