You just agreed with your mother-in-law on this if you want a good relationship with her.  I remember my younger brother had 10 dishes in his Chinese wedding.

Do a compromise add more vegtable dishes Chinese can eat lots though even thin little girls plus only once in a lifetime get off to a good start with family

Compromise and do a buffet with 16 dishes? Or maybe they chinese dont do buffet style. I don't know. But maybe that could be your little... western flare in the event. 

It doesn't sound that extreme. Do the 16 dishes also include cold dishes and soup? If that's the case, then it's really not that much. You don't want your guests to complain that there wasn't enough food, especially since you're a foreigner and wants to be accepted/respected. Just go with what your monther-in-law wants.

Thanks for your help. I guess that this was a question that I kinda, already knew the answer to but needed to hear it from someone else. Your suggestion that I go with what the mother-in-law wants is certainly a good one. No need to rock the boat at this early juncture. Conversations with my Chinese friends have echoed this point and the prospect of losing face due to not having as much food as a similar event that they may have attended is definitely not acceptable for any Chinese inlaws. Gotta save face.

Thanks guys. 

mine were 6 cold dishes,12 hot dishes,1 soup,1 snack,1 fruit.for a table