Big does not have to mean expensive. My husband is the youngest of 9, and I am the oldest of 6, and my wedding was NOT expensive. We spent about $3,000 including the rings, the dress, the flowers, and the reception.
Ours was on a Saturday. It was at 10am. Our reception went until about 3-4pm. The reception wasn't this big nighttime party with a ton of hooliganism, like most weddings are now days.
My parents could not afford to throw me a big party, and I didn't expect one. My mother-in-law is a widow, so we weren't expecting a ton from her end. She did help a lot though out of kindness, considering the rest of her children are protestant, so she wanted to make it special.
My father's family is all novus ordo (he has 11 siblings), and (fancy that) only one showed up for the actual wedding (and SHE is protestant!) My one uncle who was a widower of one of my aunts, who was a convert to the faith, came to the wedding too. My dad's sister and her husband "popped in" after they were done with their bowling league for the day. I so wish they hadn't, as they came inappropriately dressed in their bowling uniforms, and it was really embarrassing.
My mother's one sister showed up. Many of the people that were in attendance were from Church, and were mutual friends of my mother-in-law and myself, and a few of my husband's then "friends."
All of my brothers and sisters were there, and my husband's siblings were all there as well. One of his sisters got sick with a very bad cold the day before the wedding, and didn't make it, but was in town when the wedding took place, and was very sad she couldn't make it.
Big does not have to mean expensive.