Wedding Traditions to Keep or to Toss?!
Planning your wedding day is all about making choices that make everything personal to you! You choose your color palette, your bridal party, and your guest list, but what a lot of my couples don’t realize, is you choose your traditions as well. There are a TON of traditions in the wedding world, but if you don’t want to some (or all of them), you know what you can do? Toss them! Keep this in mind as you read through the below. If you’re not prepared to get rid of everything, check out these ideas for putting a modern spin on some old classics.
Tradition: The bride tosses the bouquet and the groom tosses the garter.
Mix it up: This is one of the most common traditions that my couples get rid of at their reception; half the time garter is just cringe worthy for grandma (or the little ring bearer in the font) and for the bouquet toss your ladies friends might not be single. If you’re dead set on tossing your bouquet, maybe have ALL the ladies at your reception participate. You could also have an all girls dance party or even present a flower to each guest. Wanna mix up those gender roles? Have the groom toss the bouquet and bride throw the garter! BE BOLD.
Tradition: The bride wears a pure white dress.
Mix it up: Maybe you don’t want to wear white, but don’t want to go with something in a completely different color family: try ivory, cream, champagne, or even blush. Hate dresses? Rock a chic pantsuit or jumper (my current obsession right now). Even that doesn’t have to be white, make it whatever color you love!
Tradition: The bride has bridesmaids and the groom has groomsmen.
Mix it up: We say, it’s 2018 and you don’t have to stick to this outdated rule. Maybe you have a best guy friend and want to make him your Man of Honor! Same works for grooms, if there’s a kick-ass female friend in your life, why not include her as a groomswoman? Bridal parties are the best when they include all your favorite people, so don’t feel like you have to exclude someone because of their gender.
Tradition: The bride walks down the aisle with her father, who gives her away at the altar.
Mix it up: First of all, you are not property and if you don’t want “who gives this woman away” making an appearance at your ceremony, cut it. (okay, mini rant over) Aside from that point, there are so many ways to put a spin on walking down the aisle, whether you’re a bride/groom, groom/groom, bride/bride: walk with both parents, step-parents, brothers or sisters, cousins, role models, even walk by yourself, the list goes on, I could seriously keep naming things forever.
Again, don’t feel like you have to use a tradition just because it is a “tradition.” At the same time, don’t feel bad if you DO want to do a tradition. It’s your wedding and if you wanna toss your bouquet, YOU DO IT. Whatever you choose, you’ll be happy that you decided to listen to your inner voice instead of just blindly following those old-fashioned traditions from the past. DO YOU!