Today's Wedding Trends vs. Timeless Wedding Traditions
There is no right or wrong when it comes to wedding planning; weddings are as varied as the couples planning them. Today’s brides and grooms-to-be are all kinds of people with all kinds of tastes and a variety of personal styles that run the gamut from hip and contemporary to elegant and traditional. Today’s weddings marry the personal style of the couple, too. No matter if you are trendsetters or want a wedding like your Mom’s, it is all possible today. We begin by exploring some of today’s trends and compare them to timeless traditions.
Would you like to earn $1 Million for your future? uTANGO members can leverage their wedding, honeymoon, and everyday shopping toward a $1 Million cash payout. Find out how!
Venues
We’ll start where most couples begin their journey, with the venue for the wedding and reception. It is essential that you book a place for the wedding before you set a date and make too many wedding plans. You really have to know where you are getting married to know when you are getting married. Here are some ideas:
Trend: Destination weddings with only a few people attending in a city that has or may not have a significant meaning to the couple. A domestic destination, like Chicago, for example, is the perfect destination wedding city. There is so much for wedding guests to see and do, it is easy to get to and it is reasonably priced, too. Las Vegas, an old favorite for weddings is popular once again. For the adventurous, and for the stress-resistant couple, a wedding in a foreign city holds allure. There are many, many things to consider when you take this step. Just make sure to do your homework and consider the budgets of your friends and family you plan to invite. Upside: Fun and adventure; one-stop shopping. Downside: Little recourse if something goes wrong when you are out of the country. Vendors can be unreliable unless you work with a very reliable property that knows the vendor and uses them regularly. TIP: Book your travel online through uTANGO to optimize your earnings!
Tradition: Hosting your wedding in the bride or groom’s hometown is still a very popular option, and very traditional. You have the opportunity to relive and share lots of cherished memories. Your relatives, especially your elderly relatives, will likely have an easier time traveling to your celebration, too. Upside: all your family and friends from high school will be there. Downside: all your family and friends from high school will expect to be there and it is hard to cut the list down to a manageable number.
Wedding Gowns and Bridesmaid Gowns
Trend:There are lots of them; most sleek and very body conscious, like much of today’s fashion. Quality fabrics and construction are important because many of the gowns are not heavily adorned with beads as they once were so every flaw shows. Believe us, every flaw shows. Wear again dresses taken from the red carpet are popular. Many leading designers on the red carpet have wedding collections: Vera Wang, Monique Lhuillier, Badgley Mishka, and Elie Saab and others take their red carpet celebrity styles directly from their wedding collections. Upside: even in white, these are beautiful to wear again. Downside: there are exceptions, but most of these trend setting styles require a red carpet body, and budget.
Tradition:The great thing about wedding gowns is that because brides come in every shape and size, bridal gowns and bridesmaids do, too. Even if you are as trendy as they come and you never miss the season change at Barney’s, you may still want a very traditional gown. Good for you. Nothing says bride like a beautiful traditional wedding gown with all the trimmings! As popular today as when your Mom got married, this is one place where time can stand still. Alencon lace, beading, full skirts, tiers of veiling, tiaras, and yards of silk satin are still walking down wedding aisles on the chicest of women all over America to the delight of mothers every where! Upside: This is one time you and Mom can skip the arguments. Downside: Make sure to remove your belly ring so it does not show through the fitted bodice of your ensemble!
Food and Beverage
Trend:Fun, ethnic, and quirky menus are popping up all over the country. Brides and grooms are looking to reflect their personal style in their wedding festivities. From barbeque cookouts, Chinese themed parties complete with paper lanterns and chopsticks, Cajun crawfish boils, Italian feasts, fall harvest picnics, to chic sushi presentations, today’s wedding food is anything and everything. You can build an entire wedding around your food. Just make sure the food is delicious! Creative cocktails and signature drinks are very popular and can help cut down on bar bills and lines since they can be pre-mixed in advance and often can include well brands instead of premium liquor. Chose a fun color to compliment your decor or a festive concoction to match the theme of the event. Upside: Almost anything goes. Catering costs are often as varied as the different types of food options available. Downside: You can’t have them all!
Tradition: The standard wedding fare; steak, prime rib, fish, or chicken with a potato and veggie are still big in some areas and there is absolutely nothing wrong with offering this to your guests. Many couples offer guests a choice, maybe a steak and shrimp combination. Some ask the guests to indicate a meal preference on the response card, offering meat, fish, and even Kosher or vegetarian choices. Upside: Always a safe bet for most establishments, you can’t go wrong unless the quality is poor. Downside: Your inner foodie may be denied.
Flowers
Trend: Large. Small, Compact. Loose. Flowing. Dense. For the past several years, wedding flowers have been getting more and more diverse. Strong colors are popular. Dense bouquets in color or whites. Multiple small flower arrangements instead of large, massive obstructive arrangements. Living exotic arrangements like orchids that the guests may take home after the party is over are popular. As with food, almost anything goes. Find a flower or color you like, and then see what is readily available for your wedding. One of the popular trends that we like is deep colored calla lilies. Upside: Once again, let your style shine. Anything goes! Downside: With so many options, it’s hard to decide. Let a professional floral designer guide you with the best flowers available in your color scheme for the time of year of your wedding.
Tradition:Large formed and stiff arrangements that use a lot of filler and baby’s breath are not very popular any more, but some components of traditional arrangements are always lovely. You can’t go wrong with roses. Any color en masse is beautiful. Small, compact and multi-container arrangements of traditional flowers have replaced the huge centerpieces that used to be a wedding constant. Upside: Your guests can actually see one another while they are eating dinner.
Trend or tradition, your wedding style can be exactly what you want it to be! Use good taste, and if you don’t have it, at least use the good judgment to pay someone to have it for you. Pay attention to the details, and above all, remember there will be a photo of every moment of your wedding. When it comes to trends, don’t do or use anything that you don’t want captured in your wedding photos and video for eternity. We’re thinking powder blue tuxedos or those v-shaped pointy headpieces that were popular in the 80’s. Some of us regret those choices now!
About uTANGO
uTANGO is a new kind of reward program specifically for singles, engaged couples, and newlyweds (married less than 3 years). The program is FREE and allows you to earn Points toward Annual Cash Rewards up to $800 and Life-Stage Cash Rewards up to $1 Million for your future.* It's easy - just enroll, then make all of your online purchases through any of nearly 300 uTANGO merchants and watch the Points add up!
To accelerate your Point earnings, get the uTANGO LifeStage Rewards VISA® Credit Card! Card holders will earn an extra two (2) Points per dollar spent online or offline at over 300 program merchants and one (1) Point per dollar spent anywhere Visa is accepted.
Receive 10,000 Bonus Points…and a $10 Gift Card from one of these merchants; Home Depot, Target or Starbucks when you spend $100 with your uTANGO Visa card! Click here to apply for the uTANGO LifeStage Rewards Visa Card
