Wedding etiquette is a tricky business, especially when it comes to dividing money and knowing who should pay for what. Does the happy couple pay for everything? Or do the parents? Perhaps it’s a bit of both?
To layer on more confusion, should your wedding party members pay for their outfits if they get to keep them afterwards? Or should they be factored into the wedding budget?
While there are traditional guidelines, you can take these with a pinch of salt as the average cost of a wedding is around £30,000 — a sum beyond the reach of many people. Therefore, whether you pay for an outfit will depend on your circumstances. So, there is no wrong or way to go about this. You are welcome to spend as little — or as much — as your situation allows.
In this article, we’ll discuss who is traditionally expected to pay for the different dresses in your wedding party — and how the cost divides today.
Who Pays for the Bride’s Dress?
Traditionally, the bride’s parents pay for the bride’s wedding dress, as well as any accessories that come with it, including shoes and jewellery. Today, this is often still the case as it’s a lovely contribution to the wedding.
But so much more goes into the modern bride’s look, including professional hair, make-up and beauty treatments. These are aspects of the wedding the bride (and groom) can pay for themselves.
Who Pays for the Bridesmaid Dress?
It can be difficult to please everyone when it comes to choosing what colour, shape and style of dress you’d like your bridesmaids to wear. But once you’ve done it, you’ll feel a huge sense of relief that you’ve organised a major wedding detail.
As with the bride’s wedding dress, the cost of the bridesmaids’ dresses are traditionally the bride’s parent’s responsibility. Today, however, the bridal couple usually pay. After all, you’ve invited your bridesmaids to be a part of your wedding and you’ve likely decided what dress they will wear.
It’s also becoming increasingly common to ask the bridesmaids to pay for their dress, especially if there are quite a few of them. If this is the case, it’s a great idea to give your bridesmaids some freedom over what they wear as a gesture of goodwill. Perhaps you could pick the colour to match your wedding theme, but you could shop for the dress together? That way, your bridesmaids can potentially re-use their dress for another event if they love it too.
Who Pays for the Flower Girl Dress?
In line with both the bride and bridesmaid dresses, the flower girl’s dress is another item traditionally paid for by the bride’s parents. If that’s not an option, you can pay for this yourself. Or — if the flower girl is young — you can ask her family to contribute. If this is the case, it’s a lovely idea to pay for the little one’s jewellery or a gorgeous bag as a gift to say thank you for being a part of your special day. View our stunning collection of children’s jewellery here for opulent pearls and darling charm bracelets.
Once you’ve decided on who you would like to cover the cost of the dress, you can bring this up at the same time you ask the parents’ permission for their little one to be a flower girl at your wedding. That way, there’s no chance of a misunderstanding.
If you’re looking for the perfect bridesmaid or flower girl dress for your wedding party, take a look at our Top 5 Styles For Children’s Bridesmaid Dresses.