I am like the wedding camel. I can go years on end without attending a single wedding then all of the sudden BAM BAM BAM it’s Marriage-Palooza ’13!
The thing about weddings is, the more of them you go to, the more they start to look alike. Even the most beautiful and well-executed event can come off with a thud if there isn’t something special to set it apart. Obviously, the key to a great wedding is, (duh), a great marriage between two people who love and adore each other (did I actually need to say that?)…but, but, BUT, the key to a great party is to throw in something unexpected. Something whimsical. Something just-barely eccentric enough to piss off your Aunt Elmira.
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| If you follow me on Facebook you probably saw this last Saturday snapshot from the wedding of my friends John and Alexis. Is this a great idea or what?! |
A few years ago everyone and their drunk uncle had a chocolate fountain (some of us may not have waited for a wedding to purchase one, ahem)…but now, apparently, chocolate fountains have gone the way of the Macarena: Over. That’s what happens to trends I guess. They have to die out eventually.
Despite this, I am spotting some new wedding trends that, I think, are pretty darn swell.
Here are five that I’m hoping will stick around a while!
1. The Cookie Bar
It’s 10pm…the food is long over, the cake is gone, everyone is dancing, and people need something to nosh. Give them cookies and milk! It’ll take care of their munchies, and, bonus, it’ll get folks to lay off the booze long enough to join in the Cha-Cha Slide. Excellent!
Update: Thanks to the anonymous comment below for calling attention to this NYT piece on the Pittsburgh tradition of cookie tables. Whoa. This is intense! Now all I need is someone in Pittsburgh invite me to their wedding.
2. Grandmas as Flower Girls
Okay, I like a cute little toddler flower girl as much as the next person, but let’s be honest, sometimes they suck at the flower part. And it’s not their fault or anything. I mean, if a kid can’t poop on target it’s asking a lot of them to be able to handle the whole basket-petal-floor-basket-petal-floor routine. I say, give the little girls the pretty dresses, but give grandma the flowers. Granny is probably marching up the aisle anyway, so put her to work!
3. “Special Thing” Fund Registry
For a long time it was taboo for couples to ask for cash as a gift, (and yeah, it can still come off greedy if it’s not handled nicely (perhaps via an online service)), but, I for one would rather chip into something that the happy couple really wants like a house, a honeymoon, new furniture, etc…rather than, say, buying some $90 blender from a department store, especially if I know, *for a fact*, they both came into the marriage with a perfectly good blender. I mean, do I really want to push them into the Three Blender Household realm? No. Can I help cover a piece of the down payment on a condo? Yes. Sign me up!
4. Long Lasting Sparklers
Sparklers are awesome for outdoor wedding receptions, no doy. Not only are they cheap, festive and fun, they make for amazeballs photos. The only problem is the regular kind burn out in like 30 seconds. So now you get the long-lasting ones…everyone at the party can join in the fun (and the photos).
5. Non-Matching Bridesmaid Dresses
For a long time there, bridesmaid dresses were, by definition, ugly (I believe there is a shade of dusty rose nail polish called “bridesmaid pink”). For the record, I have seen some beautiful bridesmaid dresses in my time; it’s the not-so beautiful ones that give the rest a bad reputation. Picking bridesmaid dresses is a hard balance to strike, for any bride, and it only gets more complicated when considering not only the people who will be wearing the dress, but the season, the venue, the price-point, the formality of the groomsmen’s attire…it’s complicated! You just can’t please everyone. For a number of years, the thing was to pick a designer/fabric and let each individual bridesmaid pick whatever dress# they liked best. Nowadays, more and more brides just don’t give a rip and are picking a general length or color wave, if anything at all. These brides would rather their sisters and friends feel comfortable and beautiful, rather than mauve and matching. I think that’s pretty awesome!
So that is what I have to say about that. Eat your heart out, Emily Post.
Now, what say you, do you have a favorite wedding trend?
I agree on the flower girl thing. It puts too much pressure on little girls to get it right (and too much blame on their moms if they get it wrong). Those grandmas are soooooo cute!!!!
I lucked out on bridesmaid dresses and never had to wear a horrible one but I have some friends who had to wear heinous, hideous dresses and I think the relationship suffered for it. How silly.
Yeah. I know a couple of moms who have had to worry about this very thing. Let’s just make it easy on everyone and give it to granny!
wait does this mean matching bridesmaid dresses are out?
Oh gosh, that’s not what I wanted to say at all! Matching dresses are fine. Great. To each his own. I have seen some beautiful bridesmaid dresses — no need to wipe them out entirely!
…I was just saying that I thought it was pretty great that some brides just surrendered control and let everyone pick their own. That says a lot about the bride and the type of day she is going for. Also, it’s not easy for brides to find a single dress to suit multiple different body-types/coloring/etc…and it’s not easy for bridesmaids to buy a pricey dress they will wear once, on top of all the other expenses involved in being a bridesmaid, you know? This trend is a just a helpful solution for everyone concerned. It’s also a little unexpected, which I like! It sets the mood for the day. It says “No stuffy dresses here!”…and that’s awesome 🙂
Too right. One of my daughters just broke out in tears when she and her sister were supposed to walk down the aisle at a friend’s wedding. That was heartbreaking and a little embarrassing. But now that I’m a granny, I think I’d take that part as flower – er, um, girl, no problemo.
The bonfire we had was a HUGE hit. Also I loooove the trend of bypassing favors. No one wants them anyway 🙂
We skipped the bouquet toss and the garter crap and absolutely nobody cared.
Cookie tables are a huge tradition in my family/hometown. I used to think it was an Italian thing, then I heard it was a Pittsburgh thing. Either way, a family wedding is a time to pull out all stops, cookie-wise. Check out this story in the NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/dining/16cookies.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
I was just talking about wheeling out a table of chocolate chip cookies and milk….but SIX THOUSAND COOKIES!! (I read the article) Whoa. Just, whoa. That is awesome. I have seen some impressive sweets tables at Bar Mitzvahs that were no-unlike this…and I have seen some pizzeles brought out at Italian weddings….but this is a whole other level. And all homemade? Wow. Pittsburgh knows how to party!
All I can say is: thank heavens we seem to be getting over cupcakes. Bring on the cookies, they are soooo much better!
Italian thing.
I can’t wait to be a flower girl. Wait, let me get my doc martens!
I wish I had seen this two months ago. I would have gotten those sparklers and saved my niece from the trauma of being a flower girl. Oh well it was still a great night!
My favorite trend – no table favors. Who need that crap anyway?
Least favorite trend – bride and groom taking pictures before the ceremony. I like the idea of having some build up to the big moment but thats just me.
We’re hoping to get married next year and there are so many trends and ideas and blah blah blah…I think we’re going to go with a hog roast for the main meal a fish and chip van and ice cream van for the evening and shock horror – no gift list, just a couple of charities that guests can give money to if they feel like it. We’ve been living together for 5 years so it’s not like we need any bed sheets or anything!
Best I have ever seen was a whole hog roasted on a huge platter. What sent it over the top was the hog wearing a college football jersey, sunglasses, the team baseball cap with a cigar rather than the traditional apple in its mouth. I bow to the bride’s and groom’s greatness
My cousin was married in Pittsburgh on July 6th. What an event! I’d often seen a Viennese table, chock full of desserts and a highlight of any reception. This event sported a 40 or 50-foot long cookie table, with pretty bakery boxes to fill for taking home. Many Italian relatives contributed, but I’m just now learning that it’s a Pittsburgh tradition, too. Thanks, Anonymous. In another room, there was an equally long CANDY TABLE, done in her theme colors and with memento bags, also to fill for the taking. I was already so impressed by the candy and how it was done, with lavender lights under white tablecloths, as well. I thought it was a country-club addition. Then, I learned that the groom’s mother and two friends were responsible for this amazing table of goodies. Just skip over family pics, if you’d like, to see a partial view of it. My picture doesn’t do it justice, as it was truly breathtaking and SO NOVEL! Here’s to amazing traditions.
http://nickicarm.blogspot.com/2013/07/pittsburgh-part-two-event.html
I’m loving the trend of getting rid of nasty buffet food and trying something small, yet tasty. Donut buffet? yes please!!! Or skewers. Anything on a stick. mmmm.
I haven’t been to a wedding in awhile but I think all these points are excellent.
wow..very cutest things.it is made up of glasses…mainly made for princess.
these are not easy to use for every day…
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This is really a new trend. I like these ideas, especially the number 2 – Grandmas as Flower Girls. This is really a new trend since everybody knows that the role of the flower girls is for the little girls, but I think; this is great if Grandmas became the flower girl. I’m sure, grandmas will be happy to hear this trend. What do you think?