Posts about Wedding Traditions

 
I'm definitely a tradition twister! Traditions are basically things that were a good idea (at the time) so people continue to do them. They aren't rules or laws. Feel free to include, ignore, or change traditional practices to suit yourselves.  Most of these posts address this aspect of wedding traditions.
 

Random thoughts about wedding traditions


Traditions and Your Wedding: Tweak Old Ones and Make New Ones!

Categories: Wedding Ceremony  |   Wedding Traditions   | 
(25/11/2021) 
All traditions were invented by someone for some reason that was good, socially acceptable, or in line with a social norm at the time. So it follows that traditions can be comforting. but they can also be a burden if they've outlived their usefulness or express values that are at odds with your own. In the 21st century, there are good reasons to reexamine traditions that are nearly 200 years old, and tweak them or make new ones ...  More

12 Wedding "Rules" to Kick to the Curb for a Modern Marriage

Categories: | Wedding Ceremony | Wedding Traditions |
(04/09/2020)
Your wedding is a personal occasion, but a personal occasion that lays a critical foundation
for your future together. There are no rules, other than minimal legal requirements. But there are plenty of tyrannical traditions that you can skip with a clear conscience ... More

Weddings are rife with bullying – and its got to stop

Categories:  Wedding Planning | Wedding Traditions |
(22/02/2019)
There are many forms of common wedding bullying and it is not all about the bride bullying the bridesmaids...  More

Proposals and Proposing


Proposal Vows: How to Make your Proposal Unforgettable

Categories:  |  Proposing  |  Vows  |  Wedding Traditions  | 
20/07/2023
Proposing with a pretty speech is not enough. Announcing a new service - I write your Proposal Vows, inclusive of your Proposal Speech.  More ...


5 Good Reasons to Propose Before you Shop for an Engagement Ring

Categories: | Wedding Traditions |
(17/12/2020)
Proposing with a ring is a very new tradition, and like all traditions, not law. Waiting to choose the ring as a couple has lot going for it. ... More

Proposal Do's and Don'ts

Categories: | Wedding Traditions |
(11/02/2020)
Dos and Don't of proposing learned over many years of hearing proposal stories from couples I have married... More

Waiting for a proposal? This post is for the ladies ...

Categories:  Wedding Traditions |
(28/02/2019)
Prime proposal season (Christmas-New Year) and second-most-popular-proposal-day (Valentine's Day) have been and gone. Are you still waiting for that expected proposal? The notion that the gold standard for proposals is the male proposing is not as long-standing a tradition as you might think. A growing number of women are successfully popping the question...  More


Wedding Party


Pairing up your Wedding Party: Who Walks with Who?

Categories: Wedding Ceremony | Wedding Traditions |
(21/01/2021)
How do you pair up your wedding party when you've tossed the idea of a a strict division along
gender lines and your I Do Crew  is made up of your besties with no regard for equal numbers or matchy matchy on gender. ... More

Left or Right? Which Side is Correct for Your Wedding?

Categories: | Wedding Ceremony | Wedding Traditions |
(14/06/2020)
Which side is correct in a wedding depends on what we are talking about - flowers, rings, or seating ... More

How Many Bridesmaids is Just the Right Number?

Categories:  Wedding Ceremony | Wedding Planning | Wedding Traditions |
(13/04/2019)
There is a very fine line between an appropriate number of bridesmaids (and groomsmen) and just too many, and a wide range of factors that come into play when deciding how many is the right number for your wedding ...    More

Wedding Superstitions


Rain On Your Wedding Day - Good Luck or Bad Luck?

Categories: | Wedding Traditions |
(13/02/2020)
Is rain on your wedding day good luck or bad luck? In multiple cultures rain represents fertility, cleansing, and renewal, and, extrapolated from those beliefs, in relation to weddings, unity and tears.... More

The When, Why, How, and Who of the First Look

Categories: |  Wedding Traditions|
(01/12/2019)
The incredibly romantic moment when a couple first locks eyes on their wedding day is a must-have photo opportunity. First look wedding photos have been topping the wedding wish lists for some time now ... More


Wedding Tosses


How to Rock Rose Petals in Your Wedding Ceremony

Categories: Wedding Ceremony  |   Wedding Traditions   | 
(27/11/2021) 
There are many ways to include rose petals in your wedding ceremony that will both surprise and delight your guests because they won't have experienced them before ...  More

Rice, Birdseed, and Weddings

Categories: Wedding Traditions |
(04/02/2018)
Rice, traditionally thrown at weddings,  is rarely seen nowadays because churches, reception venues, and local authorities usually ban the throwing of rice, along with confetti, but replacing it with birdseed is not a good idea... More

Old Wedding Traditions (Made New)


Is it OK for a guest to wear black to a wedding?

Categories:  | Wedding Attire  |  Wedding Traditions |
(01/09/2023)
The belief still persists that it is inappropriate for a (female) guest to wear black to a wedding. But where did this belief come from, and is it still relevant at a time where it is increasingly common for the bridesmaids to be wearing black and some brides wear black too  More ...


Barefoot at Your Wedding - An Ancient Tradition

Categories: | Wedding Ceremony | Wedding Traditions |
(07/08/2020)
Marrying in bare feet is an ancient Celtic tradition, easily translatable to the Australian environment. ... More


Something Old Something New Something Borrowed Something Blue

Categories: | Wedding Traditions |
(03/08/2020)
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue is a rhyme and a tradition that has been part of the wedding scene in English speaking countries since Victorian times. These are the things that a bride is advised to wear or carry on her wedding day to ensure the success of the marriage and her own happiness ... More


34 Ways to Incorporate Tartan in Your Wedding Ceremony Without Wearing a Kilt

Categories: | Wedding Ceremony | Wedding Traditions |
(26/07/2020)
There are many ways to incorporate family tartans into your wedding ceremony apart from the men wearing kilts ... More

Wedding Cake Unity Ritual

Categories: | Wedding Ceremony | Wedding Rituals | Wedding Traditions |
(15/07/2020)
A wedding cake unity ritual, where you cut and share your wedding cake during your ceremony, works well, both symbolically and practically, and is a great way to deal with the new COVID-19 restrictions on sharing the cake with guests  ... More

Is it OK for a guest to wear white to a wedding?

Categories:  Wedding Traditions |
(16/02/2019)
The "never wear white to a wedding" rule is one of those hard and fast rules of etiquette that pretty well everyone has accepted for a very, very long time. In the 21st is this a rule that can be broken?   More ...

On the Hidden Costs of Being "Fashionably" Late to Your Wedding

Categories: Wedding Traditions | Wedding Budget |
(31/01/2019)
Being fashionably late to your wedding, is not only not a must do tradition, it can cost you, big time, in more ways that just money ...  More ...


Tossing the Garter – Yes or No??

Categories: Wedding Rituals | Wedding Traditions |
(08/01/2019)
Tossing the Garter is a wedding tradition that a growing number of couples are choosing to skip altogether for various reasons.  But skipping the embarrassing bit (the retrieval from the bride's leg) and changing up how it is tossed can add a lot of fun to the occasion while avoiding the things that can be an issue    More ...

'You may kiss your bride' - oh yeah?  How to have the Perfect (and Perfectly Modern) Kiss

Categories: Wedding Ceremony | Wedding Traditions |
(updated 04/08/2018)
As a celebrant I not only see many many wedding kisses, I also have the responsibility of prompting them. Your first kiss as a married couple will be photographed and remembered by your guests (and everyone who sees the photographs) for years and years, so it is important to plan for the perfect kiss! ... More

Your Grand Entrance: How to walk down the aisle with style

Categories: | Wedding Ceremony | Wedding Traditions |
(08/02/2020)
Guests at weddings are very accepting of couples doing their own thing and making their own decisions about how to walk down the aisle. No-one bats an eye if you choose to do something other than walk down the aisle on the arm of your father. And most people no longer assume that, if you do walk down the aisle on your father's arm, the ceremony that follows will be ultra-traditional and totally predictable... More

Same Sex Ceremonies - Negotiating the Gendered Nature of Ceremony Traditions

Categories: Inclusive Weddings | Wedding Traditions |
(09/01/2018)
Rather than assign roles, assign various customs. Works brilliantly for all couples .... More

Multicultural Fusion Weddings (08/01/2018)

Categories: Wedding Ceremony Inclusive Weddings | Wedding Rituals | Wedding Traditions | Wedding Planning |
If you are an intercultural couple, how do you navigate your ceremony?  It is not uncommon to have two ceremonies.  But there is a third option - a fusion wedding ceremony that incorporates the traditions of what are important to you both ...  More