17 American Wedding Traditions: Why We Do Them
Weddings in the United States are a bit different than they are in other parts of the world. They involve traditions that may seem strange to people who come from places where weddings look and feel completely different. But, there is a reason for every tradition we do at our wedding celebrations! In this blog post, we will explore American Wedding Traditions, how they started, and why you should incorporate them into your wedding planning process.
1. The bride and groom don’t see each other before the ceremony
Traditionally in America, the bride and groom don’t see each other on the wedding day until she walks down the aisle. This started in the Victorian era, when women were viewed as property who needed to be hidden away. The groom was not allowed to see his bride-to-be before the wedding in order to ensure she would stay beautiful for her husband!
Today, there are many reasons why couples choose this tradition. Some brides want nothing more than to surprise their future husband as he watches her walk down the aisle. Others want to keep some element of mystery for their big day, and choose not to see each other until it’s time!
Lately, things have started to shift with doing a first look between the bride and groom before the ceremony. The emotions are still the same, but it’s more of a private moment.
2. It has a ring to it.
When you hear that someone is engaged, one of the first things people will want to see is the engagement ring.
A wedding ring is a big part of Christian weddings and symbolizes commitment and something pure and unending. Wedding rings can look very different these days, but the ideas is still the same. You are giving them a ring and wearing it as a reminder of your love and commitment.17 American Wedding Traditions: Why We Do Them
3. White wedding dress
The white bridal dresses are one of the top practices in America today. Honestly, I think I’ve only seen maybe one or two non-white wedding dresses in 12 years of being a wedding photographer. The tradition also originates from across the pond in England. Queen Victoria had a beautiful and very public wedding in the early 1800s where she donned a white lace blouse.17 American Wedding Traditions: Why We Do Them
There’s also a good amount of symbolism behind the color white. It represents purity. With this wedding tradition, it’s also important that other guests or people in the bridal party don’t wear white. It’s reserved for the bride.
4. The father walking the bride down the aisle
There are some moments in American weddings that really are emotional and dramatic. The father walking the bride down the aisle is one of them.
We often hear people refer to marriage as ‘tying to knot.’ This comes from a hand fasting ceremony. Hand fasting is a Celtic ritual which represents an unbreakable promise to bound the couple together. They would actually put the couples hands together and tie them together.
11. The Wedding Cake
I love wedding cake! Sometimes I think it’s why I became a wedding photographer. These days, most couples still do a wedding cake, but I’ve also seen pies, cookie cakes, and cupcakes.
Originally, instead of wedding cakes, they had a wedding pie. I’m not sure if it was a pastry or fruit, but the couple would eat from the same piece of meat to show their love for each other and that they were sharing everything together.17 American Wedding Traditions: Why We Do Them
After growing in popularity around 1780-1940’s wedding cakes became so popular because of new technology creating better baking products like sugar and flour. They also had the technology to create more elaborate wedding cakes than what was possible before.
12. Cake Topper
Cake toppers started when Prince Albert and Queen Victoria had chosen to celebrate their wedding with miniature sculpture of herself. Today cake toppers can be a similar, generic bride and groom, or you can buy all types of designs off of Etsy.Saving the top tier of the wedding cake.17 American Wedding Traditions: Why We Do Them
13. Saving the Top Tier of the Wedding Cake
Another tradition in formal weddings is saving the top tier of the wedding cake while the wedding guests eat the rest. The tier of the cake is saved and stored and frozen. Then, the cake can be enjoyed either on the one year anniversary or for their kids’ christening.17 American Wedding Traditions: Why We Do Them
Some still choose to follow this tradition, but others will choose to have the bakery remake the cake instead.
14. The first dance
One of the first things done during the wedding reception is the first dance. This is when the bride and groom share a dance before all the other dancing starts.17 American Wedding Traditions: Why We Do Them
Some do romantic slow dances while others dazzle people with choreographed routine backed up by upbeat music. Often, the couple will pick a song that has special meaning to them.
15. Tossing the Garter
A garter is a frilly piece of material the bride where’s around her thigh, and often is a symbol of a bride’s virginity. The groom will remove this, often with his head under the dress, and toss it to all the men in attendance during wedding reception. Whoever catches the garter is going to be next married, since they’re considered lucky!17 American Wedding Traditions: Why We Do Them
16. Throwing rice
The wedding exit is really exciting. It’s the end of the wedding reception and the bride and groom are racing off. In the American wedding culture, wedding guests would throw rice as they left. Rice was thought to bring fertility and good luck.17 American Wedding Traditions: Why We Do Them
Normally today you’ll see sparklers or bubbles used instead since birds might eat the rice and die.
17. Carrying the bride across the threshold
Now that the wedding is over, there is still one more wedding day tradition. The groom will carry the bride across the threshold of where they are staying.17 American Wedding Traditions: Why We Do Them
