I'll second Arnold and Willys remarks regarding wedding costs.
A friend of mine is an Ex Immigration (NZ) employee, and he says that despite what
the operational manual states, wearing a wedding ring does make a difference.
SO when the time came, and we made inquiries, we were faced with a large array of expensive
options - a lot of "packages", none of which represented both our cultures.
We (mostly me) explored other options and settled on a home based wedding organised by us
We have a very long lounge which we cleared of furniture and decorated to our own tastes
A stunning (never worn) wedding dress for next to nothing on trademe (=EBay) altered by a friend
No wedding presents (we have enough "stuff" ) but guests bring a plate ( ie a plate of food)
- there was an ample feast
A good friend agreed to act as "master of ceremonies", another as "best man" thus avoiding
the professional celebrant, their thousands in fees, and dare I say it, their platitudes.
Wedding vows we wrote together in English and Mandarin; she also had friends who spoke for
"the middle kingdom" traditions
We handled the legal side by going down to the registry office for a brief 10 minute "official" ceremony
on a Friday at a cost of $175, with the actual celebration on Saturday
The additional costs were for the Wedding Cake, the Helium balloons, and abundant quantities
of good NZ sparkling wine and a few sundries - all up maybe a thousand dollars.
So, all in all, DIY worked for us - though, obviously circumstances will vary.
But the money we saved went to a trip back to Harbin to visit her unwell parents..a good outcome
And of course, out of it all, I gained a delightful wife