Who Pays for What at a Wedding?
The most touched topic for a wedding is money, which undeniably causes the most arguments. So who pays for what? Earlier, it has been a habit that the Bride’s family shoulders the majority of the wedding expenditure. However, tradition is changing – partly due to different familial circumstances and partly due to the increase in cost, the trend is now leaning towards the wedding expenses being shared and divided amongst the Bride and Groom and their families.
According to traditional responsibilities, the goods and services needed to be covered by the Bride’s family are as follows:
- Engagement party
- Cost of the wedding ceremony, which includes location, rentals, decorations and all other expenses
- Cost of the wedding reception, which includes venue, rental items, decorations, wedding cake, food and drinks and entertainment
- Flowers/Floral bouquets for the wedding ceremony and reception
- Invitations, announcements and wedding programs
- Bride’s entire wedding dress, complete with accessories, shoes and a veil
- Bridesmaid’s and flower girl’s bouquets
- Bridesmaid’s luncheon
- Groom’s ring
- A wedding gift for the couple
- Transportation for the Bride and bridal party
- Wedding photos and videos
- On the other hand, the Groom’s family was traditionally in charge for these expenses:
- The rehearsal dinner, which includes food, rentals and entertainment
- The Groom’s outfit and best man and ushers outfits
- Bride’s bouquet, corsages for the mothers and grandmothers and buttonholes for the men
- Travel expense and accommodations for the Groom’s family
- A wedding gift for the Bride and Groom
- Bride’s ring
- Marriage license and officiant’s fee
- The Honeymoon
Moreover, traditionally, the Bride and Groom together pay for these:
- Gifts for the parents, the attendants and the best man
- Any expenses that have exceeded the estimated/original budget
- Sometimes, they can both pay for the Honeymoon
If you notice, tradition was not really kind to the Bride’s family, with all the wedding bills, it just doesn’t sound right. Fortunately, times have changed. Rather burden one family to foot the bill on the bulk and hassle them with all the planning, it has been a common practice these days for both families to share and divide expenses.
What are stated below are the usual habits or options in modern weddings:
- The Bride and the Groom pay for the entire wedding
- Expenditures are divided evenly between the couple, the Bride’s family and the Groom’s family
- Each family covers the cost for every guest they invite
- All costs are divided evenly and equally in both parties
- The groom was traditionally responsible for covering for the honeymoon, but in some modern weddings, families of either Bride or Groom pay for the honeymoon to serve as wedding present
Tips:
The best way to decide on ‘who will pay for what’ is for the couple and both families and other families involved to have a sit down together and frankly discuss about what each party can afford to contribute and what they are capable to offer. Some people are awfully uncomfortable discussing their finances in front of other people, so be sensitive enough and carefully converse with them. Separate meetings are acceptable and somehow necessary, but it’s better if you get everyone at one time together to suggest and share information. Also, if you gather them all together in every wedding meeting, you are able to create an easy environment for them to talk as one. Therefore, makes a good bond between families, allowing them to discuss their finances more freely.
