Having started an event planning business earlier this year, I just have to jump in here. Guess what? You are ALL right! Traditionally, it is the responsibility of the bride's family to pay for the wedding gown and the reception. The groom and his family generally...and I emphasize generally... pay for the bride's bouquet, and the rehearsal dinner. Because weddings have become so expensive, those "rules" have changed to include the groom's family sometimes offering to pay for the liquor at the reception, but this is not a hard and fast requirement. Just ask my husband...my daughter's fiance's family offered nothing! These days, the exception it the norm, and expenses can be shared by all parties, or not, depending on the situation. Pretty much anything goes. I always tell my brides and their families to do what they are comfortable with, and not try to spend a fortune they don't have on a spectacle. If you set a budget, then put the money into what is most important to the bride and groom..i.e., photographs for example, then everything else will fall into place. For example, if the bride wants an expensive photographer then maybe she does not need the world's most expensive centerpieces. Everything is relative, and once the bridal couple understands that, the rest is easy.