Wedding Practices: Traditions or Clichés?
There is a plethora of decisions that couples must face before their big day, spanning from what flowers to use for decoration, all the way to the wedding catering. Also included in this list of decisions are different wedding traditions. Couples must choose whether to follow or to change some of the customary practices that usually take place during weddings. Unfortunately, while some of these traditions come across as either nostalgic and romantic, others are played out and clichéd. Here’s a list of some of the more common practices during weddings and the consensus of the mass. Do you agree or disagree?
Bridesmaids and Groomsmen
Groomsmen and Bridesmaids are basically the friends and family that have been supporting the bride and groom respectively throughout their lives. Traditionally these roles have been gender specific; groomsmen should be male and bridesmaids should be female. What about the groom who has a close female friend or vice versa? If this practice was followed their friend may not be able to participate the way they want to during the wedding. Phasing out this tradition allows the bride and groom the freedom to choose who they want to have by their side on their big day.
Verdict: Cliché
Asking Permission
Asking for the bride’s hand in marriage is done by the groom as a sign of respect towards the bride’s family. Permission is also asked from any elders that are important to the bride such as her grandparents or any of their aunt and uncles. A gesture of respect should never be lost in an important event such as this. Starting a marriage with respect is a good sign of things to come and shows the character of the groom to be.
Verdict: Tradition
Giving Away of the Bride
There are many ways to view this custom. There was a notion that the bride belongs to her family and during the wedding, she will be passed on to her husband to start her own family. However, some view this custom as the bride’s parents honoring the groom by blessing him with their daughter while others see this as the transferring of the responsibility of protecting and caring for their daughter to her husband. Passing of a blessing is a beautiful practice since it views the bride as a blessing or a gift to be cared for and protected. This gesture also gives the groom a sense of peace that the bride’s family has faith in him to give him someone as precious as their daughter.
Verdict: Tradition
Using Traditional Vows
The exchange of wedding vows is the moment in the wedding where the bride and groom vocally commit to each other. There are common formats for these vows that have been used in most weddings throughout the years. In spite of this, it is actually not necessary for a couple to strictly follow these formats. Don’t you think that vows should be personal and come from the heart of the couple? Composing these vows themselves makes it more personal, making it mean more to the couple and truly reflecting the relationship they share.
Verdict: Cliché
These are just some of the many customs that are present in weddings, some of which have been around for decades. Like every decision in a wedding, it comes down to the bride and the groom to include them or not. Just remember that each wedding is unique to the relationship of the couple and what could be clichés to others may be strict traditions to some. How about you? Do you think the mentioned wedding practices are traditions that should be followed or clichés that should be altered?
