Who Pays for the Flowers at a Wedding?

From the dazzling roses that crown your wedding arch to the flower petals scattered down the aisle, all the flowers at your wedding work together to create a blooming garden of romance. But romance can be expensive. So, who’s actually footing the bill here?

The topic of who pays for what at a wedding can be touchy. Every culture has different traditions and expectations — and every family has a unique dynamic and financial situation that could affect the budget breakdown. But working out wedding finances doesn’t have to be complicated.

To give you an idea of how many couples traditionally divide expenses, read on to discover our guide on who pays for the flowers at a wedding.

Who traditionally pays for a wedding?

Traditionally, the bride's family was expected to cover the majority of wedding expenses. But today, that expectation is a lot more flexible. (After all your wedding might involve two brides.) In fact, more and more couples today are choosing to pay for their ceremonies by themselves.

According to a 2022 survey from The Knot, 49% of couples prefer to pay for their weddings on their own, while 51% get help from their families — a near-even split. So, as with every other aspect of wedding planning, you can pick and choose which traditions you’d like to honor and where you’ll forge your own path.

For example: Maybe you and your partner want to pay for the expenses ceremony yourself, while your parents cover the reception. Or, maybe you’d prefer to break it down into categories, like footing the bill for the venue yourself while your parents pay for flowers and decorations. It totally depends on your unique situation!

A Wedding Budget Expense Breakdown

As you can see, there are near-limitless possibilities for splitting wedding expenses. But if your parents want to pitch in for your wedding day, it’s still helpful to know the traditions so you can have a good starting point.

Here’s a breakdown of the elements that a bride and groom’s family often cover at a wedding.

What does the bride’s family pay for?

The wedding ceremony

Like we said before, the bride’s family traditionally covers the bulk of expenses associated with the wedding ceremony — including renting a venue and purchasing flowers and decorations. They also typically cover any indirect expenses associated with planning and hosting a ceremony, such as a photographer or videographer.

Bridalwear

All eyes will be on the bride when she glides down the aisle in her stunning white gown. The bride’s family will typically pay for her wedding dress and accessories like a veil. However, those accessories don’t necessarily include the bridal bouquet. (More on that in a sec!)

The bride’s family may also sometimes cover bridesmaid dresses. But at many modern weddings, bridesmaids pay for their own outfits.

The Reception

The bride’s family also typically pays for a wedding reception's expenses — like venue rental, catering, and a cake. They may not cover every expense associated with the reception, though, like entertainment or alcohol.

Miscellaneous expenses

Often, the bride’s family will typically cover miscellaneous expenses at a wedding, including:

• Invitations
• A wedding planner
• Transportations or hotel rooms for bridesmaids
  
• A photographer/videographer
  

What do the groom’s parents pay for?

Rehearsal dinner

Your rehearsal dinner gives you the opportunity to do a practice version of your wedding ceremony. And, more importantly, a chance to celebrate with your bridal party and other close friends and family members. It’s like a trial run of your wedding day!

The groom’s family usually covers the expenses associated with the rehearsal dinner, like food, a cake, and any decorations.

Groom and Groomsmen attire

Grooms and their closest guys also deserve to look sharp. The groom’s parents will typically pay for a new suit or a rental for the groom, but groomsmen might cover their own attire. The groom’s parents also typically cover accessories for both grooms and groomsmen, like boutonnieres.

Reception entertainment

The bride’s family might pay for the wedding reception — but the groom’s family makes it a party. The groom’s family may traditionally pay for entertainment, like a live band or DJ. They might also pay for alcohol if that isn’t included in the venue rental fee.

Miscellaneous expenses

Miscellaneous expenses that the groom’s family often pays for include an officiant’s fees and transportation and accommodation for groomsmen. Sometimes, the groom’s family might even pay for the honeymoon. But again: many couples might choose to pay for their first official getaway themselves.

Who Pays for Wedding Flowers?

As you can see, traditional expenses are fairly well-dispersed between the bride and groom’s parents. So, where do flowers come into play on the budget here? Depends on where they’re featured during your wedding day.

Rehearsal Dinner Flowers

A well-placed centerpiece or garland can help set the tone for your rehearsal dinner and make it feel elevated — like a taste of what’s to come at your wedding reception.

Since the groom’s family traditionally pays for expenses associated with the rehearsal dinner, any centerpieces used here would fall under their jurisdiction.

Bridal Flowers

You might technically consider the bridal bouquet as a part of the bride’s wedding attire. But actually, the groom’s family traditionally pays for this essential floral arrangement. They also typically pay for boutonnieres worn by grooms or groomsmen and corsages for special guests.

Wedding Ceremony Flowers

All-important decorations like entryway decor, arch flowers, and aisle or chair decor set the atmosphere at your wedding. Since the bride’s family handles everything associated with the ceremony, they traditionally pay for these essential floral arrangements.

Wedding Reception Flowers

While you eat, drink, and make merry at your reception, centerpieces, garlands, and floral swags will help carry your wedding theme throughout the celebration. Once again: This is the family of the bride’s domain.

How Much Do Wedding Flowers Usually Cost?

The average couple typically spends around $2,400 total on wedding flowers. But don’t sweat it if that’s not doable for you. There are a ton of ways to save money on your wedding floral arrangements — and they can still look fabulous.

We’ve already covered How to save money on your wedding flowers on the blog. But here’s a quick cheat sheet for you:

• Choose Artificial Flowers: Faux flowers can be far more affordable than real flowers and look just as stunning. Plus, they never wilt, so you can reuse them as home decor afterward!
• Let Your DIY Skills Shine: Instead of paying a florist, you can save money by creating customized floral arrangements yourself. Plus, you can customize every design to be exactly the way you want!
• Reuse Floral Arrangements: Instead of purchasing new floral arrangements for your ceremony and reception, why not repurpose existing ones? Use free-standing aisle flowers to frame the base of your sweetheart table, or place bridesmaid bouquets in vases and use them as table centerpieces.

Just a quick heads-up: Here at Ling’s Moment, we can help you plan your dream wedding day with wilt-free artificial flowers in designer wedding color palettes. Whether you’d prefer ready-to-display premade arrangements or want to test out your creativity with DIY flower boxes, you can bring your wedding vision to life, no matter your budget. Just saying.

How to Create a Budget for Your Wedding Flowers

Need an estimate of how much you can expect to spend on your wedding flowers? Check out our wedding flower budget calculator!

All you have to do is input the number of each type of floral arrangement you want — like bouquets, aisle flowers, and garlands or centerpieces. The calculator will automatically give you a budget range, showing how much you can expect to spend in total. From there, you can show the number to your family or set aside funds from your own wedding piggy bank to start planning for your special day.

You could also make two different sets of budgets to show to different sides of the family. For example, you could create one budget for bridal flowers, then a second one for ceremony and reception decor. You can send the results to your email. So, all you have to do is forward the right one to your parents or future in-laws. It’s super easy to customize!

Conclusion

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But whether you end up footing the bill for all your wedding floral arrangements yourself or getting help from your family, you don’t need to file a second mortgage to pay for wedding flowers. With a little help from Ling’s, you can start building your budget-friendly wedding day that includes all the lifelike designer flowers you want.