A wedding is traditionally paid for by the groom's family. Keep in mind that the parents of the bride act as hosts de facto for the wedding, as per this time-honored custom. Traditional weddings typically have the bride's and groom's family pay for the festivities.
What Does the Groom's Family Pay For, Traditionally? The groom's family is responsible for corsages and boutonnieres for immediate members of both families, the lodging of the groom's attendants (if you have offered to help pay for this expense), and sometimes the costs of the rehearsal dinner.
Traditionally, the bride's family pays for the wedding, but that custom is rapidly changing. Couples are increasingly choosing to handle at least half of the wedding expenses on their own. Early planning and a written budget can help avoid miscommunication when deciding who pays for what.
Traditionally, the bride's family foots the majority of the bill, but that's not stopping modern couples from spending their own savings to have the wedding they want.
According to tradition, the bride and her family should cover the majority of expenses including the bride's dress, venue hire, cake, decorations and other services, while the groom's main responsibilities are to pay for the engagement ring, honeymoon and the flowers for the bride.
The bride's family often pays for the majority of the wedding, including the ceremony, reception, and any other associated costs. In contrast, the groom's side of the family is expected to pay for the wedding's rehearsal dinner and honeymoon.
Not only does the bride's family pay for the wedding day outfit and accessories (veil, shoes, jewelry and more), but they're also responsible for the bride's wardrobe for all of the pre-wedding events (the shower, bach party, rehearsal dinner and honeymoon).
According to the WeddingWire Newlywed Report, parents pay for 52% of wedding expenses, while the couple pays for 47% (the remaining 1% is paid for by other loved ones)—so parents are still paying for a majority of the wedding, though couples are chipping in fairly significantly.
Of course, it would be amazing to give your daughter thousands and thousands of dollars as a wedding gift, but not at the risk of making your own financial situation dire. Depending on their relationship with the bride, wedding guests typically give between $50 – $150 when making a monetary gift.
Splitting wedding costs equally between the couple and their families is becoming more common across the board: The Knot 2021 Real Weddings Study found that couples pay approximately 49% of their wedding costs, with their families covering the rest at 51%.
The bride's side of the family traditionally pays for the bride's wedding dress and the bridesmaids' dresses. Increasingly, however, bridesmaids are paying for their own dresses.
The average Australian wedding costs $36,000. According to a Moneysmart survey, 82% of couples dipped into their savings to pay for their wedding. 60% of surveyed couples got a loan and 18% used their credit card.
Who Typically Pays for the Honeymoon? The person who pays for the honeymoon traditionally is the groom (or groom's family), since the bride's family traditionally pays for the wedding.
The mother of the bride plays the role of hostess, meaning you should spend some time greeting guests during the reception. Although there are exceptions, other wedding-day duties may include sitting at the parents' table and dancing with the father of the bride to help warm up the dance floor.
A ring dish or jewelry box is a great wedding day gift. Many ring dishes and jewelry boxes can also be personalized with the bride's new name and wedding date to make it a keepsake she will never forget. If you want to give a really generous gift, you could gift a piece of jewelry with the ring dish or jewelry box.
There's no hard-and-fast answer to this question. “The average gift that people give for a wedding is around $100, and that stays consistent whether they're giving a physical product or a cash gift,” says Emily Forrest, director of communications for Zola, a wedding registry website.
The average wedding gift amount hovers right around $100, which is a great place to start, and you can increase or decrease that based on how close you are. If you're very close or related to the couple (and have the wiggle room in your budget), you may choose to spend more—about $150 per guest (or $200 from a couple).
The groom's family is responsible for paying for whatever item the groomsmen get. The groom's family is also technically responsible for paying for the groomsmen's lodging, whether it's a hotel or Airbnb. This is another cost that has been passed on to the groomsmen in more modern weddings.
Traditionally, the groom's mother will take care of the rehearsal dinner arrangements and help prepare the guest list for the groom's side of the family. Both tasks should be done with both the bride and the groom's input. Any other responsibilities can be negotiated among the families.
While in some families and cultures, the parents do give a tangible gift to the bridal couple, other families and cultures feel the wedding itself is enough. This means it is completely your choice.
Traditionally speaking, though, the bride's family pays for the bulk of the wedding—venue, reception, photographer, flowers, etc. As such, the mother of the bride is typically more 'in charge' of these things (along with the bride, of course) than the mother of the groom is.
Do I Have to Follow Tradition? Traditionally, it is the responsibility of the bride's family – specifically, her mother and father – to pay for most of the wedding. It's not clear exactly how this tradition started, but it's thought to have evolved from the practice of the bride's family paying a dowry to the husband.
Parents of the bride and groom collectively contribute about $19,000 to the wedding, or about two-thirds of the total cost, according to WeddingWire. The bride's parents give an average of $12,000, and the groom's, $7,000. Just 1 in 10 couples pays for the wedding entirely on their own, according to TheKnot.com.