Your next step is to determine your costs for your dream wedding. Traditionally the responsibility for payment for each of the following was accepted as follows.

The Bride’s Family Paid For The:

  • Announcements
  • Invitations
  • Wedding gown
  • Bridesmaids’ party
  • Photography
  • Ceremony site expenses
  • Musical performers at the ceremony and reception
  • Flowers at the ceremony and reception
  • Transportation for the bridal party
  • Total cost of the reception
  • Groom’s wedding ring
  • Gifts for the bridesmaids
  • Hotel accommodations for out-of-town bridesmaids

The Groom’s Family Paid For The:

  • Rehearsal dinner
  • Marriage license
  • Brides engagement ring
  • Brides wedding ring
  • Clergy or other officiant’s fees
  • Brides flowers, boutonnieres for men in the wedding party, corsages for mothers, grandmothers
  • Gifts for the best man and groomsmen
  • Hotel accommodations for out-of-town groomsmen
  • Wedding night accommodations for the bride and groom
  • Limo to airport
  • Honeymoon

Today’s more personalized weddings, however, give the bride and groom freedom to discuss and re-allocate responsibility for the costs. At this point you can bring to the potential financially responsible parties (i.e. parents of the bride and parents of the groom) your plan for the wedding and your thoughts on a division of the expenses. Then you should know your overall wedding budget, and you can search for reception sites that fall within it.

DETERMINE YOUR COSTS FOR THE WEDDING