5 old-fashioned wedding traditions that have disappeared
If you think back to your own wedding or the photos you’ve seen of your parents or even grandparents weddings, things might have been a bit different to the modern day wedding extravaganzas we’ve grown to expect these days. Week-long celebrations, degustation menus, bridesmaids and groomsmen in the double figures and dresses with a price tag in the tens of thousands are common place for couples who tie the knot today. It wasn’t always like this however with the traditional wedding of the early 1900’s a very different affair. Here a seven traditions that have fallen out of favour with the modern bride.
- The weekday wedding – In the early 1900s, a Saturday wedding was not only considered unfashionable but also very bad luck. Wednesday was the day of choice for the tradition conscience bride with Mondays and Tuesdays also acceptable.
- The late afternoon service and dinnertime reception – Lunchtime weddings were in vogue in 1903 and considered far more “proper” than their afternoon counterparts.
- The optional reception – As late as the 1960s, couples were still opting to forgo the reception, opting instead for a receiving line and refreshments at the end of the service.
- The DIY, inexpensive event – If couples did opt to have a reception, a simple spread of cake and punch usually sufficed. And the bride and groom sourced their serving staff from the family. This practice was so common that newspaper wedding announcements even listed which family members served as staff.
- The importance of the honeymoon and home – Forget expensive rings and receptions, the traditional bride opted for the standard gold wedding band and put their funds towards a honeymoon and their first home. Wedding diaries from the 1900s often included several pages for recording details of the first marital holiday together along with space for details of the first home but didn’t include space for details about the ring or reception as these weren’t deemed to be especially important.
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