I don't know whether to laugh or cry when people try to measure love with money, be it a husband-wife love or parents-child love.

That is some big mighty talk. Let's hope your future wife will be supportive if it ever come to it.

One thing though, since you plan to bear all the wedding cost, do you intend to keep the angpows from the bride's side?
If not, then that is also the ping kam already.

So you do plan to give pingkam to your in-laws, in the form of tables.

Even if my friend says its a non-traditional wedding, I would still give angpow.

You know what, I totally understand where you are coming from.
But when the time comes, remember to look at the big picture (which is not giving in to all the in-laws' demands).

So how much do you want your future husband to pay for you?
How much do you think you are worth?

No offense Gary, but I find your reasoning for pingkam very demeaning and disrespectful to the groom, not to mentioned stupid and worthless.

You talked about the feelings of the mum when marrying her daughter.
You are not being specific but I'll assume that you mean the concerns and worries the mum will have about how the bride's life will be upon her marriage.
Now that is fine, but how is money going to elevate the concerns?
A rich but useless guy can pay a lot, a poor nice guy cannot. So it the rich guy going to be a better husband?
No, the mum (or parents) should already know the groom from the dating stage. That should be how the parents determine how good a person the groom is. Not with money (unless all they care about is money).
And the other reasoning you have about saving those money for their daughter, why is there a need for that?
Why can't the bride and groom save their own money? If they can't do that on their own, then they shoulnd't get married in the first place.

Are we still living in the age where the daugthers stay at home until suitors come knocking for the hand in marriage? When parents know nothing of the guy except for what the matchmaker said about him. Where money will measure the groom's family standing.

I am surprised that despite being the internet generation, the youngsters are still so mindlessly traditional.

The discussion is not moving on coherently, but never mind....
So in response to your answer, what is the pingkam for?