When it comes to drawing up a wedding budget, the hardest part is often figuring out who pays for what. Wedding budgets are a must for those brides- and grooms-to-be who don't have access to unlimited amounts of funding, but even brides and grooms who have received carte blanch from their parents can benefit from creating a wedding budget. After all, why spend more money than you have to!A wedding budget allows you to prioritize so you don't waste money on things that don't matter to you. For example, if you are obsessed with making sure your guests have a beautiful wedding favor to take home but you have never really cared about wedding videography, you're going to want to devote more money to picking out favors. You may even decide not to hire a wedding videographer so you can take that money and apply it to something else, like a high-end wedding caterer or a beautiful wedding gown.
But back to who pays for what. Traditionally, it was the bride's family who paid for everything except for the honeymoon, the engagement ring, and the bride's wedding band. Nowadays, it's up in the air. Sometimes the bride and the groom pay for everything, including the bridesmaid and groomsmen attire. Sometimes the groom's family donates a large chunk of money to the couple. Anything goes when it comes to who pays for what, so don't feel bad if your parents can't foot the whole bill.Here's an overview of who typically pays for what:
The Groom and His Family
- Bride's engagement and wedding rings
- Groom's wedding attire
- Rehearsal dinner
- Marriage license
- Accommodations for out-of-town ushers
- Alcohol at reception
- Wedding gifts for the bride, best man and ushers
- Flowers for the bride's bouquet, corsages for the mothers and grandmothers
- Boutonnieres for ushers, ring bearers and fathers
- Officiant's fee
- Honeymoon and transportation to the honeymoon
The Bride and the Bride's Family
- Wedding consultant's fee
- Invitations, personal notes and mailing expense
- Transportation for the wedding party
- Wedding dress, headpiece and accessories
- Lingerie
- Attendants' bouquets
- Groom's gift
- Guest book
- Cost of the reception
- Cost of the ceremony
- Photography and Videography expense
- Groom's wedding ring
- Favors
- Accommodations for out-of-town bride's attendants
The Bridesmaids
- Wedding attire - Bridesmaid dress, shoes & accessories
- Travel costs
- Shower and wedding gift for the couple
- Shower given by bridesmaids and/or maid of honor
The Groomsmen
- Wedding attire rental
- Wedding gift for the couple
- Travel costs
- Bachelor party given by best man and/or ushers
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