Wedding etiquette dates from when society had rather more clear-cut views on life than the present time, and who does what and responsibility for the various bills now largely depends on circumstances.

Nowadays, it's not unusual for couples to live together, often in their own mortgaged home, before the wedding and in the circumstances they may feel duty-bound to make a substantial contribution to the costs. This may also be the case if the couple have a much larger income than the bride's parents.

Nevertheless, the bride's parents are still acknowledged as the conventional hosts of the wedding, whether or not they are responsible for the costs of all the main arrangements. These traditionally cover the reception, the cake, the bride's dress, flowers for the church and reception, newspaper announcements, wedding stationery, transport and photography. The bride's parents also pay for the bridesmaids' outfits.

The bridegroom pays for bride's wedding ring and all the fees for the church. These include the banns, licence, marriage certificate, clergyman, choir and bell ringers. The bridegroom also pays for bouquets for bride and her attendants, for both mothers and buttonholes for himself and the best man, the ushers and the fathers, presents for the bride, bridesmaids and best man, transport for himself and the best man to the church and the honeymoon.

The bride's sole financial responsibility rests with buying the wedding ring and a gift for the bridegroom.

The bride's family makes all the arrangements for the ceremony, deciding the guest list, the reception, the cake, cars, photography, flowers and newspaper announcements.

The bride's father has two big moments on the wedding day. He escorts the bride to the church to formally give her away and then at the reception where he makes the first of three speeches. He welcomes the guests and proposes a toast to the future happiness of the married couple.

The bride traditionally chooses her dress, her attendants and decides on their dresses, compiles a list of wedding presents and writes the thank-you letters, signing with both her and her husband's name.

The bridegroom has the responsibility of choosing his best man and the ushers. He also makes the second speech at the reception. He thanks the bride's parents for organising the wedding, says something nice about their daughter and proposes a toast to the bridesmaids.

The best man has an important role throughout the day. His first task is to ensure the bridegroom arrives at the church in good time. He also organises the ushers and looks after the wedding rings and passes them to the clergyman when requested. After the service, he is responsible for ensuring the bridal party and all the guests are transported to the reception.

The best man makes the third speech at the reception. His role is to reply to the bridegroom's speech on behalf of the bridesmaids and read any good luck messages. The best man's speech usually starts with a few jokes and anecdotes about the bridegroom but it's important not to overstep the bounds of good taste. The best man's final task to ensure the bride and groom leave on time for their honeymoon - not forgetting to announce to guests that they are about to leave.