Whether it’s just your parents, you guys alone, or a combination, you’ll want to know all the pros and cons who pays for the wedding. These days, the cost of a wedding makes
your tuition fees back in your university look affordable, I mean your university expenses all together. How are you going to make it happen so you can have the bash you want?
Here’s a rundown of some of ways you can generate funds, plus their pros and cons. Keep in mind that a combination of two or more may be how you end up getting your wedding paid for.
The Parent Pay
Traditionally, the principal fund bearer of a wedding is the bride’s parents but most times because of the enormous expense both parent most times come together.
The Pros:
As far as the parents are ready and able to pay for the wedding, this means you’ll probably be driving a better car, buying a better house and taking better vacations after your wedding than others who are paying in full or partially for their own wedding.
The Cons:
“The person who pays ultimately gets what he or she wants,” LOL. Which means that if you want 250 guests but your parents want 500, you’ll probably end up with way over 500 people at your wedding. Having your parents pay for the wedding doesn’t hurt your wallet, but you have to be willing to compromise on what the wedding will be like. This is a very good deal if you ask me.
Everyone Pays
An effective way of taking care of wedding expenses is for the two of you, the bride’s family, and the groom’s family to split the expenses. It works best, if you simply take the whole cost of the wedding and divide it three ways, For example, the bride’s parents pay for the wedding venue and part of the food expense, then the groom’s parents takes care of the drinks plus extra food and you can take care of other thing like entertainment, photography e.t.c. The key to making this work is all parts willingness to play their assigned roles.
The Pros:
By pooling your resources, you may be able to afford the kind of wedding you want. You also may not have to empty your savings account to get it. What’s more, since everyone is contributing which means everyone gets a say you’re not likely to make one side or the other feel left out.
The Cons:
By accepting money from other people, you do give up some control. But there are always solutions. If you want a DJ but the parents want a band, look for a band that also works with a DJ, who can play during the band’s break or if you want a buffet reception and your parents want a seated dinner, perhaps have food stations but arrange for waiters to serve your parents and their friends at assigned tables.
You Two Pay for Everything
This option isn’t really popular. As most brides and grooms are always in the building stage of their life when getting married but for those that have gone past this stage, I mean those with fat bank accounts, outstanding Christmas bonuses, big company dividend checks, you know those am talking about. These couples are in a good position to foot the entire wedding bill themselves.
The Pros:
Money talks, and as such, you will have total control over all aspects of the wedding. If you want to get married in a bikini on the beach and dance to a reggae band at the reception, you do it. Your mom may think it’s an outrage, but in the end, she-who-does-not-open-her-wallet can’t dictate to you. We see this happen most of the time at celebrity weddings.
The Cons:
You might deplete your savings (and rack up some debt if you take out a loan). You also run the risk of offending your parents if you refuse their financial help. To remedy the situation? You might accept a nominal sum from them, or let them pay for something you don’t have strong opinions about. In any event, don’t shut your parents out of the wedding planning process. Encourage their input, they may even have a good idea or two compromise where you can, and stick to your guns on the things that are really important.
If anything creates problems in planning a wedding, it’s money. To overcome problems, you need to do a lot of communicating with your partner and both families. If you don’t, there will be trouble!!
