You may have grown up hearing that ‘tradition is tradition’ especially when it comes to weddings and should never be sidelined. The last several years have been anything but traditional as far as the wedding industry is concerned. There has been a rising trend for self-expression (even actualization) and a break from tradition. So, here are 6 wedding traditions you can skip & not feel bad about it.
The last year alone was all about virtual or micro weddings and elopements. If you’re looking to blaze a new trail with your wedding, here are some traditions you can drop or at least change a lot even though your grandma or great-aunt might object.
Control Freak Seating
Planning out every teeny tiny detail of the wedding like a control freak has been something of a tradition for a very long time and seating is part of that. There is an unsaid but usually followed tradition of different sides for the groom and bride’s family and friends and preplanned seating cards. If you want a more chill and comfortable vibe let everyone sit wherever they want and it’s also a reward for people that care enough to come on time!
Skip The Garter & Bouquet Toss
Don’t Toss Anything, Okay
Tossing the garter and tossing the bouquet into a crowd of probably-single girls has been a long-standing tradition but one you can definitely decide against. Maybe you have invited a lot of elderly relatives to your wedding and having your husband remove your garter (from what might be a long ballroom wedding gown) is not the best idea. Not to mention you don’t want to ‘single out’ your single friends with a bouquet tossing. You can however arrange for a few small bouquets as parting gifts when you make your exit!
No Formal Hellos
Receiving lines to greet and say congratulations to the couple are super overrated. You can make the event informal by going around to each table individually and having a first come first save basis for all greetings. Remember to keep it 5 minutes a pop so the rest of the guests aren’t left waiting!
It is more fashionable for the bride and the groom to circulate the venue (and also makes for great candid photos) rather than to keep standing in one place like a 2D image and have a row of people waiting to meet them.
List Of Wedding Traditions You Can Skip
Choose Candid Over Planned
It seems like whole family wedding photos have been a tradition since cameras were invented. Luckily it is one you can skip now in favor of more candid, on-the-spot photographs of the people you love having fun on your wedding day. Great photographers can capture moments of dancing and laughing and those frame great.
Skip The Giant Wedding Cake
Tiered cakes have been a classic wedding expectation for too long. They require tremendous planning, designing, and money to get right and they may even be wasteful. Have you ever seen a finished wedding cake at any wedding you’ve attended? That alone might be a good enough reason to skip the tiered wedding cake, maybe even go for a smaller one-story theme cake or just a simple one without any creepy cake people. Think about it.
Bad Luck – Fooey!
Time to bury the old wives’ tales about it being bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding. You can even have a last date as two betrothed people or schedule a meeting on the morning of the wedding just to calm those cold feet.
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