Everyone knows that couples have been tying the knot for centuries, however over the years some of those old fashioned trends are dissipating from planned wedding details. With the ultimate goal for the modern day couple to make their wedding more personalized, more relaxed, and more fun for guests we’re seeing more and more “traditions” being dropped.. and for good reason. Given we’ll photograph anything here’s what we’ve seen lately in the soon to be sealed barrel of dead wedding trends….
– The “Ghost” Wedding Dress Shot. More often than not we’re asked by our ladies to avoid capturing their ghostly hanging wedding gown in preference of a stunning front and back image of the gorgeous gal actually in her threads.
– Ceremony “Accessories”. More couples are opting for a simplistic wedding ceremony, incorporating personalized vows in an abbreviated yet thoughtful ceremony. Departing are sand blending ceremonies, unity candles, and lengthy impersonal readings.
– The Super Extended Family Photo. Almost every couple we work with prefer to scale back their family posed images that are captured after the ceremony to include just parents, grandparents, and siblings versus the aunts, great-uncles, twice removed cousins, the who-the-hell-are-you family members, etc.
– The Receiving Line. [Insert Imperial March Music Here] The receiving line is an old hold over from when couples chose to get hitched and hit the road versus head to an immediately following cocktail hour and reception. A good old fashion receiving line will suck time away from your day faster than an Olympic Speed Skater and depending on the month you’re more susceptible to sharing colds and other fabulous illnesses with your invited guests. Most couples opt to visit tables to talk with and thank each of their guests or just drag everyone out to the dance floor or photo booth!
– Not Attending Cocktail Hour. With more opting to do a first look pre-ceremony, couples are making time to hit up their cocktail hour. Takes care of being able to talk to invited guests, family and friends plus.. hey you paid for it! Why not enjoy that specialty cocktail and tasty hors d’oeuvre?
– The Cake Smash. Many modern couples are either forgoing the “baby’s first birthday style” cake smash or just saying to hell with cake all together and opting for creative sweets such as pies, cupcakes, dessert bars, or even whoopie pies! No gal looks good with a nose full of icing nor is it very lady like trying to get smashed cake bits out of your bosoms!
– Tosses! Yes there’s an exclamation point here for a reason. I have to agree with this dying trend over any other. The bouquet toss… not so bad. Garter toss… it’s alright. Garter removal and garter replacement on a new gal… not a favorite. Many couples we’ve spoken to prefer to completely do away with the tradition as not to embarrass or point out the relationship status of their close friends or family. We do still see a handful of couples doing tosses and a handful of guests going balls out to grab the garb.
All in all, plan your day as you like, traditional or not. If all goes as planned, you’re only doing this once:)
Melissa McClain Photography 