For your wedding, it’s nice to honor some timeless traditions that many couples have shared on the day they exchanged wedding rings. Even if you’re looking to have a ceremony and after-party with a contemporary feel, it’s good to include some traditions your parents would have had on their wedding day.
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Cutting the Cake Together. It is a time-honored tradition of the bride and groom to cut the wedding cake together and feed each other a small slice. Make sure to save the top of the wedding cake, and freeze for a year so you can share it on your first anniversary together. An interesting factoid is that originally wedding cakes were called bride cakes and the white of the cake was considered pure. In fact, even today many brides request that the cake color match the color of their wedding dress! |
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Giving the Bride Away. This is a symbolic walk from the old life to the new. One or both of the bride’s parents leads the bride down the aisle to her husband, who is patiently waiting for his wife and their new marriage together. Some couples ask a godparent to do this action, while more unconventional couples may consider a close relative or best friend. Either way, those with cameras can expect to find a tearful bride as this symbolic action tends to be an emotional moment. |
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The Kiss. This is a ritual dating back to Roman times, when couples would have to kiss in front of an elected witness to make their union official. Nowadays friends and family applaud as they watch the couple share their first kiss together (as a wedded couple!) after the announcement, “You may kiss the bride”. If you’re a bit picky about how things look, practice that kiss beforehand! Is it going to be prolonged, spontaneous or just very simple? This is also a moment the wedding photographer usually captures, so try to make it look good! |
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First Dance. What are you going to dance to? Is it going to be slow and dramatic, like “My Heart WIll Go On” by Celine Dion, or something more upbeat like “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitney Houston? A couple’s first dance together as a wedded couple is a symbolic way to show everyone how they plan to dance through married life, so pick a good one! Try to make this first dance song a special one, too. Perhaps it was something you heard on your first date night or something from a movie you both love. |
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The Toast. Typically the Best Man is the one to give the big toast, but others may follow, including the Maid of Honor, is so inclined. If you want an elaborate toast, it might be good to mention that to the Best Man so he can prepare. Long speeches or entertaining stories and anecdotes can be nice, otherwise short and sincere well wishes are just fine. If your Best Man is a childhood bud, a stories from your early years can be entertaining and will probably bring tears to your parent’s eyes. |