Several of the folks who went to law school with me had inexpensive weddings–reception with punch and cake and cookies in the backyard of a family member, after a quick and modest ceremony. One of them did rent a hall and have serve dinner for those who attended. We got married after I had worked at my career for 5 years and H had worke for much longer so we were able to afford what we wanted for our wedding, honeymoon, etc. My folks wanted a 7 course Chinese dinner at a nice hotel, so we said that everyone would pay for the guests they invited who were attending. It worked out fine for everyone–no drama and no griping about paying for people that weren’t invited by the person paying.