It Takes A Village To Pay For A Wedding

The only thing that stresses me out getting married is how much a wedding costs. And apparently, reports The New York Times, paying for the celebration often falls on the bride, the groom, their parents and grandparents.

The Times claims that the average American wedding costs just “north” of $28,000. That’s a lot of money — for a young couple, or parents, or grandparents. Traditionally, it’s the bride’s family who takes care of everything except the rehearsal dinner. But, Abby Ellin writes, a shift toward sharing costs “has been quietly under way for a number of years.” Parents and grandmothers on both sides, as well as aunts, uncles and cousins, are all chipping in.

On the one hand, in this era of economic uncertainty, a family dropping lots of cash on a celebration (one wedding mentioned in the article had a $125,000 budget for flowers) doesn’t make much sense — the couple could probably use a house, or a vacation, or, you know, cash.

But on the other hand, if getting married means making a non-blood-related person part of your family, it’s something you should celebrate with your family. The question is: Does that mean your family should help pay? Part of me says no: Dues are paid in the raising of a child. Once that child is grown, the least she could do is buy those villagers dinner and a cocktail. Of course, the other part of me is broke. Still, I don’t know that asking for financial help for a wedding is classy. (But accepting funds to make the day great? That’s just polite!)