Thursday Thirteen - Wedding Traditions

One of our daughters got married three years ago, one about a year ago, and the last is getting married in a few months.   Weddings have changed so much since I was a 20-something planning to walk down the aisle.

1.  Many years ago, a woman would build her trousseau, or hope chest.  Unmarried women would use this to collect clothing and household linens and necessities in anticipation of her someday wedding.

2.  Bridal lingerie used to mean actual lingerie, not just a thong!  Women would have a special negligee or something pretty to wear for that first night.  However, I guess there are many women now whose future husbands have already made that a moot point.

3.  Women used to have a "going-away" outfit to wear after her reception.  She would change just before leaving instead of leaving in her wedding dress.

4.  Unless one was wealthy, a reception used to consist of punch and cake.  Now it's dinner, toasts, dancing, and so on.

5.  Yellow gold was the color of choice for rings 30-40 years ago.  Now it seems that most brides prefer white gold and many choose stones other than a diamond.

6.  The choice of where to get married was limited.  They had cute chapels in Vegas, but most people got married at church.  That's what my daughter wanted to do, but COVID cancelled that plan!

7.  Most brides used to wear veils.  Many chose not to now.

8.  The future bride usually did formal bridal photos that were printed in the local paper along with a summary of the wedding.

9.  Wedding dresses have definitely changed!  Gone are the puffy sleeves of the 80's, thankfully.  Dresses now are more fashion-forward, and that can be both good and bad.  There are a lot of corset dresses out there and dresses that look more like lingerie than wedding attire!

10. Many couples have a "signature cocktail" at their wedding.  It is only recently that I became aware of that trend.

11. The number of guests invited seems to have gone up.  The more the better.

12. Something I had never heard of until I was a grown woman were "Save-the-Dates."  I thought the invitation was what was asking you to save the date.  Now, couples may send out Save-the-Dates up to a year in advance, as if I know what I will be doing in a year!

Image Credit

13. Having a photo booth at a reception is common now, and very fun, but it didn't exist (to my knowledge) 35 years ago.

I'm sure there is much more!  These are the ones that first came to mind.  How was your wedding different than one that you have been to recently?

See more Thursday Thirteen here.