Budgeting for a wedding - who traditionally pays for what?

Who traditionally pays for what at a wedding?

With many couples today either paying for their weddings or making significant contributions towards the costs, the responsibility of the bride’s father to pick up the greater part of the cost of his daughter’s wedding has diminished.

These days both of a couple’s families might join forces to share the expense, with the groom’s family, for example, undertaking to pay for specific parts of the ceremony or the wedding reception.

That said, tradition still has a part to play even in budgeting for a wedding, with both bride and groom happily undertaking to pay for certain items. Even if the major expenses are shared by the couple and their families, it is helpful to know what was conventionally paid for by whom in times gone by.

By tradition the bride’s father would have covered the cost of these items:

• Newspaper announcements of his daughter’s engagement.
• The wedding stationery and postage of invitations.
• The wedding dresses, other items of clothing and accessories worn by the bride and her attendants.
• The flowers to decorate the venues for the ceremony and the reception.
• Transport to convey the bridesmaids, the bride, 
her mother and himself to the ceremony.
• The fees of the photographer.
• The reception.
• The wedding cake.

For his part, the groom was expected to cover these costs:

• Engagement and wedding rings for the bride.
• Costs associated with the ceremony and any legal expenses.
• The marriage certificate.
• Bouquets carried by the bride and her attendants; corsages for his mother and the mother of the bride; buttonholes for himself, his best man and the ushers.
• Transport from the ceremony for the bride and himself.
• Presents for the best man and other attendants.
• A present for the bride.
• The honeymoon.

By tradition the bride’s expenditure focuses on her husband. Conventionally this amounted to:

• Buying the groom a wedding ring if he was having one.
• Buying her husband a present.

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