A lot of the ethnic weddings are meant for money making/transfer. Big party, getting bunch of cash/jewelry/valuables from certain relatives, and usually that's enough to subsidize a bunch of under-gifters (distant relatives, work friends, friends of relatives, etc).
I miss going to weddings, primarily as a chance to see all the old friends/family folks. Now it's waiting for the younger folks to get to wedding age, hopefully I'll still be able to walk unassisted at that time.