Wedding traditions can give the wedding a sense of timeless charm. Some wedding traditions show little sentiment. They simply look dated and cheap. After months of careful wedding planning to make sure everything is chic and stylish for your perfect day, don’t destroy it all by adding tasteless traditions. Avoid these six wedding trends and traditions that do more harm than good.
Asking for Money
It’s hard to imagine a situation where asking for money isn’t tacky. Maybe it’s acceptable when dressed in a Santa suit and raising money for charity outside the mall. However, it definitely doesn’t belong on a wedding invitation. The money dance is another tacky, panhandling trend that has faded.
Announcing the Wedding Party at the Reception
This isn’t necessarily tacky, though sometimes it is done in an annoying way such as a choreographed dance entrance. Usually, the announcement of the bridal party by name is just a waste of time. If the guests don’t know every single member of the wedding party, then chances are they won’t find the announcement of their name to be enlightening. As wedding guests, maybe we are supposed to care, but do we?
Garter Belt Removal
Sometimes awkward and always tacky, the garter belt removal has been part of the wedding reception traditions for many years. The new husband would remove his bride’s garter belt and toss it into the crowd. Wedding planners see this trend is disappearing. Less than a quarter of newlywed couples are participating in garter belt traditions during their receptions.
Chocolate Fountains
Once upon a time, people became fascinated with the cascading cocoa of a chocolate fountain. While these are still featured in some buffet restaurants, they are hardly suitable for a grand affair like a wedding reception. They are gaudy and messy.
Partial Invites
Under pressure of looming wedding costs, some engaged couples try to save money by only inviting certain people to the wedding reception meal. They invite numerous people to the wedding and the dancing portion of the reception but not the meal. The meal is reserved for a select group. Separating guests and basically declaring that some guests don’t matter much is in bad form.
Serving Premium and Cheap Meals According to Importance
Another way newlywed couples are playing favorites with their guest list is by serving costly meals to some guests and cheap alternatives to others. This is not a case of guests getting a choice of meals. In order to save money, the couple assigns a cheaper meal to some of the guests. Sitting at some tables, you may have some guests being served steak while others receive chicken or beef tips. This is hurtful, tacky, and causes family conflicts. When you don’t treat guests equally, you are inviting drama. It would be better to serve an affordable meal to everyone or trim the guest list.
Traditions have their place. They should uplift and reflect the values of the couple. Including the best wedding traditions can enhance your special day.
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I couldn’t agree more with you about the ‘asking for money” tradition. There is no good way to do it. As far as I’m concerned, specifying certain gifts that you’d like to be given is tacky too, but can’t be avoided in the case of a wedding – people need to know. The meal issue is also tricky. If you’re going to have an elaborate dinner for some of the guests, you should completely separate it from the rest of the festivities. Never make any your guests feel less important than others. Good topic, glad I read this.
I cannot believe the amount of tacky that I’ve seen lately. A couple who put a huge QR Code on their invitation. Another who sent out invites with not one, not two, but three spelling errors on the most ugly brown paper wrapper style invitation. Ugh.
But, the worst tacky moment had to be the wedding where I was asked by one of the catering staff if I was in the bridal party (I was nicely dressed) because only the bridal party was getting a piece of the very tacky Bundt cake that was the dessert! Guests got just a tiny muffin.