Wedding Traditions We Ditched at the Altar

Let me tell you a secret – weddings in real life are nothing compared to the ones in films/movies. Shocking, right? I don’t know how they managed to make it so exciting in the films but let me tell you, the missed out the key part – just how stressful managing everything can be!

There were a few traditions that we decided to ditch at the altar to make the wedding process a lot smoother.

Wedding Traditions We Ditched at the Altar

01. He didn’t ask for my mum’s permission

When S got down on one knee the first thing I asked was, “Did you ask my parents?” He was a bit taken aback because a) He didn’t really think about it and b) I didn’t say yes immediately. I mean, of course I wanted to marry him, but did he ask my mum’s permission? After thinking about it I realised just how stupid it is. Our parents knew that we were in a strong and loving relationship, so why did S need their permission for?

02. We didn’t invite absolutely everyone

A sure way to cut down your guest list is to have a ‘no ring – no bring’ rule, which is exactly what we did at our wedding. Only two guests at our wedding were able to bring a plus one because they didn’t really know anyone, and I didn’t want them to feel left out! It saved us a lot of stress in the long run. My only advice is to make it absolutely clear on the invitations that you’re not having a plus one – two weeks before our wedding one of our family members assumed he was able to bring a plus one, so it was a bit awkward for us to turn him down. If you’ve been invited to a wedding then always, always ask about plus ones, and if the couple aren’t comfortable with it then respect that decision.

03. My bridesmaids walked down the aisle before me

We followed the American way and had my bridesmaids walk down the aisle before me. If it wasn’t for the fact that I searched for wedding traditions that I realised that this wasn’t the right way – in the UK, the bride usually walks first. It took the pressure off me too and made me feel a lot calmer as I walked down the aisle.

04. I forgot the garter

The whole tradition of having the groom taking off the garter wasn’t really my thing, but it was the only blue item that I had and I was shocked when I realised that I had forgotten it at home. Luckily my engagement ring had a blue stone in it so we were saved!

05. There were no flower girls & page boys

Another tradition we ditched – having flower girls and page boys. It was quite an easy decision for us to make because we didn’t actually know anyone who was at the right age for this.

06. We didn’t have a hen/stag party the night before

I cannot think of a worse thing than to waltz down the aisle with a heavy hangover, so I was glad that we didn’t stick to the tradition of having a hen do the night before the wedding. My MOH planned ours a couple of weeks beforehand, and I had the best time!

07. We didn’t walk down the aisle to traditional music

Instead we opted for “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri as I walked down the aisle, and then “I’m a Believer” by Smashmouth as we walked back together.

08. There wasn’t an order of service

Whenever I notice that there’s a timetable at the event I always find myself counting down to the most exciting part of the day – lunchtime. I didn’t want everyone to clock-watch at our wedding so we ditched the idea of having an order of service.

09. I held onto my flower bouquet

Usually it’s tradition that I toss my bouquet to a crowd of single ladies, and whoever catches it is going to get married next. However, there was no way that I was going to toss my flower bouquet, especially because Abbie Digweed did such an amazing job with them.

10. We weren’t whisked away on our honeymoon right after the wedding

We spent a few days after the wedding relaxing, and it was during that time that I fell really ill from all of the stress leading up to the big day. So it was a good thing that we didn’t go on our honeymoon straight after!

And that’s it! What wedding traditions did you ditch, or are planning to ditch, on your wedding day?

Love,

Lizzie xx

All photos were taken by the amazing duo Ryan & Sara, who I can’t thank enough.