You recently got engaged to your favorite person! Congratulations! The first few weeks of your engagement are usually filled with that butterfly feeling 24/7, showing off your ring to friends and family, and celebrating with your partner! But now, the reality that you have to plan your wedding is setting in and you might be wondering where to begin. One of the biggest questions that gets asked by brides is “Who pays for what parts of the wedding?” There are some traditional wedding cost splits, and you’ll learn about those today here on the blog.

Traditionally, the bride’s parents foot most of the bill when it comes to the cost of the wedding. They usually pay for the big ticket items including the venues, wedding dress, and decorations. Here’s a more comprehensive list of what the bride’s family is typically responsible for:

• The wedding dress
• The venue
• The cake
• Invitations
• Decorations
• Florals
• Photographer
• Videographer
• Catering

The groom’s parents take care of the wedding expenses that are a little more… clerical. But actually the most important for getting married! It’s also traditional that the groom’s family pays for the honeymoon. Here’s the list of typical expenses covered by the groom’s family:

• The honeymoon
• The marriage license
• The officiant
• Bride’s bouquet
• Wedding luncheon

Did you know that the bride and groom also have items that they are responsible to cover themselves? Their lists are much shorter, but make total sense.

The Groom pays for:

• The bride’s engagement and wedding bands
• His own wedding attire (suit or tux)
• Gifts for his groomsmen

The Bride pays for:

• The groom’s wedding band
• Gifts for her bridesmaids
• Her own hair and makeup

Traditionally, the wedding party (bridesmaids and groomsmen) cover their own costs for being a part of the wedding. The bride will often give them some options for dress styles and colors, and where to go to get suits and ties, but each wedding party member typically pays for their attire on their own.

BUT! It’s important to talk to everyone involved in the wedding planning process, and come up with a plan that will work best for your families. When my husband and I got married, our families basically followed this traditional split, but my husband’s parents also paid for the postage for the invitations and brought in quite a bit of the decorations.

I hope this post helps you out when it comes to starting your wedding planning. Are there any typical costs that you can think of that I didn’t include on the lists? Let me know!