Wedding Traditions You Can Make Your Own

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Weddings are full of traditions. Some of them have been around for hundreds of years, but many aren't as old as you might think. For example, wearing a white dress and having a diamond engagement ring are only really a few decades old. When you're planning your wedding, there might be some traditions you want to follow. However, if you want to make your wedding your own, there are plenty of ways to play around with these traditions too. Try some of these wedding traditions to make your own for a unique experience.

​The Proposal

Deciding to get married is the first step before your wedding. Some people make the decision to get married, and a proposal follows. Others simply discuss it and decide that they're engaged. You might choose to forgo any kind of proposal, or perhaps mix it up a bit. Women can propose if they want (and they don't have to wait until February 29th) or you could both propose to each other. You could both get an engagement gift too.

The Rings

Related to the engagement but also the wedding, rings play a big role in getting married. A diamond engagement ring has become traditional since the 1950s. If you want to stick with that, you could deviate from the single stone with a super sparkly number from Verragio engagement rings. Your wedding rings can move away from tradition too. They don't have to match if you each want to choose something that works for your personal style.

The Outfits

There are a lot of "rules" about who should wear what at a wedding, but you don't have to obey any of them if you don't want to. A plain white wedding dress isn't essential, and you don't even have to wear a dress at all. Your groomsmen or bridesmaids don't all have to wear the same thing, either. Some people choose to give them a color and let them choose what they want to wear.

The Seating (and Standing)

Traditionally, when guests sit for the wedding ceremony, they split along the lines of who they're there for. However, maybe you would rather not do that. After all, you're joining your families together. Not only that, but you might have friends who are there equally for both of you. Similarly, you might not have the traditional people standing next to you. You don't have to have groomsmen on one side and bridesmaids on the other. You also don't have to walk down the aisle.

The Speeches

At a traditional wedding, speeches are given by the bride's father, the best man, and the groom. You might notice that they're all men. If you want to make things a bit more equal, open up the speeches a little. It's becoming more popular for the bride to make a speech, and the maid of honor (if there is one) can too. Ask around to find out who might want to give one.

Traditions can be nice, but don't just follow them for the sake of it. If you want to mix things up, there are lots of ways to get creative.