A wedding is a happy occasion, and everyone wants it to be the best possible day in their life. Nowadays there is not really an etiquette to be followed. Most families just want to split up the costs, and couples who marry later will probably have money of their own and will pay their share.

Nevertheless, planning a wedding is not something simple. If your budget is big enough, I’d advice to hire a wedding planner. This person will do everything necessary, and will save you a lot of worries. Because arranging a wedding includes making up lists of guests, sending out invitations, reserving the church, finding a caterer, sometimes planning hotel reservations for out-of-town guests, etc., etc.

If you want to do everything yourself, here are a few clues. Once the date is set, it is important to make up a budget for the wedding. A formal wedding, understandingly, will cost a lot more than an informal occasion.

Make up a scheme and cross the things that you’ve already done. It will make everything much clearer. I’d suggest that a first thing is finding a restaurant or caterer.

As said before, nowadays there are no set rules as to ‘Who pays for what?’, but if you want to, there are some general guidelines that can be followed here.

The couple will choose their wedding rings, and generally pays them out of their own budget. The bride’s family will see to the wedding gown, the gowns for the bridesmaids and their bouquets, the flowers for the church or reception, the invitations to the wedding, the wedding programs, the church or registrar fee.

The groom will pay for the bride’s bouquet.

The mothers of both bride and groom also have their responsibilities. The bride’s mother will mainly see to it that her daughter’s wishes are seen to. She can help to pick out a fitting dress, help to decide the couple on a wedding budget, can organize the guest lists and help to find lodgings for the family that has to come from another place or state.

The groom’s mother has a duty to initiate the contact between the two families after the engagement, perhaps over dinner. She also should be able to give the bride’s mother an exact list of guests and addresses of family members and friends the groom wants to invite.

Remember that a wedding must stay a happy occasion. Make sure that the seating at the dinner tables doesn’t spoil things. Don’t put Aunt Bertha, who like to nag all the time, next to Uncle Berty, who does just the same and will keep on arguing throughout the party.

Respect the other family. If you know that, for instance, most of them are vegetarians, don’t choose dishes with lots of meat in them. Don’t insist on a catholic church wedding if you know that the others are atheists.

Never dress better than the bride – it’s her big day, and you don’t want to be in the limelight.