500 Wedding Ideas - Is it traditional for the brides mother and father to pay for the wedding?

Is it traditional for the brides mother and father to pay for the wedding?

I am looking to get married but unfortunatley me and my partner cant afford it. Should i ask my mum and dad and my partners mum and dad if they can help out cos they have a fair amout of savings?? I am a lonley child and just desperate to marry my man we have been engaged for 4 years.

Public Comments

Usually they pay but this is 2008 and things change !!!
It is traditional for the father of the bride to pay for the wedding. However in modern society it doesn't always turn out that way!
i would ask them to help pay for it, i would ask for help, but yes it is traditional for the father of the bride to pay for his daughters wedding, but u have to remembr they have worked hard for there saving and it will prob be for when they retire, maybe u n ur partner should start saving up money and just ask ur parents to help out eg, pay for ur dress and cermoney and u pay for everythin else, and even if they say they will pay, dont go over the top cuz they worked hard for there money, have a lovely wedding.
Yes it is
Just the father. i really hope you have a LOVELY wedding. CONGRATULATIONS :D i hope it all goes well and your marage (spelt that wrong!) will last a long time,..... hopefully forever :D byeeeeeeee xxxx email back.
Most of the time, if parents approved of the relationship, they will help towards a wedding (if they can afford to.) It is certainly not their responsibility to do so, though. I think you need to look at some budget wedding options...see how much you would need for a venue and then tell your parents how much you love the site but know you can't afford it and see if they offer ideas or financial backing. Otherwise you may just want to do a nice courthouse wedding ceremony...if you want to marry your man and be together forever then how you get married is really not that important.
Yes, it is very traditional for the Bride's parents to pay for the wedding. Sometimes the grooms parents will chip in, but not usually. It is also traditional for the groom's parents to pay for the rehearsal dinner. I've studied up on it. :)
Yes, it's traditional in the UK. However, not everyone keeps to the tradition and many marriages are paid for by both sets of parents or the bride and groom themselves. Getting married isn't expensive, it's all the trappings that traditionally go with a wedding that cost a lot. If you just want the piece of paper to say you're man and wife, marry at a registry office in rented clothes and then have a simple dinner party for immediate family and close friends as the reception. This would cost less than £500.
nope not anymore. now a days it is the responsibility of the bride and groom to pay for their own wedding. and if either set of parents offer to help out, thats great.
Yes it is the tradition, however when I got married (a long time ago now!) we mostly paid for it ourselves, with a bit of help coming from both sides of the family. I would say to both sets of parents that you're struggling, and see what they say. If neither are able or willing to chip in, then just go do it, without all the frills! You don't have to have a grand wedding for it to be a successful one, nor for it to be a happy one, and if you're that intent on getting married, then just do it on the cheap....what matters is you and your fiance, not what other people want, or you think that they want. Congratulations, and I hope you find a way around this. All the very best for the future to both of you x
I think its traditional for the bride's father to pay for the wedding. If your struggling to pay for it then ask them. I'm sure they'd understand and help you out. Good Luck x
The tradition of the bride's parents paying for the wedding follows on from the old 'dowry' tradition whereby the bride's parents paid the groom to take their daughter off their hands. Obviously this is no longer part of the wedding deal but was carried on by paying for the wedding. Now I think most couples pay for their own wedding with both sets of parents helping out where possible, depending on their ability. I am sure most parents would do their best to ensure that their children's wedding went off as well as possible. However if you do not get on with your parents, as you seem to imply in your question remember that they have no obligation to help.
Dont ask your parents it is an archaic and out of date tradition. Weddings these days are outrageously expensive. Most couples these days pay for themselves, dont put your parents in an ackward position by requesting this from them.
it was traditional at one time for the father to pay for the wedding, but not anymore. the way marriages are so short lived nowadays he could end up paying for a couple of weddings. im sure without asking they will help out. can you not get married like my brother did, with himself the bride, and the bestman and bridesmaid. they are married just as good as the the bride and groom that have big lavish weddings. good luck
most of it. i think it should be budget wedding considering the situation at the moment with the world
It use to be the tradition. But that's not the norm now a days. Most of the time it's the bride and groom paying. Sometimes with financial contributions from the brides and grooms parents. good luck. :)
It's tradition for the parent's of the bride to pay for the wedding and the groom's parents to pay for the rehearsal dinner. Just because it's tradition it shouldn't be expected. Talk to your parents and ask them if they would be willing to help w/ any/all of the cost.
That "tradition" has gone right out the window. You & your fiance need to work, save, and have a wedding you can afford. If you want something lavish and can't afford it then scale back. You could easily get married for a little bit of money - pay for the license & go to the courthouse or a justice of the peace.
Well it is tradition over here in Ireland, but having said that I know a lot of couples still contribute towards it. If you think your parents can afford it then I would approach them and ask them if they would be willing to help ye out - explain why ye cant go ahead with the marriage - Im sure they'll only be too happy to oblige, although I am surprised they havent offered to help out by now... xx
It used to be tradition for the father of the bride to pay for his daughters wedding, but in this day and age it don't usually happen, people work hard and pay most of it themselves , maybe your parents and his parents could help but don't expect either of them to foot all the bill , they probably worked hard for the saving they have got and its for they future life
What you mean is that you cannot afford the wedding you WANT. I am sure you can afford to go to the courthouse and get a marriage license and be married. If being married is what really matters, the cost of a courthouse wedding is very small. Or, have a cake and punch reception after your church wedding - again, very inexpensive. Tradition dictates that the bride's father pays for her wedding but modern society dictates that people pay for what they can afford and nothing should be expected. Asking for money is rude, plain and simple. If it's not offered, you've got to do it on your own. If it really means so much to you simply to be married, you won't worry about having a huge shin-dig, you'll have what you can comfortably afford. Good luck!
yes it is traditional for the brides parents to pay but you will now often find that parents on both sides want to help out. I think the thing to do would be to sit down with your parents and talk it through- obviously not forgetting that if they do agree to help out then to remember to set a budget and stick to it as far as possible Also don't believe everything magazines say- I got married July 2008 and the total cost of my wedding came to about £2,000 (about $3,157.60) which is good wen the magazines try to tell you that a wedding will cost about £16,000 We did this partially by asking skilled/qualified friends to help with things like making the cake and flower arranging etc and doing this for us as a wedding gift, so the quality of the wedding was just the same in my opinion. All the best and hope every thing goes well for you
The brides father is suppose to pay for the wedding. I suggest you and the groom offer to pay what you can contribute to help with the cost. Yes, ask your mum if they can afford it. And what the budget will be.
Traditionally it is the brides family which pays for most of the wedding, but there are also things which the groom pays for etc. This being 2008 it is usually the bride and groom with a contribution from the family depending on how old the couple are when they marry. A wedding doesn`t have to cost a huge amount though. Mine cost less than £3000 and we had an amazing day.
Traditionally the bride's father pays for the wedding, the groom pays for the flowers and I think the couple pay for photos... traditionally that's the church, dress, cake, glass of wine and sausage rolls at the reception hall - it isn't traditional to have an evening dance, cars, balloons, free bar etc. Ask your parents what their reception was like, carry on tradition by having the same. Getting married costs less than £200, the rest is just for show.
Traditionally the bride's parents pay for it. I see nothing wrong for asking for help, just make sure if you ask for "help" that is exactly what it is.
nowadays financial tradition has gone out the window. my hubby family hardly paid for anything, and their more secure than my family. they paid for my dress and ring, everything else my mum paid for, even the money that we collected on the day ($11000) my in-laws took it and paid for their side of guests. just ask them if they can contribute in any way, and if your wanting a small wedding it shouldn't be to much, slowly slowly get things ready, don't have to many bridesmaids they cost way to much, i had 5 and with their partner it costed over 2500. hope it helps, good luck
The way i see it is if you guys want to get married,and your choosing the dress the cake the venue etc... then you should both save up and pay for it yourselves. however...i think they should offer to help cover some of the costs... but i would'nt ask them to pay for it... who paid for their weddings?
It was tradition but things change, when me and and husband married last year after six years engaged, all our families chipped in to help us out. good luck
It is tradition but in this day and age the people who get married pay for themselves. Personally i think it is rather rude to ask for money. You should never ask. Maybe you could drop hints to the parents and see if they will give you any, It depends if both sets of parents can afford it. If you got engaged 4 years ago why did you not start saving then? you could of had lots of money saved by now, And your parents may have savings but with the credit crunch and the price of living they may be saving for when they retire.
in tradition yes but in this day and age,no lol! but its up to you if want to ask them or not, personally i couldnt ask my parents id feeltoo mean because theyve been such good parents i couldnt ask for n e more but they are helping out with things, as they are insisting, and his parents are helping out too but were paying for the bulk of it, paying bits off month by month,you dont need savings of grands and grands if you save and payt hings off little by little every month you will feel better about it because youve dont it yourself xx