Modern Wedding Budget Split

Thankfully for the bride’s family, these traditions are not as common as they once were. In fact, it’s now the norm for the bride and groom to pay for their own wedding and everything that comes along with it. There are a few reasons for this, but the main one being that most couples now get married later in life. This means that couples already live together (so don’t need to save their money to start their new life together) and have well-established careers with secure finances so they can afford their own wedding.

Plus, since marriage is supposed to represent the start of a new life together as a couple, most people want to seek independence from their respective families and wouldn’t want to rely on finances from their families.

Couples that are going into their second (or more) wedding, are more likely to pay for their own wedding too, especially if their parents had contributed to their first wedding already.

With the vast options available to couples who are planning their wedding, it’s common for couples to have more of a specific vision for their wedding. Back in the 19th century, the parents of the bride’s family would plan the wedding, which makes sense as to why they’d be the ones footing the bill. Nowadays, couples want their wedding days to reflect their own personalities and will have priorities of what they want to splash on or save on, which may encourage them to pay for their own wedding day.

Another reason why these ‘traditions’ aren’t so popular anymore, is because gay marriage has since been legalised and these heteronormative traditions simply don’t apply to those couples.

In modern times, couples and families often collaborate on planning and budgeting, and may even crowd-fund the wedding. For example, couples may include a honeymoon fund in their registry for guests to contribute to as an alternative to wedding gifts. When approaching the wedding budget never assume your parents will be paying for certain things and don’t ask unless they offer. Some parents may wish to surprise you by paying for an element of the wedding as their gift to you.

Who Pays For The Wedding - Should You Be Contributing?

Leah Blundell