Weddings have long been steeped in tradition, but when it comes to your wedding, it's your decision whether to follow the rules of yesteryear, go a bit more contemporary or do a combination of both.
Whatever you decide, your wedding should express "you."
Engagement
Traditional: The bride and groom call everyone they know to share news of their engagement.
Trendy: The couple decides to marry and the news is distributed in a mass e-mail to family and friends.
Invitations
Traditional: Invitations are formal, engraved and mailed by the bride's parents.
Trendy: Invitations reflect the spirit of the celebration. They may be etched on glass, printed on the computer, a collage of memorabilia from the couple's courtship or lettered on scrolls.
Planning
Traditional: The bride plans full-time.
Trendy: Hire a wedding planner.
The wedding gown
Traditional: The bride wears a white, floor-length gown.
Trendy: Brides opt for off-white, light pink or another color for their gowns. Hems hit at different heights, from mid-calf to the knee.
Groom
Traditional: The groom need only show up on the wedding day.
Trendy: The groom takes part in planning numerous aspects of the wedding, from interviewing photographers to screening bands to deciding the wedding menu.
The Ceremony
Traditional: Couples marry in a house of worship, hotel, banquet hall or at home.
Trendy: Couples marry at sites that evoke a sense of history or aesthetic appeal -- an elegant mansion, a museum or a loft, for example.
Vows
Traditional: Couples say "I do" with old-fashioned vows.
Trendy: Couples alter or rewrite wedding vows. Some add "inside" jokes. Other changes modernize vows to include wording like, "wife and husband."
Cake
Traditional: The cake is a white, tiered confection with white frosting and a plastic bride and groom on top.
Trendy: Cakes are creative works, decorated to complement the wedding theme. Flavors are for sophisticated palates -- spice, carrot, cheesecake, lemon, orange, mocha or a combination of flavors. Toppers include crystal swans, Disney figurines or custom-made bride and groom figures.
-- Metro Creative Graphics
