Tradition!

Every time I say that word, I hear this in my head.



Anyone else? No? Just me? Well, I am a Broadway nerd, so...somehow I'm not surprised.

There's an awful lot of tradition in weddings. However, I think it's safe to say that Matt and I are not exactly traditional people. Not that we don't believe in traditions - we do! But we also like to put our own spin on traditions.

Something Old, Something New...
You know the old saying - "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue." I also recently learned that it continues with "...and a sixpence for her shoe." So, my something old - my mom gave me my grandmother's first engagement ring, which I'm going to have JDK tie into my bouquet wrap. My something new - my dress, hair clip, bracelet, etc. That one was easy-peasy. Something borrowed - I haven't figured this one out yet. Got something you want to lend me? And I'm totally in love with my something blue. I'm planning to have a mani/pedi with my sister/MOH on the day before the wedding at the wonderful Chocolate Spa at the Hotel Hershey. I'm going to have the pedicurist (?) paint my toenails blue! And, I'm going to have my girls all sign the bottom of my shoes with a blue sharpie marker! When I told my mom, she asked if we were having communion - would people see that if we had to kneel down during our ceremony? We're not, and this is the only reason I wish we were! And the "sixpence" for my shoe will be a 2010 penny that I'll tape into the bottom of one of my shoes. Although, knowing me, I'll have to put one in each shoe, because having it in just one will probably drive me crazy.

Unity Candle/Sand Ceremony
Lots of couples do this at their ceremonies. We're skipping it. We just decided that we would like to keep our ceremony short and sweet, and although this is a tradition that we appreciate, it's not one that we felt was absolutely necessary.

Flower Girl/Ring Bearer
Another tradition we're bucking. Ours is a child-free wedding. We know lots of people with kids that we could easily include in our wedding - Matt has a niece and nephew, and I have 2 nieces and 4 nephews. But...ok, here goes a major confession. That cute little ring bearer in his adorable little tux, or the precious little flower girl in her fancy little dress? I don't want them stealing my spotlight! I mean, really, how many times can you remember being at a wedding and those little cuties do something really cute or funny and totally steal the show? Yeah, not at my wedding! All eyes on me! Ahem, I mean, us! All eyes on us!

Bouquet/Garter Toss
I hate this tradition. I've always hated it. There is nothing more humiliating than being called out for being single, and being forced to compete with other humiliated women to catch a bouquet and be told, "You're next!" if you catch it. Especially if you truly are single. Or if you're in a relationship with a guy who has absolutely no interest in getting married (which is what happened to me a couple of years ago...before Matt came to terms with the whole marriage thing). I also hate watching the groom dig up the bride's dress for her garter. That's always felt a bit voyeuristic and creepy to me. And it's even worse when the groom tries to be funny and pulls out a pair of gigantic underwear...or when he takes the garter off with his teeth. Dude, your grandmother is watching. Have some class. So, needless to say, we're not doing this. I am considering doing something with my bouquet - perhaps handing it over to some special lady to honor her. But I'm not totally committed to that idea. I might just want to keep my pretty bouquet all for myself!

So that's it. Just a few of the "normal" wedding traditions that we're either not partaking in or changing to make them our own.