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Diamond Education
- Diamond Buying Guide
- Diamond Cut
- Diamond Cut Types
- Ideal Cut Diamonds
- Hearts and Arrows Diamonds
- What is Diamond Depth
- Diamond Table
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- Rose Cut Diamonds
- What Is The Most Expensive Diamond Cut?
- What Are Step Cut Diamonds?
- Diamond Bow Ties
- How Are Diamonds Cut
- Diamond Brilliance
- Spread Diamonds
- Diamond Fire
- Crushed Ice Diamonds
- Diamond Carat
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- IF Diamonds
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- Diamond Inclusions Guide
- Flawless vs Internally Flawless
- Which Diamond Clarity Is Best?
- VS2 vs VS1: Diamond Clarity Comparison
- VVS2 vs VVS1: Diamond Clarity Comparison
- SI2 vs SI1: Diamond Clarity Comparison
- SI1 vs VS2: Diamond Clarity Comparison
- VS1 vs VVS2: Diamond Clarity Comparison
- Accent Diamond Clarity
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- Diamond Shape
- Lab Diamond Shape
- Asscher
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- Which Diamond Cut Is Best?
- Round vs Princess Diamond Cut
- Round vs Cushion Diamond Cut
- Cushion vs Princess Diamonds
- Cushion vs Oval Cut Diamonds
- Emerald vs Asscher Cut Diamond
- Princess vs Marquis Diamonds
- Princess vs Radiant Cut Diamonds
- Cushion vs Asscher Cut Diamonds
- Emerald vs Radiant Cut Diamonds
- Oval vs Marquise Cut Diamonds
- Oval vs Pear Cut Diamonds
- Pear vs Marquise Cut Diamonds
- Emerald vs Cushion Cut Diamonds
- Elongated Cushion Cut Diamonds
- Diamond Certification
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- Diamond Size Chart Carat & MM
- Natural vs Synthetic Diamonds
- History Of Lab Grown Diamonds
- How Diamonds Are Formed
- Diamond 4 C's
- Fancy Colored Diamonds
- Engraved Rings
- NY Diamond District
Engagement Ring Education
- How To Buy Engagement Rings
- Affordable Engagement Rings
- Cost of a One Carat Diamond
- How To Buy A Lab Diamond Ring
- How to Buy An Engagement Ring In a Time Crunch
- How to Choose An Engagement Ring
- How to Pick Your Engagement Ring Budget
- Engagement Rings For Second Marriage
- Best Time to Buy An Engagement Ring
- How to Buy An Engagement Ring As a Couple
- Everything You Need to Know About Dainty Engagement Rings
- Future Mother In Law's Guide to Engagement Ring Shopping
- Engagement Ring Financing
- Why You Need an Engagement Ring Appraisal
- Best Round Cut Engagement Rings
- Best Square Cut Engagement Ring
- Top Teardrop Engagement Rings
- Best Asscher Cut Engagement Rings
- Best Oval Cut Engagement Rings
- Best Radiant Cut Engagement Rings
- Best Marquise Cut Engagement Rings
- Twisting Rings
- Best Emerald Cut Engagement Rings
- Best Cushion Cut Engagement Rings
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- Best Traditional Diamond Engagement Rings
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- Top 10 Square Halo Engagement Rings
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- Black Diamond Engagement Rings
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- Nature Inspired Engagement Ring
- Filigree Rings
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- Best Two Tone Diamond Engagement Rings
- Victorian Style Engagement Rings
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- Past Present and Future Rings
- Most Expensive Celebrity Engagement Rings
- Noteworthy Celebrity Engagements (and Rings) of 2017
- Thin Engagement Rings
- Pretty Style Engagement Rings
- Double Band Engagement Rings
- 1 Carat Diamond Ring
- Top Princess Cut Halo Engagement Rings
- Top Cushion Cut Halo Engagement Rings
- Top Women's Rose Gold Engagement Rings
- Top Round Halo Engagement Rings
- Top Sapphire and Diamond Engagement Rings
- Top East West Engagement Rings
- Top Pave Engagement Rings
- Top Split Shank Halo Engagement Rings
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- Rose Gold Pear Shaped Engagement Rings
- Top Yellow Gold Pear Shaped Engagement Rings
- Top Oval Halo Engagement Rings
- Top Cushion Halo Engagement Rings
- Top Yellow Gold Engagement Rings
- Top Marquise Halo Engagement Rings
- Top Yellow Gold Cushion Cut Engagement Rings
- Top Emerald Cut Three Stone Engagement Rings
- Top Bypass Engagement Rings
- Top Rose Gold Cushion Cut Engagement Rings
- Top Rose Gold Oval Engagement Rings
- Top Emerald Cut Halo Engagement Rings
- Top Yellow Gold Oval Engagement Rings
- Top Rose Gold Emerald Cut Engagement Rings
- Top Oval Three Stone Engagement Rings
- Top Floating Diamond Engagement Rings
- Top Cushion Cut Three Stone Engagement Rings
- Top Princess Cut Three Stone Engagement Rings
- Top Simple Engagement Rings
- Vintage Style Engagement Rings
- Types of Accent Diamonds
- Everything You Need to Know Before Setting Diamonds
- Engagement Ring Prong Guide
- All About Ring Resizing
- Identifying Your Ring After A Repair
- Everything You Need to Know About Milgrain
- Everything You Need to Know About Wide Band Engagement Rings
- Eternity Rings vs Infinity Rings
- When To Propose
- What Are Baguette Diamond Engagement Rings
- What to Say When You Propose
- What Are the Groom's Parents Responsible For?
Gemstone Education
Jewelry Education
Metal Education


In a Wedding, What Are the Groom's Parents Responsible For?
Part of what makes weddings so thrilling is their fulfillment of timeless tradition — the magical heart-skip that comes with a proposal, the giddy bestowal of the engagement ring, generations gathering to celebrate the beginning of a new life together, the symbolic adventure of the honeymoon.
But in the modern lead-up to matrimony, some traditions were made to be broken. And more and more couples are gleefully smashing them. A biggie: What the groom's parents are responsible for in the wedding. (Largely meaning, what they're expected to pay for.)
What tradition used to be
As you've seen and heard — via decades of pop culture, and undoubtedly a little "affectionate" grumbling from the parents of female relatives and friends — tradition once dictated that the parents of the bride were responsible for the day-of costs of the wedding. That included the dress and the reception (e.g. the hall, entertainment and meals for the guests — no small expense).
By turn, the groom and his parents were responsible for the cost of the engagement and wedding rings — also no tiny pile of cash. And for generations, the "two-month rule" was set in stone.
The 'two-month rule'
As late as the tail end of Gen X, it was pretty much gospel that men were expected to spend two or three months' salary on an engagement ring. For example, if you took home $4,000 a month, you were to spend $8,000 to $12,000 on an engagement ring. Read more about how much engagement rings should cost, and why the old guidelines are outdated, here.

How things are different today
Well, what do you know — times have changed! Expectations have shifted in terms of what the groom's parents are responsible for in the wedding. And although it would be awesome to chalk that up to mainstream culture's increasing embrace of equitable gender roles ... unfortunately, that isn't entirely the case.
A large part of the story: It's a lot more expensive to be a newly engaged adult than in previous generations. Tuition and health-insurance costs have skyrocketed, student loan debt is out of control, and wages have nowhere near kept pace with the cost of living and inflation.
Back in your grandfather's day, you could work a part-time job and still afford to pay rent on a one-bedroom New York City apartment; college tuition cost 75 percent to 90 percent less than it does now at the best universities; health-care costs were a fraction of today's; and the biggest "experiences" you planned for as a couple were the reception and kids.
It's also way more expensive to be parents today: Our folks are living longer and have to sock away a lot more money for retirement and health care — often while paying off some of those massive tuition and student-loan bills.
So partly out of economic reality, the old rules have gone out the window. Couples have gotten a lot more flexible about who's responsible for what in the wedding, including how much they spend and how much their parents are expected to contribute. Today, many couples prioritize experiences over things. They may, for example, want to invest a few months' salary on the memories created on an extended honeymoon instead of tacking that onto the bill for rings or a reception. (That's partly why you're smart to choose With Clarity — we can save you over rings purchased in brick-and-mortar jewelry stores.)
So what are the groom’s parents responsible for these days?
Whatever is right for your soon-to-be family and situation! Today, brides and grooms are picking out rings together. Some brides are even shopping for their own rings or proposing to their future husbands. So there's no need for those old traditions to hold. Just as you should choose a ring based on your personal style and taste, who pays for what in your wedding should be determined by your shared priorities, values and economic reality.
Old rules never guaranteed a couple's happiness, or the duration of their union. Open communication, honesty and a willingness to share have always gone much further toward those goals. When it comes to the costs associated with a wedding, society is finally catching up. Spread the word.