Top Tips for Your Wedding - Who Pays for What?

Everyone is different. Who pays for what may be decided by your heritage, family circumstances, as well as your finances.  History may mean your family is willing to pay a certain budget, or for certain items.  If your sister had so much, you may expect the same.  It's very important to plan your budget right from the start.  This way you don't blow the budget before you have decided each element.


If you really want to follow Australian tradition the following is an excerpt from 'The Penguin Book of Etiquette' by Marion Von Adlerstein.

'The Bride and her family pay for:

• Invitations and postage
• Wedding dress and going-away clothes for the bride
• Dresses for the bride's attendants if the bride has firm ideas about what she wants and they are likely to be costly; otherwise it's reasonable to expect the bridesmaids to pay for their own dresses and accessories
• Flower and music for the church
• Photographic and movie records of the event
• Reception costs
• Wedding ring, if there is on, for the groom

The Groom pays for:

• The marriage licence
• The Wedding ring
• Fees and donations to the church
• Flowers carried by the bridal party
• Buttonholes for himself, best man and ushers
• Wedding cars
• Gifts for bride's and groom's attendants
• The honeymoon

At the end of the day it's your special day, and if you have a special desire you may decide to pay for it yourself. I know at our wedding we didn't follow this list, but it all worked out perfectly.