Photo Credit: Kateylyn James Photography
Wedding Budget: Who Pays for a Wedding
The roles of who pays for a wedding used to be very black and white. Traditionally the bride’s family paid for the majority of things, while the groom’s family only covered a small portion of bills. These days, deciding who pays for the wedding falls along a blurred line. With couples getting married later in life, and weddings costing much more than they used to, paying for a wedding is often a joint effort.
Did you know that the average wedding in the 1960’s cost only $700 in today’s money? Flash forward 50 years to today where the average wedding costs a whopping $31,000! Unless couples and families have been saving for a wedding for years, most people do not have that amount of money sitting around. It’s easy to see how the traditional roles of who paid for what at a wedding were established when the cost was so low. Take a look below at what used to be the norm:
Bride’s Family Paid For:
- Engagement party
- Ceremony (and décor)
- Reception (and décor)
- Invitations
- Wedding dress
- Wedding planner
- Photographer & videographer
- Wedding DJ
- Wedding dress
Groom’s Family Paid For:
- Tux
- Bouquets & boutonnieres
- Officiant
- Marriage license
- Rehearsal dinner
- Transportation for bridal party
- Alcohol at reception
- Honeymoon
Although it’s nice to stick with tradition, weddings are a lot more elaborate than they used to be. This in turn means wedding costs have greatly increased since these traditional wedding budget rules were established years ago. Many brides’ families today can’t afford to foot the bill for the majority of wedding costs. We’ve noticed that the new roles for who pays for a wedding vary greatly from wedding to wedding. Here a few examples of what we have seen from our couples:
- Both families divide wedding expenses equally
- The bride and groom pay for their entire wedding
- Each family decides a set amount they can contribute to the wedding, with the bride and groom covering remaining expenses
- Families follow the traditional roles listed above
Whichever route you, your family and fiancé decide to take for covering wedding expenses, make sure you have a wedding budget in place before contracting services for your wedding! If you’re looking for more wedding planning advice, check out our other blog posts here.
