The stress of organising a big wedding can leave many couples at breaking point as they battle to co-ordinate a celebration on a scale that would tax even the most professional event planner.
But couples wrestling with 150-seat table plans should take heart, as research has suggested that bigger weddings can lead to more successful marriages.
Although cynics may argue that it is because people who can afford an opulent wedding are likely to be financially secure and therefore happier, researchers at the University of Virginia claim that the correlation remains even when variations in wealth are taken into account.
They believe that marrying in front of a large number of people demonstrates greater commitment to the union while also discouraging divorce.
"There is some reason to believe that having more witnesses at a wedding may actually strengthen marital quality," said Dr Galena Rhoades, the lead author of the report.
"We try to keep our present attitudes and behaviours in line with our past conduct. The desire for consistency is likely enhanced by public expressions of intention," she said.
"Weddings may foster support for the new marriage from within a couple's network of friends and family.
"Those who hold a formal wedding are likely to have stronger social networks in the first place."
The report is part of the ongoing National Marriage Project in the US which has since 1997 been studying what makes marriages work.
The latest survey of 418 people found that only 31 per cent of couples who had 50 or fewer guests at the wedding had "higher quality" marriages.
In contrast, 47 per cent of couples who had 150 guests or more had strong unions.
Brad Wilcox, project director of National Marriage, said: "Couples with larger networks of friends and family may have more help, and encouragement, in navigating the challenges of married life."
However, the authors of the report warn that having several relationships before getting married may lead couples to compare their spouse with former lovers.
"We generally think that having more experience is better," said Rhoades. "But what we find for relationships is just the opposite.
"Having more experience was related to having a less happy marriage.
"Having more relationship experience may lead to a greater sense of what the alternatives are.
"If you have a greater sense of other options it may be harder to invest in, or commit to, a marriage."
The researchers call it the "Vegas Fallacy" - the saying that "everything that happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", is not true, they warn.
"The past does not always stay in the past," said Rhoades.