Who Pays For What?

Traditionally, the father of the bride pays for the wedding and reception, although it's more often a shared expense with the bride and groom and the groom's family. 

Here are the TRADITIONAL guidelines:

Ceremony: 
Bride and family pay for church, synagogue, sexton, organist, etc.
Groom and family pay for marriage license and officiates fee.

Clothing:
Bride and family pay for bride's dress, veil, accessories, and trousseau (lingerie and honeymoon clothes).
Groom and family pay for groom's outfit.
Attendants pay for their own clothing.

Flowers: 
Bride and family pay for flowers for church (and Huppah if Jewish ceremony), reception, bouquets and corsages for bridesmaids and flower girls. 
Groom and family pay for bride's bouquet, going-away corsage, men's boutonnieres, corsages for mothers and grandmothers.

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Honeymoon: 
Groom and family pay for complete honeymoon.

Photography: 
Bride and family pay for all wedding photos and video.

Pre-Wedding Parties:
Engagement Party: Bride OR groom's family plans and hosts.
Rehearsal Dinner: Groom's family plans and hosts.
Bridesmaid Luncheon: Bride plans and hosts. 
Bachelor's Dinner: Groom hosts and plans.
Bridal Shower: Maid of honor and bridesmaids host shower. 
Bachelor Party: Best man and ushers host bachelor party.

Reception:
Bride and family pay for all professional services, including food, drink, decorations, and music.

Rings: 
Bride and/or her family pay for groom's wedding ring. 
Groom and/or his family pay for both engagement ring and wedding ring for the bride.

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Stationery:
Bride and family pay for invitations, announcements, and wedding programs.

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Transportation: 
Bride and family pay for transportation of bridal party to and from ceremony and reception.

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    A young man excitedly tells his mother he's fallen in love and going to get married. He says, "Just for fun, Ma, I'm going to bring over three women and you try and guess which one I'm going to marry."
    The mother agrees.
    The next day, he brings three beautiful women into the house and sits them down on the couch and they chat for a while. He then says, "Okay, Ma, guess which one I'm going to marry."
    She immediately replies, "The one in the middle."
    "That's amazing, Ma. You're right. How did you know?"
    "I don't like her."

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    A little boy at a wedding looks at his mom and says, "Mommy, why does the girl wear white?"
    His mom replies, "The bride is in white because she's happy and this is the happiest day of her life."
    The boys thinks about this, and then says, "Well then, why is the boy wearing black?"

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    "If you'll make the toast and pour the juice, sweetheart," said the newlywed bride, "breakfast will be ready."
    "Good, what are we having for breakfast," said the new husband.
    "Toast and juice," she replied.

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The newly married man came home from work to find his new bride stretched languorously on the sofa, dressed in a negligee.  "Guess what I got planned for dinner?" she asked seductively. "And don't you dare tell me you had it for lunch today."

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• It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer, and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the "honey month" or what we know today as the "honeymoon." -- Submitted by ARareJewelnLA

• The wedding shower originated with a Dutch maiden who fell in love with an impoverished miller.  Her friends "showered" her and her groom with many gifts so the couple could do without her dowry.

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• Order 10 to 25 additional invitations than what you think you will need in case that you forget someone. It is expensive to reorder additional invitations later.

• Don't forget to arrange for help after the reception.  There will be gifts to load into the car and other last minute things to take care of.

americanBRIDAL.com Garters, Accessories, Something Blue Everything you need for your wedding planning! We have collected the best in wedding planning articles with wedding tips & ideas, wedding themes, a planning checklist, choosing a photographer, selecting music, wedding cake ideas, and much more.  We can help you with bridal shower ideas and shower favors, wedding reception ideas and wedding invitations. Especially for the bride, we have many bridal accessories to match your wedding gown, including evening purses, bridal and bridesmaid jewelry, bridal veils, bridal tiaras and bridal hair pins - all will make you feel truly beautiful on your wedding day. Bride & Bridesmaid Jewelry Unique Wedding Favors Gloves, Bags, Bridal Accessories See our beautiful bridal accessories, wedding accessories, and wedding favors for your reception at really great prices. Free shipping on all orders of $150 or more! www.americanBRIDAL.com

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We had so many good links to other Web sites with wedding, shower and family information that we made a new page:

Wedding - Links

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This page was last updated 03/26/08.