We respect your privacy. Fortune Cookies - more. Who Pays for What Working out a budget for your wedding is one of the first things that should be done once the date is set. A formal wedding, of course, will be the most expensive and the informal, the least.
Nothing is set in concrete.
Unlike a decade ago, the lines are no longer so rigidly drawn. The burden of paying for the wedding has shifted in recent years from the shoulders of the father of the bride, to include the groom's family. Also, with many couples marrying later and having money of their own, they are sharing in the expenses. The mother of the groom is often at a loss as to exactly what role she plays in the marriage of her son. This is even more true when she has not participated previously in a wedding for a daughter or other sibling.