Last week we talked about the “custom” event and how adding your own style to your celebration is the latest trend. Choosing a blank canvas space like The Center to accommodate a couple’s unique style, getting rid of traditional seating, adding a special twist in entertainment, are all ways of pulling off a custom event. That got us thinking… which traditions are becoming less expected in modern day weddings? As weddings become more unique and customized to a couple’s taste, the decision to eliminate certain wedding traditions is more and more common.
1. Diamonds don’t have to be a girl’s best friend!
In the 1940’s De Beers, a diamond mining company, introduced the marketing campaign “A Diamond Is Forever.” Since then, our culture has openly accepted the fact that diamonds are the only suitable gemstone to sit on top an engagement ring. Taking a royal cue from Dutchess of Cambridge, Catherine Middelton, why not go with a different stone when choosing the ring? 
2. Top tier saved for a year?
Present wedding day cakes are stuffed with elaborate fillings and topped with beautiful icing. However, saving the top tier to eat a year later, doesn’t sound appetizing. In earlier years, cakes were filled with brandy and fruit and lent themselves to the preserving process. 
This tradition is not only, not appealing to the taste buds, but to the wallet as well. Saving the top tier for the purpose of allowing it to become freezer burned, also ties up one less cake for your guests to enjoy and one more to add to your budget. Instead of letting the cake sit in your freezer for a year, why not have the same baker re-create the top tier on a couple’s one year anniversary?
3. So you cut the cake? No need to rub it in anyone’s face!
Back in the day, it was believed that breaking cake over a Bride’s head increased her fertility. In modern times the belief that being covered in buttercream icing for the remainder of the reception is only going to ruin the makeup, dress, and pictures you’ve already paid for, is more commonly accepted. Please save the food fights for the children eating in their school cafeterias. Unless, of course, you don’t mind the mess!
There is something to be said for tradition. In that, traditions originate somewhere and continue on until they make almost no sense. The Bride gets to throw her bouquet to the single ladies, so it is only fair that the boys partake in some healthy competition too. But, why do people launch items at their guests? An accepted tradition it may be, but it hardly seems polite. In the 14th Century people thought that having an article of the bride’s clothing would bring good luck, so perhaps it was a considerate gesture at one time… However, in the 21st Century, all that is happening is that a small cloth band is uncomfortably removed from under the bride’s dress and thrown into the air. And, while we’re being honest, no one appreciates it when an already engaged or soon-to-be engaged couple catches the bouquet and the garter – that does not happen by chance. On the other hand, that is probably better than two complete strangers following the custom to the letter and being the next to marry. Awkward! Has that been a movie plot yet?
5. The Group Dances
Fewer and fewer couples are allowing the DJ to play the classic wedding dance songs like the Macarena, the Chicken Dance, and the Electric Slide. What’s the harm in having people up and moving on the dance floor? Maybe these songs aren’t for everyone after all, and that’s okay, because the custom playlist is just one more way for the Bride and Groom to personalize their event.
Whether you choose to savor your cake, or throw it at your partner (or your guests!) The Center is happy to be involved! We love our traditional Brides and Grooms just as much as the modern couples that walk through our doors. Our favorite part of helping with events is seeing how each couple makes the space their own and creates a special day with traditions that are individually important to them!
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