Happy Friday everyone!
I love that EAD is doing a “Southern” week, being that I am from the South! I think that one of the things that’s important to Southern weddings is a sense of tradition. Weddings in general have a lot of traditional elements to them, and some couples follow these traditions more rigidly than others. But in reading about all these “real weddings” it’s fun and interesting to see what traditions these couples have followed and why.
When we started talking about our ceremony, I brought up that I thought it would be really cool to walk down the aisle to something other than the traditional wedding march. The fiancee, well, he didn’t agree. This is one of the things he really wants to stick with. Even after I brought up that we could choose a song that’s really meaningful to us. The other thing he’s passionate about? Not seeing each other before the wedding – bad luck. I thought it would be a good way to get some great shots of us together before the ceremony, as well as a way to maybe calm our nerves. But he’s very adamant that he doesn’t want to tempt fate. So I will seeing him for the first time while I’m walking down the aisle to the wedding march!
While I’ve been reading about all of these different weddings online, I’ve come across many traditions – some from other cultures, some I’d never heard about before, and some that are unique to that particular family. It has really brought up the topic of traditions for me, and started the dialogue between us of what traditions we would like to follow or honor in our ceremony. Other than the above two, we are planning on honoring our parents and grandparents by displaying old photographs of them on their wedding day, or from that time, by our guest book. This is something I’ve seen others do, including my future sister-in-law. Another tradition that is sentimental to my family that I plan on using has to do with our favors. A special treat to my family has always been these homemade caramels from this little shop up in Indiana where I was born. Even after we moved to Texas over 20 years ago, my Mom had friends up there that would send these caramels to us for special events and holidays. And, oh my gosh, they are the best things in the world!! My sister used them in her favors, and I plan to do the same for mine.
While not every tradition is right for everyone, if you choose to, I think honoring the traditions that are important to you and your family is a beautiful part of the wedding ritual. While they may not hold all the same meanings to us anymore, it can help to make the day special.
What traditions are you following at your wedding?? Are there any that are special to you as a couple or to your families? Or are you a bride who wants to start their own traditions by doing things totally differently and in a way that reflects only you two?