Are large weddings worth the money?

[z28dreams]

Was always curious about this stat... how much can you expect back in gifts on average?

Let's take your typical wedding - 200 people @ $100 each (this is close I think, but I'm not sure) = $20k

Obviously, of those 200 a lot can be couples or kids, but generally aren't you supposed to give a gift roughly about what your plate would cost?

Even if you only receive 100 gifts of $100, that's still 1/2 the cost of the wedding basically gone.

Anyone have some real numbers on what you'd usually get back?