Traditions To Ditch On Your Wedding Day (that could save you money)

Sometimes it can feel like weddings are all about tradition. And while including some traditions can be lovely, it’s worth remembering you don’t need to stick to all of them. Your wedding is your big day so if there are any traditions you aren’t happy with or make you feel uncomfortable, it’s totally ok to ditch them. Doing so could also save you quite a bit of cash.

There were many aspects of my own wedding day that were pretty unconventional. My dress wasn’t white. I didn’t do a dance with my Dad, our wedding cake was made of Rice Krispies and we didn’t force our guests to spend hours standing around waiting to be in various photographs.

Traditions To Ditch On Your Wedding Day

While some of the decisions we made weren’t met with the happiest faces, our families had to respect this was our wedding and we were going to do things our way whether they liked it or not. Wedding planning is stressful enough without trying to please everyone.

So, if there’s anything you don’t want to do, don’t do it!

Who Walks you down the Aisle

While it’s traditional for the bride’s father to walk her down the aisle, there are lots of reasons this might not work for some brides. Some people feel that a man ‘giving away’ his daughter goes against their feminist values. Others may not have a relationship with their father or one that is strained and difficult. Being biologically related to someone doesn’t automatically give them the right to give you away on your big day, however, if this is the choice you make it’s worth having the conversation early in the planning stages to avoid upset close to the big day.

Happily, there are plenty of alternatives if having your Dad walk you down the aisle isn’t something you want. Other family members, such as step-parents, Mums, Grandparents and brothers and sisters could all take on this roll. You could also absolutely boss it and walk yourself down the aisle.

Another option is allowing a beloved pet to join you – dogs always look adorable in wedding pictures although do remember to consider the practicalities of doing this!

Wedding Favours

Wedding favours are one of those things that most couples feel they need to have at the wedding because it’s traditional but people rarely remember them and they often get left behind on tables at the end of the night. With the popularity of things like sweet tables and chocolate fountains rising having wedding favours on the tabes as well could end up being pretty costly.

My advice would be to choose one thing that you really want to treat your guests to at your wedding and stick with that. My personal choice would be DIY sweet buffet – which sort of doubles up as a favour without the need to individually wrap loads of packets. Buy sweets in bulk ahead of time and decant into pretty glass jars a week two before the wedding. Charge one of the bridesmaids with setting it up on the day. Easily doable for under £50.

Wedding Traditions to ditch: Open Bar

Having an open is an American tradition which I’ve seen being discussed more and more in wedding groups here in the U.K. While the Bride and Groom would traditionally provide a drink to go with the meal or with the toasts (or both) I don’t think anyone needs to do an open bar unless money really is no object. Save the money and the stress, I’m sure your guests will understand.

First Dance

Weddings can be pretty intense, with the focus, of course, being on the bride and groom. If dancing isn’t your thing, dancing with lots of people watching you may well fill you with dread. If it’s not something you’ll enjoy then it’s ok to ditch it. Your wedding day needs to be as happy and relaxed as possible. While it’s natural to have some nerves before the ceremony itself if the thought of your first dance is going to make you anxious for the rest of the day choose another way to celebrate instead. Alternatives could include the first bounce on a bouncy castle, asking everyone to join you for a dance or evening sharing some pictures or pre-recorded message for your guests.

The White Dress

If white isn’t your colour, it’s totally okay to choose another colour. I didn’t purposely choose a non-white dress but it was my favourite of all the dresses I’d tried and was a beautiful champagne colour. Mum’s, Grandmas and other relatives can be pretty opinionated when it comes to weddings so don’t them talk you into something because it’s what they want rather than what you want.