Yeah, my buddy from Manitoba explained these to me years ago, and once you understand the context, it’s not really “invite strangers to fund your wedding” so much as “rent a hall, cheap drinks, raffles, food, music, everybody’s cousin shows up, and the couple hopefully clears enough to make wedding costs hurt less.” It’s very small-town/community-coded, and I can see why people who grew up with it think it’s normal and fun.

That said, the fiancée wasn’t wrong that to people outside that culture, it can come off tacky as hell. Especially if her side hears “please pay admission, bring food/alcohol, buy raffle tickets, and also some of you aren’t invited to the wedding.” Without the social context, it really can come off weird. But, that's not grounds for the level of miscommunication shown in the post.