Class doesn't have anything to do with spending! Not sure where you're getting that idea. Perhaps many think spending and formality will imply class. My wedding wasn't cheap, but the money wasn't laid out for display, where people would speculate about the cost the whole way home. It was just nice, and fun for everyone. :~D
Brides focus on a lot of things surrounding their wedding, most of which I can assure you the guests would never notice... Including the type, color, and placement of the plates.
This is just advice, from just one person who has done what you are planning now, and made these decisions. It's really easy to get really wrapped up in the ~things~ of weddings, and most of it doesn't matter.
I'm not saying class has anything to do with spending money. A person can have a wedding with very little money and still manage to look classy. I suppose using the word 'class' may be offensive or confusing. Not everyone has the same social circle. Some people may not care about how a reception is done but but that's not everybody. I went to a wedding reception where people drank a lot. That's having no class.
Of course, in the end a person has to do what they feel most comfortable with. To each his own I suppose.
Handwritten Invitations: $25 (fiancee was into caligraphy)
Wedding Ceremony: $20 tip to minister.
Flowers: $50 (friend was a florist)
Music: $0 (Another friend - she was horrible and totally mangled the wedding march)
Going through Krystal drive-thru in Tux and Wedding Gown: $0 (the staff was so shocked they gave us evrything for free).
Hot Dog/ Hamburger cookout reception with free beer in my parents backyard, in which our whacko lesbian friend got drunk and hit on my very religious sister-in-law, then went into a crying drunk fit on my mother's shoulder (who had never met her) - $75.
Having a wedding that on our 18th wedding anniversary we STILL laugh about and recall whistfully: PRICELESS.
Damn, I love my wife...