Traditional with a twist

I think categorizing my wedding as 'traditional' would make a lot of people turn over in their graves. Honestly, one thing I've discovered so far in wedding planning is that in general, what people consider to be traditional varies greatly based on region, age, style, culture, etc etc. Take for example, who should you invite to your wedding? In some cultures, lets say Indian for example, you invite everyone. Literally... everyone. These affairs can include upwards of a thousand people, and become all day events. Others have only ever known small weddings, meaning close friends and family only. Neither being more right than the either, nor being more traditional than the other.

So I have decided to break down the things that I CONSIDER to be traditional pieces of a wedding and how I intend to incorporate them, or not.

1) The bride and groom should not see each other before the wedding, or its bad luck. I don't like this tradition, because I think there's so much pressure on the bride and groom that sometimes a more intimate first sighting is better than the first glance in a room full of people. You do lose some of the drama of the doors opening and there's the bride! But at the same time, I'm a big fan of reducing nerves prior to standing in front of a herd of people. And there's only so much that Vodka can do to calm nerves....

2) The symbol of the father in the wedding day. In a very traditional sense, the father is the person giving the daughter away to the other family. I like the role of the father, though the traditional meaning isn't really applicable. I will have both my mother and my father give me away, but my father will be the one to walk me down (most) of the aisle. There's also a father/daughter dance in the beginning of the reception. Honestly, every time I think about it I nearly cry. To me its an intimate moment. I love my father very much and I'm excited that he'll be sharing the day with me. I do, however, promise to not use the following songs for the father/daughter dance: "Butterfly Kisses" or "I loved her first".

I'll do more on traditional wedding traditions while I plan (and as I come up with something to say about them).

This blog is a place to reflect on the wedding planning process as I see it. And it is important to realize that everyone approaches it differently, which is why I think having Wisp and I keep a blog together will be fascinating. We are friends, but our weddings will be very different events. Neither is more right than the other, and that is the important thing for all of our readers to understand. We're not battling it out here to see who is better. We're both awesome.

-Aurora