Your Wedding: How to Plan and What Does it Mean?

This new series called, Your Wedding: How to Plan and What Does it Mean? will be a series of articles giving you a 'quick reference' to keep handy - what happens first, who is invited to what, and who pays? Follow my blog to have easy access to all of them as they appear.

So, he popped the question and you said, "Yes!" What now?

• Announce Your Engagement
  Engagement season is upon us, and many of you ladies and gents will soon be changing your Facebook statuses from “in a relationship” to “engaged,” thus beginning a whirlwind of parties and planning and wedding wonderfulness.
  
  But first thing first: How do you tell the world that you will be marrying the person of your dreams? Whether it be a digital card, a mailed announcement or a simple social media update, this is a perfect time to show off your personalities and have a little fun - be creative!

• Set Your Budget
  The bulk of many wedding etiquette questions center around financial issues. In past generations, the bride's family paid for the majority of the wedding expenses. The groom's lucky family got off with just the rehearsal dinner, and the groom himself paid for the honeymoon, the bride's rings, and assorted other small expenses.
  
  That was then. Nowadays, with the costs of weddings growing and many couples marrying later when they are more likely to have careers and incomes of their own, more brides and grooms are contributing to, or even picking up entirely, the cost of the wedding. And the parents of many grooms are also contributing more than in the past; a popular option is to have the bride's family, the groom's family, and the couple each contribute one-third.
  
  
  For reference, the following is the traditional breakdown of expenses:
  
  Bride's family pays for:
  
      Engagement party (optional)
      Wedding invitations and other stationery (announcements, thank-you notes, etc.)
      Services of bridal consultant
      Wedding gown and accessories
      Flowers for ceremony and reception sites
      Bouquets for bridesmaids
      Music
      Photography
      Videography
      Ceremony
      Reception
      Bridal party transportation to ceremony
      and reception
      Family's wedding attire
  
  Bride pays for:
  
      The groom's ring
      The bridesmaids' luncheon
      Gifts for the bridesmaids
      Wedding gift for the groom
  
  
  Attendants pay for:
  
      Bachelor and bachelorette parties
      Gifts for the bride and groom
      (can purchase individual gifts or chip in on a group gift)
      Wedding attire and accessories
      Transportation to and from wedding town or city
  
     
  Groom's family pays for:
  
      Engagement party (optional)
      Rehearsal dinner
      Their own wedding attire
  
  Groom pays for:
  
      The bride's rings
      The marriage license
      Officiant's fee
      His formalwear
      Personal flowers: the bride's bouquet, boutonnieres for wedding party, corsages for mothers and grandmothers
      Gifts for the groomsmen
      Wedding gift for the bride
      Gifts for parents
      Honeymoon
      Transportation to the honeymoon

Next time: Guest Lists!