Fading Family Traditions Lead to Financial Fight

While it used to be parents of the bride always paid for the bride’s wedding, with the parents of the groom helping out as needed with little things, the tradition of “bride’s parents pay for the wedding,” has been slowly disappearing over the last decade.

Are You Prepared Financially for Your Future?

Cinderella Wedding Dress by spklingdiamond18

Sure, some families that relish in traditional everything still tend to want to keep the traditions going and pay for at least a portion of the weddings.

However, a good majority of parents do not pay for two reasons:

• This isn’t the bride’s first wedding or
• The bride’s parents lack financial means to pay –much more likely in today’s economic climate

Either way, whether it is the bride’s first wedding or her parents simply do not have the financial means with which to pay for the wedding, the fact is that more and more couples are paying for their own weddings of late.

This includes having to pay for their own receptions and honeymoons as well, unless someone pays for them as wedding gifts.

Unfortunately, this leaves them financially strapped for years to come – not a great way to start married life, is it?

Why does this happen?

The problem is not the wedding itself, but rather, paying for the extent of the wedding, the reception and the honeymoon – and the extravagance of them.

This is especially true of Cinderella style weddings, and the fallout of some are causing couples nationwide to divorce.

Not only has this trend left thousands of couples in financial trouble financially, but since finances is the second biggest reason couples have problems, the trend has resulted in a high number of divorces.

What is the Cinderella Wedding Trap?

If you ask a bride to be – any bride to be – what type of wedding she dreamed of having while she was growing up, chances are that she would answer that she wanted the perfect man to marry her in a big fantasy-like Cinderella wedding – and that is the wedding she wants regardless of the consequences.

Cinderella Wedding by canonxsi79

Because the groom often feels obliged to give her the wedding of her dreams, no matter the cost, he relents, overwhelmed with the idea of making her happy.

It isn’t usually until the couple returns from their honeymoon that they realize their joyous occasion has turned their lives into something of a financial nightmare. In today’s economy, the feeling is even worse.

Planning for Your Wedding Finances

This is why it is so important that your plan for your wedding as a couple, and set a budget that is realistic, but big enough to enjoy yourselves. While you can have any wedding you want – even a Cinderella wedding – the last thing you want is to be financially strapped for the rest of your married lives.

Save up ahead of time as long as you can. Ensure that when you put money away, you do so in an interest bearing account of some kind, making sure that you can withdraw when you need to without penalties.

This way, you are helping your financial plans for the future to pay for itself.

If you ensure that you can adequately pay for everything without having to take out a loan, then you can finally get into that beautiful Cinderella in Camo wedding dress and have the wedding of your dreams.

Stay tuned for our next post, in which we'll cover even more wedding tips and info about how to prepare for your dream wedding - until then we wish you a happy, healthy holiday week!