Is a wedding worth the cost?

Opinions on this topic are diverse and totally depend on an individual. In today's economy, I don't think that spending thousands of money on just one day for someone with whom you reasonably expect to live the rest of your life is unreasonable unless you can afford it. The money is better put towards the first family home. This is not to say that a wedding should not be a Special Day, on which some extra money is spent, but there are many options to make the day special.

Having been to many weddings, two significant costs are unavoidable: Catering and photography. If you cannot afford there's no need for a 5-star catering service, a barbecue gathering with plenty of self-serve foods isn't so expensive, and the left-overs can be frozen for future home-consumption. When choosing a photographer, you want to see samples of previous work, including the bad shots! Sometimes, a friend ends up handing over better photos than the alleged professional, so feel free to ask around for an affordable photographer/friend who is happy to take pictures in exchange for a feed as a guest. The memories of sharing that time with your friends will be far more critical than any expense that was over-looked.