If people really want to blessings in their marriages and desire that the marriages should be filled with love and pious offsprings, they should follow the advice of Rasulullah sav, who said, "The marriage with the most blessings is the one in which the least expense are incurred."
Rasulullah sav has also mentioned, "The best of women are those who ask for the least dowry." (Ibn Hibban)
According to another Hadith, Rasulullah sav said, "The signs of a blessed woman is that her proposal comes soon, her dowry is small and her child is born soon." (Kanzul Ummaal)
One can well imagine that if the Shari'ah encourages the least expense for the dowry, which is a prerequisite of marriage, it will certainly encourage even less expenditure for the wedding ceremony and trousseau, which have no status at all in the Shari'ah.
Hazrat Sufyaan Thowri ra has mentioned that when a bridegroom asks his bride what she brought with her, he is a thief. His wicked nature is indicated by the fact that instead of asking for mundane commodities from his in-laws, he should be grateful to them for giving him the light of their lives whom they painstakingly raised for so many years. By this token, it is also improper for a son-in-law to send a gift to his parent-in-law whit the desire that they should also send him a gift.