Who Pays for What???

Brides are always asking, "What does the groom's family pay for when it comes to our wedding flowers?" This is a valid question and one that deserves careful consideration!

Traditionally speaking, the bride's family pays for the flower girl and bridesmaids flowers, groom's boutonniere, and all of the flowers for the ceremony and reception. The groom's family pays for the bridal bouquet, additional boutonnieres for the groomsmen, ushers, fathers and grandfathers, and the corsages for the mothers and grandmothers.

But, like I said, that is traditionally speaking. According to wedding etiquette professionals,"who pays for what" is taking a turn. Today, couples are sharing more and more of the expenses and parents of the bride and groom are helping out when and if they can.

As a florist, however, what I see is that most of the time, the bride's family pays for all of the wedding flowers! This can be overwhelming to many of my brides especially when they are expecting 300 guests at the reception and need 30 table centerpieces!!!

My personal opinion is that the groom's family should help take on more of the cost for wedding flowers, especially if the guest list is more than the bride's family originally anticipated. Something that I encourage brides to do is have a rehearsal dinner (which the groom's family traditionally pays for) with floral centerpieces that can also be used the next day at the wedding reception. Both families split the cost of the centerpieces or at least the groom's family becomes responsible for a portion of the expense. This helps lower the cost for the bride tremendously since the majority of the budget is spent on the ceremony flowers and the reception flowers.