A Fresh Look at Wedding Etiquette & "Rules"

Wedding Planning Podcast

Are you drowning in wedding "etiquette guidelines"?

Everyone has an opinion on invitation wording, cash bars, inviting kids, wedding day transportation, and what traditions absolutely SHOULD be included in the wedding day. There’s nothing like planning a wedding to suddenly have everyone you’ve ever known come out of the woodwork with their opinions, right?

Where wedding planning gets overwhelming is when ideas of what a wedding “should” look like are in conflict with our budget, our wants, and our personalities.

And of course, an added layer of stress arises when you and your partner come from different backgrounds, and one of you thinks paying $10,000 for a photographer is completely reasonable, and the other wants to spend $10,000 total on the entire wedding.

But no matter where you’re from, I’m a firm believer in your wedding day being an expression and celebration of you & your partner. At the end of the day, you’re making a really special commitment to one another, and looking to celebrate the occasion with your loved ones. That’s it!

With that said, let’s look at some common “wedding etiquette rules” with a fresh set of eyes.

Spoiler alert, I don’t necessarily have a right / wrong, ok / not ok answer for every single piece of wedding etiquette, because look, there is just so much gray area here. I could sit here all day and say, it’s never ok to do that, it’s always better to do that, but that’s not actuality, that’s not the world we live in.

I thought it would be helpful to take a list of common etiquette and rules that are flying around out there, and have a critical conversation about each one so that you can decide what’s right for YOU. Which leads me perfectly into,

Please trust that you ALWAYS have the support from me to ditch what everyone else is doing, and craft your day, your way.

No this doesn’t mean being blatantly rude or disagreeable to your family, or sneaking behind your partner to sabotage something that you know they really want, or failing to honor your guests who are committing significant time & resources to participate in your wedding and support you. Obviously use common sense, compromise and understanding throughout your engagement.

But these commonly held wedding etiquette rules & beliefs can by all means be adjusted and updated to serve you and your unique priorities.

LINKS & RESOURCES mentioned in today's show:

Setting up a Facebook Group for your wedding guests

Some Couples Are Charging Their Wedding Guests to Attend

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