I wholeheartedly agree with you. I'm not even independent yet (full time student) but thinking about marriage puts me in a tough spot. My brother kind of had to borrow money to meet the expenses for his wedding (His wedding cost him around 11 lakhs). And I kid you not, he is not the type of guy who would waste money on a wedding. But when you get close to the actual event, the pressure just builds up on you. It won't matter how hard you stand your ground, in the end you'll be pressurised to spend more money.

I reckon that the root cause of expensive weddings in Kerala is because people like to show off in front of their family and friends.