In this day and age, do wedding traditions still matter?

Well, that depends on who you are as a person. Traditions are in place as long-established beliefs of the way things “should” be, but that doesn’t mean they apply to you and your wedding.

In today’s modern weddings, almost anything goes (almost) and you can certainly put your own twist on traditions. Here are a few wedding traditions that you can consider cutting out:

Wedding traditions you don’t have to include — wedding planning Calgary

1. Having equal number of attendants (aka bridesmaids and groomsmen)

Why do you they have to match? It’s not like your bridesmaids and groomsmen have specific duties that they must do together for your wedding. And your bridal party photos will look so much more relaxed and not overly posed. At worst, one groomsman walks back up the aisle at the end of your ceremony with a bridesmaid on each arm. Sounds like he could have worse problems!

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2. Having attendants at all

Crazy, right? But if Emily can do it, why can’t you? Not having any attendants makes the ceremony very personal between you and your groom (I swear, people will not think that you just don’t have any friends). This is especially nice if you can’t decide on who should be your attendants…and this might even make your friends/family happy if they don’t have an endless list of official attendant duties.

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3. The Signing of the Registry photo

The Signing of the Registry is the part of your wedding ceremony when you sign the legal marriage documents. Traditionally, most people look straight at the camera and smile, fakely. This photo is very posed — very “grad photo” and certainly not realistic.

For a more modern take, try not looking at the camera. Don’t pause, pose with a pen and smile. Don’t even think about what the photographer is capturing because you should be in the moment and grinning at your new husband/wife. Trust me, you will be much happier with the candid photo than the forced, “oh, this is a wedding moment” photo.

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4. A guestbook

Gone are the days where you have someone sitting at a table greeting you and asking you to sign your name in a book at a wedding. While I think it is a lovely gesture to have a host at the doors to greet guests at your ceremony and/or reception, signing a book is passé. What are you going to do with a book of signatures afterwards?

If you must have a keepsake from your wedding, you can always have guests write you a short message or well wishes. This envelope idea works well if you want to read these later on at the post-wedding brunch or on your own.

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Join me later this week as I finish up this list of traditions that you don’t have to keep for your wedding!

What are some traditions you are choosing to skip? Or keep?