Tradition Toss: Why It's Okay to Buck the Wedding Norm

TRADITION TOSS

IT'S OKAY to throw tradition to the wind. We promise your parents won't hate you, your grandmother won't cry too much, and your friends will all get over it.

Article by Kate Daugherty, Illustration by Logo Horse Design as seen in Kentucky Bride, Volume 10, Issue 1

Southerners value tradition. We hold it close to our hearts, keep it alive during the holidays, follow it during sporting events, and treasure it at weddings. Here's a secret: you don't have to. It's okay to be selfish on your big day, it's okay to tell your mom that you don't want to wear her wedding dress, and it's okay to not throw a bouquet at the reception. Hey, it's okay if you don't even want a bouquet anywhere near your wedding. Modern brides are trending toward the unconventional and it's making their wedding days a lot less stressful. If you're thinking about tossing tradition to the side, this is where we would start:

EVEN NUMBERED BRIDAL PARTY

It's great if you and your man have the same amount of available friends to stand beside you, but if you don't - who cares? Embrace the difference and move on to the important stuff. It's silly to waste time wondering if your third cousin (whatever her name is) would say yes to being a
bridesmaid.

SPEAKING OF THE BRIDAL PARTY

You don't even have to have a bridal party if you don't want to. It's that simple.

RECEPTION SPEECHES

Reception speeches are amazing when you can actually hear them. If you anticipate a rowdy reception crowd, schedule the speeches for your rehearsal dinner. People will be more attentive and you'll get to soak in the words even more.

WAIT - DID YOU SAY REHEARSAL DINNER?

Yeah, you can toss that too if you want. Instead of a fancy soiree, host a welcome party at your favorite dive bar. Your friends and family will thank you.

THE BOUQUET TOSS

Listen, your single lady friends are going to be completely cool with you ditching this tradition. We promise.

THE GARTER TOSS

We're not stopping at the bouquet toss. Save the garter stuff for the honeymoon and leave the rest of our innocent eyes out of it.

THE DOLLAR DANCE

We know, we know. You'll get much needed cash, but is it worth the agony that your guests have to endure? If the answer is yes, make sure the bar is well-stocked.

CAKE CUTTING + TOAST

Linking arms and feeding each other cake even sounds dated, right? It is. Don't worry about breaking up the dance party for this formality. Just eat the cake and keep on dancing.

The moral of the story: It's your big day and you can do whatever you want. If you want to keep every tradition and enforce a new tradition to match, do the dang thing! Throw that bouquet, toss the garter, dollar dance the night away, and cut the cake as long as you want to! You have the right to celebrate your day in the way that you want it celebrated. On the other hand, if you aren't in to all the formal stuff, toss it and move on. Just make sure you personalize this moment in your life because it will be gone so fast and you don't want to kick yourself when it's over for letting tradition dictate your vision for your wedding day.