If you had one who paid for your wedding ?

I watched yet another ‘Royal’ programme the other night, but it was about the Middletons.

It showed the wedding, and said the dress cost £250,000 and it was paid for by the bride’s family.

No mention made of other wedding costs.

My own wedding, 1972, had about 40 guests, my widowed mum paid for the reception, a buffet, about £40 I think. I have the receipt somewhere.

My bridesmaid made her own and my dress.

The taxi was a blue Cortina.

My parents paid for everything initially. My dress was made by a local dressmaker. The bridesmaid, the groom’s sister, made her own dress and her small cousin’s. We had caterers in the church hall and none of the frills that today’s brides want. My sister had got married the previous year, so when my husband’s parents offered my parents a financial contribution, Dad told them what my sister’s wedding had cost and they paid the difference. They had a larger family plus my husband and I had more friends. I have no idea what it all cost but peanuts compared to many of today’s lavish occasions.
When my daughter got married, I paid one third, her Dad paid one third ( we were divorced by then) and the couple paid one third, but the groom’s Dad put money behind the bar.

I'm sure I remember reading that the wedding of Harry and Meghan cost quite a bit more than that of William and Catherine?
I don't think Meghan's parents paid anything towards it.

My father paid for my wedding.

Local registrar both times. And a lovely meal in the evening with the witnesses. It's all we wanted.

but..no pressure from families to be conventional and for some reason as a girl I never dreamed of a "proper" wedding. I didn't get the right girl chip.
And lots of us in the 1970's in my circles didn't get married until children made it needful or indeed financial security.

MartavTaurus

I'm sure I remember reading that the wedding of Harry and Meghan cost quite a bit more than that of William and Catherine?
I don't think Meghan's parents paid anything towards it.

My father paid for my wedding.

Yes it cost more. The analysis I read said it was because of security and inflation. I doubt MM parents were in a position to contribute much if anything. Thank goodness anyway the system of the brides parents paying has gone in most cases. It belongs to another world

My parents. 60 guests, they had a good sized garden so we hired a marquee - I still remember that we said no thanks to the optional pastel lining - an extra £30 as I recall. Had caterers for the food, but my DF had wine trade contacts so he supplied a lot of champagne at cost.
We rejected a caterer who wanted to charge corkage!

Reg office wedding, my dress cost £16 in a local boutique. I had actually made myself one - hand sewn! - but my mother said it looked like an old fashioned nightie. In fact she was right, the shop one was lovely. My maternal GM, bless her, said, ‘You couldn’t have had a prettier dress.’

My Dm, OTOH, said I’d always regret not having a ‘proper’ wedding, in church with a white dress.
I never have - it was a brilliant day.

We paid for my last and final one nearly 19 years ago, it cost £400 or thereabouts, including a buffet lunch for 40 in our local Indian.
Registry office, my dress was from a charity shop, MrJ bought a new tie, the evening was in our local who supplied free champagne and already had a live band booked.
Brilliant day.

We didn’t have a traditional wedding. Just DH, me plus Mum and step-father as witnesses. DH paid for the licence. It was a very cheap wedding!😂

We had two little girls aged 2years and 4 months. The baby was breast fed and would have nothing to do with a bottle so we had to fit the Registry Office and a quick drink after to celebrate into three hours before her next feed was due (we had left them with babysitters).

I never liked being centre of attention or big groups of people (still don’t) so it was perfect and my only regret is that my lovely DH isn’t still with me since death did us part.

We had the tiniest registry office manage, with just my parents, they paid for it, they even got me a car as a surprise to me then we went to my favourite restaurant, my parents arranged for a private room, and when we arrived my best friend was there waiting for us.

We had what was then called a traditional white wedding in 1968.
My father paid for everything except the flowers and gifts for the bridesmaids - DH paid for them.
The only thing I paid for was my going away outfit, an apple green dress and coat.

Husband and I paid for everything. It was just us and half a dozen friends in the register office; BiL took photos in the town park across the road then we adjourned to our "local" for drinks and snacks before my new spouse and I departed by train for a week's honeymoon.
I calculated afterwards that the whole day, including my new suit, shirt and hat, had cost us a few pennies over £50 - an economy wedding even by 1973 standards!

We married in church and I think my husband paid for the fees etc. We had to have a licence because neither of us lived in the parish any more.
My parents paid for the reception, a meal at a local hotel but I had to restrict numbers to 50 which was difficult. My mother had a friend who made and iced the cake (it was very professional) and, of course, in those days there was no evening do afterwards.
I paid for my dress, going away outfit etc, chief bridesmaid and I made the bridesmaid dresses.

We got married on a whim, it was a joyous, funny day and our little boy loved it. I remember wearing a pretty gothy- black outfit & wearing a black beret with a flower from the garden adorning it.
Afterwards we quaffed champagne & ate dainty morsels & laughed and danced with our little boy & close family. No fuss, just a simple, happy day.

Floradora9

I am reading a book about the Royal family and was amazed to read that the Middletons insisted that they paid half of Catherine and William's wedding to the sum of £250,000.
We got married in 1965 I was an only child of a widowed mother who had her own career and she paid for every last thing apart from my dress . I paid for it myself and it cost £26 .
We had 100 guests to a sit down meal and I had two bridesmaids and she paid all their expenses too .
My mum was more than glad to foot the bills but looking back it was a lot . I turned 21 two months before the wedding and she said I would get nothing for thaat which was fair.

Think you read it wrong?
It's widely documented that the wedding dress itself cost 250k ....and kates family paid for that dress privately ...rest of wedding wpuld have cost in the millions

Ilovedogs22

We got married on a whim, it was a joyous, funny day and our little boy loved it. I remember wearing a pretty gothy- black outfit & wearing a black beret with a flower from the garden adorning it.
Afterwards we quaffed champagne & ate dainty morsels & laughed and danced with our little boy & close family. No fuss, just a simple, happy day.

As read above, ditto. I wore a really pretty dress first time that would do great for special work times, the second time a posh frock that I accidentally got for free (mess up in JL order)

Second marriage was kept secret to even close family. MiL laughed and said oooo you naughty people. DiL a little miffed but has recovered given that it didn't last and he was abusive.

I'm more than happy 3rd time round - no more marriages.

I thought I had it good.....but reading these makes me realise just how privileged people are. My sister had the works....all paid for by Mum and Dad and ended in divorce. I came along 14 years later.....and I had to pay for my own. Therefore, I decided to get married in secret. I married for love, not money. I felt the last laugh was on me. My Mum was horrified, or was she secretly relieved that she didn't have to pay anything towards it?

First wedding in 1974, weeks paid for everything ourselves, apart from the cake which was made is a wedding gift by a friend of the family my dress cost £25 from the bargain basement of a wedding shop in Oxford Street. I made my 2 sisters’ dresses, my DH’s sisters were made by a friend of their family. I remember we went to Jersey for our honeymoon and spent our first night in a hotel near Gatwick. We paid £9.00 for the night, which we thought was extortionate!
Second wedding we paid for ourselves, being in our 50’s.

We got married in 1978, when we were young professionals from modest backgrounds living in London. We paid for the whole thing ourselves out of income and I think I was earning under £3000 at the time. I had my own flat bought with a saved up deposit and a mortgage and my DH had a semi, to which we repaired after a hotel reception with our 60 guests. He had a car too, and we paid for our own honeymoon in Morocco. We were so much better off comparatively speaking than young people today.

I paid half, my fiance paid the other half. Registry office, four guests, lovely lunch afterwards, paid for by my husband.

We had a small wedding in my native Mauritius, paid for by my parents. As I was the only one of their three daughters to marry there, there was great excitement and a lot of the expense was donated in kind; flowers, cake, marquee, etc. it was a joyous event!

My husband and I paid the wedding ourselves.

Since the 1970s, very few parents in Denmark would even consider paying a daughter's wedding, although they might help the couple financially.

Here most people who marry do so in their late twenties or early thirties often after having lived together for a couple of years, and nearly always when they both have well-paid jobs.

First marriage my parents paid but then I didn't know 2/3rds of the people attending

2nd marriage we paid for everything - 22 family flown to Cyprus for a week hotel, flights, meals, and we had the best time with all our kids and grandkids - we threw a huge party the following month at home (very large garden) for friends and family which was really fun - hired Greek caterers, magician, children's entertainer and flew our wedding singer over from Cyprus - it was brilliant! In total we spent probably a little more than exclusive use of a hotel for a day but had so much fun

I married in 1992 and my parents paid for the wedding car, photos, bouquets and buttonholes and the dinner for 50-60 guests. I didn't have an evening buffet or any more evening guests and the wedding party just carried on at the small country house hotel we had the meal at. I bought my dress and my bridesmaid's dress in the Laura Ashley sale in Cambridge. I also paid for the cake which was made by someone who I met on at evening class. So compared with some modern weddings it was very, very low key. No hen night and no honeymoon as we drove the 300 miles plus home to Hertfordshire the following day and were back at work two days later. It was a lovely day and I would have hated all the fuss of a big wedding. I told my Mum I was getting married in the Easter School holidays at the end of January 1992 and she arranged it all for just three months later.
My son's wedding six years ago was very small. Only myself, bride's mother and bride's sister plus my other son as best man followed by a bar supper for around 20 after. Dil hates a fuss (though my son would have gone for the full groomzilla if he had had his way!) and the wedding had been brought forward by a year as my Dad was dying and my son wanted his Grandpa to see him get married. As it was Dad was too poorly to attend but the happy couple went to see him straight after the ceremony. So a happy day but a wee bit sad as Dad was so ill and my husband had died very unexpectedly only the year before in his early fifties.

my sister in law married us, not in the church but in the vestry, it was a hurried wedding as my partner of 11 years was ill and it came about because a sister at the hospital said.....you are not his wife, it has nothing to do with you, i went outside and called the local registry office and booked it for 3 weeks later, my sil stepped in and said she would do it and we had a buffet at the manse where her and my mil stayed, we got all the food, i just wore clothes that i had, i have never wanted a big white wedding, this was my second time getting married, the first time we just went to the registary office and asked two people of the street to be a witness, then took the bus to my mums work and told her, no celebration and no fuss, just the way we both wanted.

My parents paid for most of it but I bought my wedding dress plus my 2 bridesmaids dresses and DH paid the church fees and hire of local hall and honeymoon.

My MIL, who had much more money than my parents, had phoned my dad in the early stages of our wedding plans and said she would pay a portion of the cost, which delighted my 'not very well off' parents but when the estimates of various costings were given to her, she backtracked and refused to pay a penny, citing the fact that they'd paid for her daughter's wedding, some 15 years previously.

Caused a lot of upset and I never really forgave her. I dont know why she offered in the first place, only to rescind.

Still married 38 years later.