4 Ways Weddings Are Different Now Than They Were in the Past
?If you’re looking for key examples of how times and traditions have changed over time, weddings are a great place to start.
Now weddings still have a number of things in common whether the bride and groom tied the knot in 1979 or 2019. They’re still happy occasions that bring together friends and family, where cake is often served to the guests and where the happy couple usually heads off for a honeymoon.
In general, however, modern weddings are starting to become far different than weddings in the past. Take a closer look at how some traditions and ceremonies have changed in recent years.
1. Sending Out Save the Date Cards
When your parents and grandparents got married, most of their guests first heard about the wedding when they received the invitation in the mail.
Today, that has changed in the form of save the date cards. Since about the mid-2000s, many couples have sent out save the date cards before sending out invitations to announce the wedding date and location, allowing guests to make their travel plans accordingly.
This new tradition is so popular that companies like Minted.com have an entire section of their website devoted to saving the date cards, which come in a variety of styles, colors, and sizes.
2. Asking the Bride’s Father Permission to Marry Her
For centuries, the groom-to-be has asked his (hopefully!) future father-in-law for permission to marry his daughter. While some guys still view this as a proper and timeless tradition, over the past few decades this tradition has begun to decline in popularity. Some couples see this as an outdated practice that implies a man’s dominance over the bride and have let it slide from tradition.
3. Holding Shorter Ceremonies
Millennials like instant gratification, and nowhere is this more apparent than in today’s modern weddings, where both the bride and groom (and the guests) like to keep the ceremony short and sweet. In fact, modern Indian weddings are great examples of where the trend of shorter ceremonies is en vogue.
While Indian couples have often followed strict traditions about having more formal weddings, modern brides and grooms are still striving to honor their families’ wishes while not wanting their guests to have to sit through a huge and lengthy ceremony.
Regardless of whether couples are getting married at a place of worship, an outside venue like a park, or the county courthouse, chances are good that you will see a brief ceremony that figuratively cuts to the chase.
4. The Bride’s Family Foots the Bill
Parents who have several daughters and no sons are probably thrilled to hear this tradition is changing. The notion that the bride’s family should pay for the whole wedding stems from the idea of a dowry.
Now that many women are independent and have often moved out of their parent’s home before the wedding, the antiquated idea of a dowry, and thus mom and dad paying for the wedding, has gone out the door.
While the bride’s parents often still spring for at least part of the big day, the groom’s parents typically chip in as well, as does the happy couple themselves. This sharing of the often-large wedding bills means parents of daughters don’t have to come up with often thousands of dollars for the ceremony and reception.
Times They Are A-Changin’
Regardless of how many traditions have changed over the decades, weddings are still about love between two people. Who knows — some of these now-defunct older traditions may even make a comeback someday.
But whether a couple sends out save the date cards or has a long or short ceremony, the fact they’re vowing to love each other forever will always be the most important wedding tradition of all.
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