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Irish Wedding News

28/11/2014

Families Now Help To Pay For Weddings

A new survey has revealed that picking up the cost of a wedding no longer falls solely to the father of the bride.

The research, commissioned by Beaverbrooks, found that a number of family members are actually helping to chip in for a couple's big day.

Traditionally, it has been found that the bride's family will pay for the ceremony and reception, but the report discovered that the groom's parents are also keen to contribute financially.

Today, just 18% of the bride's parents are said to pay for the entire wedding, while 81% of weddings are now covered by a combination of family members. For 42% of couples though, they actually foot the bill for their big day themselves.

Of the 2,000 married women who took part in the survey, more than half admitted they never expected their father to pay for their entire wedding, with many couples paying much of it themselves.

However, despite receiving money from various family members, more than one in 10 couples said they still couldn't afford everything they wanted for their wedding.

Of those polled, a quarter claimed that their parents didn't give them enough money, while just under a third (30%) said things had 'cropped up', meaning they had to spend funds elsewhere. Almost one in 10 couples said they received money from their brothers or sisters to go towards their big day, but even with all the additional help, finances proved to be a touchy subject when getting married.

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For example, 14% of brides admitted to falling out with their parents because of wedding costs, with a further one in 10 saying there was 'tension' or 'awkwardness' when it came to money issues.

The arguments also broke out if one set of parents gave more money than the other; and while a third of women said they expected to receive more money from their parents, 29% said they were overwhelmed by their parent's generosity.

Elsewhere, the study by Beaverbrooks found that a significant number of the bride's parents (25%) actually wanted to help pay towards something other than a wedding. Of those, 37% said they would rather contribute towards a deposit on a house, while a third opted for paying for the honeymoon. Almost one in five said they wanted to put money into a trust fund for their future grandchildren.

Interestingly though, one in 20 brides confessed that their parents didn't want to contribute any money – because they weren't "totally on board" with the wedding. Others felt the wedding was too "extravagant".

Anna Blackburn, spokesperson for Beaverbrooks, is quoted as saying: "Weddings can be expensive and it's fairly common for family members of both the bride and groom to contribute.

"The days of the father of the bride paying for everything are becoming increasingly uncommon, not only because it's huge financial burden for him, but also the groom's parents want to play a part too – which is understandable.

"It can take years to save for the wedding of your dreams and many couples do sacrifice other things in order to pull off the best day of their life. Many argue that spending thousands and thousands on one day is unnecessary but for many it's a once in a lifetime opportunity."

(JP)

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"A new survey has revealed that picking up the cost of a wedding no longer falls solely to the father of the bride."