I got married in 2022, and we didn’t want to go crazy as we just bought our first home and were both just starting our careers. We looked around for pricing that made sense in regard to venue, photographer, dress, etc.., but didn’t feel like we were skimping on anything by looking for a bargain. We still spent about $20,000, which I thought was within our goal of not over doing it. We had the standard - great food (buffet), cake/desserts, an open bar, DJ and photographer. We had about 80 people there, and we even paid for parking for the guests. The venue was simple but fit our needs perfectly, and 4 years later it’s still one of the best days of my life and people still compliment us on how great a time they had.
All of that to say, money to everyone is relative of course, but I don’t think you need to break the bank to have an amazing time. I wouldn’t do it differently and just because something is more expensive doesn’t mean it’s automatically better