You can make it even simple. Go for a registered marriage, wear your normal dress. May be throw a reception to your close friends and relatives later. No worry about gold, wedding dress and so on. A celebrity couple (successful director and a top heroine from malayalam cenema) just did that and I thought it was a great decision. Probably the poor struggling middle class can learn from them.
In Maharashtrians, the entire clan comes for the saree shopping. More than 2-3dozens of sarees are bought, which are to be gifted to your own family & grooms family close members. Also around 50 sarees are bought for the extended families on both sides.
