Quote: (01-04-2015 01:12 AM)The Father Wrote:
Not trying to be flip; you're a very accomplished poster. But to answer your and the OP's question: Yes, men pay. This started when couples started marrying older: A 22 yr old won't be able to pay for the wedding and daddy, who is at his peak earning power, will pay. But when the groom is 36 and the bride is 34 and the father of the bride is nearly 70, its not fair to ask the old dude to pay. And since the unwritten rule of all things women is that some man must pay the bill, that leaves the groom.
I take the point regarding marriages involving older people that was historically the case.
Had women paid for their own weddings, this would have been a natural evolution from tradition to modern given that they are apparently so accomplished and older when they marry. But no, the groom has to pay for his bride's financial independence from her father - it creates another compound effect of wealth transfer from the man.