Tradition still dictates the
—- . . _w.
ByTashaE.Keeter
Staff Reporter
No matter how traditional marriage
roles have changed, for many one wed
ding tradition seems to be holding its
place: The bride’s family pays for the
wedding.
About half the weddings in the late
1990s are paid for by the bride’s parents,
including the upcoming wedding of
Demarius George.
George, who lives in Coralville,
Iowa, said she is planning a small wed
ding for spring 1999. Because of its
size, die wedding’s cost is low.
But she wondered whether her par
ents should pay for every wedding cere
mony expense.
“Everything I’ve been reading says
it can go any way,” she said, but her par
ents likely will pay for the wedding.
My parents will probably try to
pick up the hi), since they’ll feel oblig
ated as the bride’s parents,” she said. “I
think it’s an antiquated and silly tradi
tion-unfair, too.”
Many people marry at older ages
than two decades ago, she said. They’re
often financially stable and can afford to
pay for their wedding.
“It’s just ridiculous that, if the par
ents do pay, that all the financial burden
falls on the bride’s parents,” Geoige said.
Minna Kim, of Glenview, IU., said
her parents are paying for ho* upcoming
wedding, which she expects to cost
about $25,000.
“I think my parents expected to pay
for mine because of tradition,” Kim
said.
Her fiance’s parents are also hold
ing to tradition and paying for the
rehearsal dinner. A rehearsal dinner
usually costs around $15 a head
“It can be pricey,” George said.
“The wedding is an insane cost if you do
the whole chapel-dress-tux-reception
thing”
Ann-Elizabeth Kouba, of St.
Joseph, Mo., married in June after grad
uating from the University ofNebraska
Lincoln the previous December.
She and her husband paid for the
Snowplows need extra
room. Stay 100 feet
behind and pass only
with extreme caution.
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tt
I think my parents
expected to pay for
mine because of
tradition
Minna Kim
bride-to-be
majority of the wedding, she said,
including the flowers, cake, pictures and
wedding dress, Her parents paid for die
reception as a wedding gift. She and her
husband chose this arrangement.
‘It was easier, in a way, to pay for it
myself,” Kouba said. “That way, we
could have it whatever (weird) way we
wished without pressure from the peo
ple bolding the purse strings.”
But Kouba’s wedding wasn’t out
landish or extravagant, she said.
Laura Evans of Omaha married in
April and also chose a small wedding.
The ceremony was performed by a jus
tice of die peace and was held in Evans’
parents’ home. Her parents paid the
minimal costs.
When Alicia Weiland of Waterloo
married Jan. 3, she invited 25 guests and
two attendants. Her parents paid for the
minister fee, cake, decorations and
flowers. Weiland paid about $250 for
her dress and accessories, plus the invi
tations and the marriage license.
“My parents wouldn’t have been
able to afford the whole thing... so we
offered to help with some of die costs,”
she said.
Money is often the greatest factor in
wedding planning and deciding who
pays for what
But financial planning didn’t over
shadow the joy of Koubafc wedding, she
said.
“It was almost entirely perfect” she
said. “What wasn’t perfect couldn’t
have been changed or fixed no matter
how much money we spent”
- Scott McClurg/DN
BRIDE AND GROOM Jennifer Wright and Rod Chesnutt pose for their wedding photographs shortly before their
wedding ceremony. Wedding coordinators say coepies should sign written contracts with their photographer
and other wedding service providers.
Mt