Wedding Invitation Etiquette - Who's Going to Pay For That?

As you begin planning your wedding and the expenses begin to add up, you might begin to wonder who is going to pay for what. There is no need to worry. Unless you and your husband to be want to pay for the entire wedding yourselves, there is wedding etiquette that dictates how financial responsibility should be divided between the couple and their families.

Typically, the bride's family pays for the wedding ceremony according to wedding etiquette. This responsibility includes items for the wedding and activities that occur during the wedding ceremony. The bride's gown, the reception flowers, announcements, pictures, invitations, favors, limousine service and the fees for the venue will all be the responsibility of the parents. The parents need to cover the expenses they will have as far as clothing, lodging and travel if necessary.

Wedding etiquette leaves the groom's family to pay for other things. The groom's family is usually responsible for paying for the rehearsal dinner. They would pay for the rehearsal dinner invitations, flowers, entertainment, the fees for use of the venue and a wedding gift for the bride and groom. As far as the reception, the groom's parent's only pay for the groom's cake.

The bride and groom pay for some things as well. The bride pays for her groom's wedding ring if he will be wearing one. The majority of the time, she will choose a wedding band that matches the wedding set that she has. She should also buy gifts for the attendants. The bride pays if she gets her hair professionally done along with any beauty and skin treatments. If the bride's attendants are traveling from far away that need assistance paying for their lodging, it is proper that she help with the expense. However, the attendant is still responsible for paying their own traveling expenses. If the bride is going to have a luncheon for her bridesmaids, she should pay for it.

The groom is responsible for paying for the wedding set of his bride and a gift. The groom also typically pays for the honeymoon and the marriage license if you are using proper wedding etiquette. The groom may also pay for such things like the boutonnieres for his attendants, the bouquet for his bride, gifts, and corsages for mothers and grandmothers. He will also pay for the one who will be performing the ceremony and his own clothing.

The attendants are responsible for their own clothes for the wedding as well as their own travel expenses. Bridesmaids should buy a present for the bride and they may want to host a bridal shower or bachelorette party. The male attendants should buy a present for the groom and pay for the bachelor party.

Even with these etiquette rules, the world is always changing and there are a lot of times that these roles change depending on the needs of the individual people and couple. A couple may want to pay for their own wedding. The couple may want to ask their families to pay one third of the wedding expenses. This way no etiquette rules are broken. It should be noted that the parents will be entitled to invite one third of the guests if they are paying for one third of the wedding.

However expenses are divided, your wedding budget should be realistic and reasonable so that the marriage can start off without a lot of debt. If you desire a big and elaborate wedding that you realistically cannot afford, you should try to find cheaper solutions that will make your wedding still turn out nice. Do not expect parents of the bride and groom to spend a lot of money if they cannot afford it. Follow the etiquette that is best suited for who can pay for what expenses for your wedding.