The most outdated wedding traditions in 2024 revealed
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Ask your five-year-old self what a wedding looks like and chances are there are certain elements that are a given.
These time-honoured wedding traditions form the very backbone of what we’ve all grown up believing a couple’s big day should include.
Whether it’s a bride being dressed in white or being given away by her father, these are traditions our younger selves wouldn’t have questioned.
However, nowadays couples are a lot more comfortable to switch things up and ditch the traditions that are no longer an essential part of how they want their wedding to be.
At YSW we very much believe in couples personalising their wedding to reflect their own beliefs and wishes, and if that means getting rid of certain elements because they’re “traditional” then we’re all for it.
The Wedding Travel Company recently released their ‘2024 Wedding Travel Report’ which has revealed fresh insight into how Brits are approaching and planning weddings in 2024, including which traditional wedding trends they believe to be outdated, and which they think are here to stay.
According to their findings one tradition is considered the most outdated of all…
Leaving for your honeymoon straight after the wedding
When my parents said ‘I do’ in the early 80s they were the first people to leave their reception.
There was no dancing until the wee small hours for them.
Instead they left at 5pm to head to Dublin Airport for the first flight in the morning to Austria.
And this was considered the norm.
Fast forward nearly 30 years and my husband and I left for Portugal two days after the big day, leaving ourselves the day after to continue celebrating with guests who had travelled to be with us at the wedding.
But according to the new research 33% of British couples now consider this tradition to be outdated with more and more people deciding to delay their honeymoons.
But why?
Claire, a senior wedding planner at The Wedding Travel Company says, “Whilst our couples’ wedding day is one of the happiest days of their lives, there’s no denying that the build-up can be tiring and stressful!
“If you’ve spent months – or even years meticulously planning your wedding, even if the day goes perfectly you’re very likely to be exhausted in the few days following which can taint the honeymoon experience.
“Many couples now choose to delay their honeymoon and spend the time immediately following their big day to relax with their significant other.
“More couples are opting to go on ‘minimoons’ which are shorter, and usually more local trips, which allows couples to spend time alone away from the chaos of wedding planning whilst saving for a bigger trip down the line.”
Other traditions on the wane
Among the other traditions couples now see as outdated are not seeing each other or spending the night together the night before the wedding (29% would ditch this one) and male-led speeches (29%).
Church weddings are dropping in popularity with 24% of couples surveyed believing this to be outdated, while 22% could happily get rid of the bride tossing the bouquet to determine the next bride-to-be.
Ring bearers and flower girls are also losing popularity, while if you’re a fan of the ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue’ adage you’re against 20% who see it as outmoded.
Perhaps most interesting is the 11% who find the traditional first kiss to be an old-fashioned tradition.
The ‘new’ traditions
With so many wedding rituals being considered outdated what is taking their place?
We can thank the pandemic for influencing some new trends, including the survey’s most popular one; Not having to invite people you don’t know that well – extended family and friends’ new partners.
Claire says, “During the pandemic, many couples unfortunately had to re-evaluate their guest list due to the restrictions in place.
“However, even with the lockdown over it seems like couples are continuing to evaluate who they really want at their wedding.
“Costs can also be a big influencing factor for this.
“Our report showed just how many Brits are concerned about the costs of weddings, and the bigger your wedding, the more expensive it’s likely to be.”
Other new traditions that are scoring highly with to-be-weds include speeches from the bride, maid of honour or mother-of-the-bride (18% of surveyed couples would be interested) and pets being part of the day (12% like this idea).
And we’re loving the 9% who would like a dress code for guests such as only wearing a certain colour.
We’re dreaming of an all white party in a total Elton John style!
Do you agree with the survey findings?
Let us know at editorial@yourscottishwedding.co.uk
