Money, money, money

The one thing that’s likely to cause all the rows with your Son or Daughter in the early days will be your monetary contribution.  The best tip here is to give them a set figure up front of what you’re willing to contribute towards the day and then at least they know the boundaries.  This stops you from having an endless chequebook and it also makes them take responsibility and think whether they do actually want that ice sculpture.  Below is a very rough guide to what you can expect to pay, this varies massively by region, by type of venue, number of guests etc but it will give you a steer in terms of which bits you are prepared to pay for.

Bride’s parents

The brides parents originally were expected to pay for most of the wedding, but times have changed and you may not want to pay for all this or you may want to pay for more.  One thing to remember is that if you are contributing to the costs considerably you should expect to have a say if Auntie Elaine is coming, if you’re not contributing you may have to bite your tongue when it comes to the invitee list.
These days parents of the bride more commonly pay for the reception costs, invitations, church/registrar fees, cars and flowers.