There are traditions and etiquette standards for who pays for which part of a wedding. The easy way to break everything down is to say that the bride and her family pay for the wedding, and the groom pays for all of the rehearsal items. That might be a bit too simple, however, so let’s dive into a bit more detail of which family pays for which part of a wedding.
What the bride’s family covers:
The bride’s parents pay for the engagement party as well as the listing in the announcements section of the newspaper. The goal of the engagement party is to welcome the groom into her family and let the two families get better acquainted. It gives the families the opportunity to meet before the wedding day and thus reduce some of the stress that comes with the wedding itself. An aside on the announcement – if the groom is from another city, it might be nice to post an announcement in his hometown newspaper, too.
Her family will also handle all of the invitations and the programs for the wedding.
The bride’s family covers all of the things that go into the wedding itself – the dress, the flowers at the wedding location, the bouquets the bride’s attendants carry, the limousine, the location, the photographer, the costs incurred by the officiant including his or her travel expenses, and the reception including music, decorations and food. The bride’s parents are also typically the host and hostess for the reception.
The bride buys the gifts (and often arranges for the hotels) for her bridesmaids and maid of honor, and she pays for the groom’s wedding ring.
What the groom’s family covers:
The groom’s family pays for the rehearsal dinner as well as the boutonnieres for the groom’s attendants, and of course, the groom’s tuxedo. They would also cover the corsages for mothers and grandmothers. The groom’s parents are the hosts of this dinner also. This meal is often much smaller than the reception, and it typically only includes the wedding party and maybe a few of the bride and groom’s closest friends.
They also pay for the groom’s attendants’ lodging when the bride is covering her attendants. However, all of the attendants are responsible to pay for their own clothing.
The groom will also cover the license costs and the engagement and wedding rings for the bride. The actual fee for the officiant is often covered by the groom’s family, too.
Many times in the past the groom or his family covered the honeymoon, but as times change, often the new couple co-pays for this.
Sometimes the groom’s family will cover the costs of the champagne for the reception, a nice gesture that helps balance the costs. They also pay for the bride’s bouquet and her corsage as well as the corsages for the mothers.
If you are like most couples now in days, you will take into consideration that a wedding is not cheap, and would help cover a big part of the wedding budget, if not all. The best way to come up with your wedding budget is to sit down and figure out what you can afford. Remember that your wedding doesn’t need to be like the kardashians in order to make it memorable.
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