October 29 2007

Money Matters

Money. It is what makes the world go round and a big stumbling block when it comes to weddings. Setting up a wedding budget is a necessity even for the rich and famous.

When it comes time to pay for a wedding, some people are traditionalists who expect the bride's family to pay for everything and some people are very modern, rationalizing that the bride and groom are already grown-ups that should be able to pay for everything themselves. Whatever your vein of thinking, whether it is traditional or somewhere in-between, here are variations on some rules of thumb when it comes to paying for your dream day.

In days gone by when daughters had dowries, it was the bride's family that was expected to shoulder the majority of the wedding expenses.

In comparison, the groom's family used to get away relatively scot free except for the expenses directly relating to the groom and the requisite gratuities for the officiator and other service providers. The groom's family had only to show up and enjoy the party that was paid for by the bride's father. It was a way that originated when fathers were required to send their daughters off to her new life in style.

Today's modern couples are usually adults who have been living together and have established careers and homes of their own, These couples usually pay for a lot of the wedding themselves, with money contributed by both sets of parents.

Many couples agree to have the bride's family help out with the reception (if not pay for it outright), while contributing or paying for some of the larger expenses like the wedding dress, the flowers and the photographer. In turn, it is the groom's family that is responsible for the entertainment portion of the nuptuals including beverages that will be served, a Disc Jockey or band, and the day's transportation. All the other tiny myriad of incidentals, including decorations, accessories and wedding favors, fall under the responsibility of the bride and groom themselves.

In the end, there is no absolute rule and expectations vary with what the financial situation is of those involved. As with any part of marriage, frank discussions and expectations need to be discussed in the early planning stages of the wedding. As hard as those conversations may be to initiate, once the budget is known and the participants themselves have committed, then the rest of the planning stage can be spent trying to figure out how to stay within budget.

©2007 Weddingstar Inc.