Something Old, Something New, Trends Forgotten, Let's Review...

Over the past decade we’ve seen the original concept of weddings adapt to fit our changing culture. A wedding dress doesn’t have to be white, the best man isn’t always a man and paper invitations are being replaced by social media.

Please don’t stop reading.

There are some traditions making a comeback to the wedding scene.

Receiving lines

This is still hit-or-miss at a 2017 wedding. It’s been a long-standing tradition that all the wedding guests stand in line to wish the couple well as they exit the church after the ceremony. Some couples are opting to skip this part and head straight to the party – hoping to catch each guest table-by-table at the reception.

First look

While it’s often more convenient to stage a ‘first look’ for the bride and groom before the wedding, some couples are once again choosing to wait until the ceremony to see each other for the first time (sorry photographers). It’s often been said that it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding… but it’s usually easier to get all the professional pictures taken before the wedding starts.

Getaway car

When was the last time you went to a wedding and didn’t send the bride and groom off in a party bus or limo with the rest of the bridal party? I don’t know, either. But we are starting to see the trend of getaway cars coming back. One vehicle just for the bride and groom - decorated with “Just Married” signs and empty cans dragging along behind if we’re lucky.

Love letters

Letters with an actual pen and an actual piece of paper – yes, they still exist. Back in prehistoric times – like even before text messages – a bride and a groom would write a letter to each other the night before their wedding for each other to open before they go down the aisle. This was extra special because they often didn’t see each other before the ceremony (see item 2).

Honorable mentions

Tying the Knot – Did you know this was actually a thing? It’s pretty self-explanatory; a priest would tie a ribbon around a couples hands during the ceremony symbolizing unity. It’s rarely practiced anymore, but you still hear getting married referenced as “tying the knot.”

Wedding Bells – Walk into any store that sells wedding supplies and odds are you will see them on some sort of wedding stationary or decoration, but why? It was once a tradition for a bride and a groom to ring a bell at the end of the ceremony and for the church bells to ring as the couple exits the church to keep away evil spirits. Before bubbles or birdseed, you might have also given your guests small bells to ring as you exited the church.

It’s fascinating how old school trends die but their coined phrases remain. Do you even know why we say the things we say? It’s totally nuts.