Not only does a Japanese bride wear three different dresses, but standard cost for a
wedding hall is about $28,000 (US, though in any country`s dollars, that`s a lot).
Some of this is defrayed by the standard gift from each wedding guest of $300. After
I picked my jaw back up off the floor, I told the unmarried teachers who were
present, "shotai kekko desu" ("invitation no thank you").
This morning my supervisor invited me to her wedding next March.