I think it's more of a bartering thing. You cast one figure they cast another and back and forth until you both settle on a figure you can live with. If your buying a house, I talked today with a realitor friend of mind, as I'm buying another 40 acres. She informed me that now is the perfect time to buy as prices are at rock bottom right now. Don't procrastanate, deal now while prices are at their lowest. I'm getting a smoking deal on that land. So consult a realitor now, you don't have to buy, but you can get some excellent information.
Now, I have never heard of a wedding costing that much, unless it was the queen herself getting hitched. The idea above was to let her shop around, an excellent idea, puts the ball in her court, specially if you mention to her your saving money for a new home for her...guilt
the dowery, I've been told is an old custom that is outdated. If it is that much, you won't need red envelopes, but rather a red breifcase to carry all that money. Be frugal, for all we know this is a test to see how stinking rich you wish you were. She's testing you to see if you know how to handle money? Gosh, for two grand in china should buy you one hell of a wedding, if it dont, somthing is wrong...