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Financial
Breakdown: Who Pays for What?
By
Megan Mercer
Last Update:
August 24, 2004
Traditionally, the
bride and her family bear the brunt of the financial
responsibilities
for the wedding. However, with today's high prices,
many families decide to share the costs. Below
you will find the traditional guidelines and today's
commonly accepted alternatives for divvying up the wedding
costs.
Traditional
Guidelines of Responsibility for Wedding Expenses.
(Remember
these are simply guidelines and are not set in stone.
If circumstances require doing things differently,
don’t
let this stop you.)
Bride and her family
- Engagement party
- Bridal luncheon
- Housing for
bridal attendants
- Invitations,
reception cards, announcements and all necessary
postage
- Ceremony cost: location, music, decorations,
and all related expenses
- Bride’s wedding
attire and accessories
- Groom’s wedding
ring and gift
- Bridal attendants’ bouquets
and gifts
- Limousines or any rented transportation
- All reception
costs: location rental, food, beverages, music, decorations,
rental items, wedding cake
- Photography and
videography
Groom and his family
- Rehearsal dinner
- Bride’s engagement
and wedding rings
- Housing for ushers
- Bride’s wedding
gift
- Best man and ushers’ gifts
- Groomsmen and fathers’ boutonnieres
- Mothers’ and grandmothers’ corsages
- Bride’s bouquet
and going away corsage
- Groom’s wedding
attire
- Officiant’s fee
- Marriage license
- Honeymoon
Attendants
- Wedding attire for themselves
- Gifts
for bride and groom
- Transportation to and from
the wedding
- Contribution toward shower
and/or bachelor(ette) parties
Alternate Financial Divisions
With even the most modest
of weddings costing a few thousand dollars, many couples
and their families are
using alternate
divisions of wedding expenses. There are also many
couples who are completely funding their own weddings.
This practice has become very common due to more
couples marrying later in life or entering their
second or third marriage.
Below are a few commonly
used and
accepted alternatives to the traditional breakdown
for wedding expenses.
-
Expenses
split between the bride’s and groom’s
families
-
Each side of
the family pay for their own guests (This is common
if the parents are divorced.)
-
Expenses
divided 3 ways among the bride’s
family, groom’s
family and the couple
-
Bride and Groom pay for the entire wedding
themselves
-
Bride’s
family pay for the entire wedding
-
Groom’s
family pay for the entire wedding (This is common
if the bride’s
parents are deceased or it is the bride’s
second marriage.)
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Financial
Breakdown: Who Pays for What?
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