Disappearing Wedding Traditions

Years ago, I remember witnessing an argument between a couple and my pastor during the ‘question and answer’ portion of a Wednesday night bible study. Neither party could agree as to whether or not a non-virgin (female) should wear white on her wedding day. My pastor’s answer – “no”. Although he stressed it was only his opinion, the firestorm that ensued as a result was enough to light a fire on wet wood. This moment was the first time in my young life that I realized how a few wedding traditions were disappearing out of mainstream America and one of them for sure was the idea only ‘sexually pure’ females could wear white.

• Disappearing Wedding Tradition: Preserving a wedding dress. For decades, females all across the 50 states carefully preserved their wedding dresses. Why? They wanted to hand these garments down to their daughters. These young ladies, in turn, would walk down aisles toward future husbands, continuing family traditions of marital bliss. Not so much these days. Maybe new trends are a direct result of changes in bridal fashion or a desire for more individuality, regardless, some women are choosing to trash their dresses. While being photo-ed, they get their wedding dresses wet, dirty or torn. Clearly, no one after them can reuse these garments.

• Disappearing Wedding Tradition: Honoring God during the ceremony. A CNN article aptly titled When God Isn’t On the Guest List highlighted how atheists and other people struggling with religious beliefs are leaving god out of their wedding ceremony. Instead, the emphasis is on their love for each other or more modern themes of equality in marriage. Changing views about faith and same-sex unions appear to be the backbone of this trend. Unlike before, people can step out of the shadows and express their lack of belief in god or love for the same gender without as much backlash from family and friends.

• Disappearing Wedding Tradition: Conventional bride and groom dances. This new trend is the one I understand the best and love the most. It’s the departure of brides and grooms from doing a waltz as a solo wedding dance after tying the knot. Youtube is full of videos displaying brides and grooms performing awesome dances. One in particular is the reenactment of “Dirty Dancing”. This switch in tempo provides additional entertainment for guests and unforgettable moments for newlyweds.

In conclusion, the above are three disappearing wedding traditions. They symbolize how the approach to this commitment is no longer the same. Couples desire one-of-a-kind experiences at they bond together in matrimony, not a recreation of steps already taken by predecessors.

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Also see: Surprising Changes to Traditional Ceremonies