Traditions article

Traditions, They Keep on a Changing

Tradition. The word if nothing else strongly suggests continuity. The passing on of the torch. Doing something a certain way as both a tribute to those that have gone before and a reassurance to those that are traveling that path now.

Maybe at least inertia?

Naah, wedding traditions and fashions change as fast as you can say boo. Well, at least some of them do.

When I first started shooting weddings, back when the Earth was young (for the record, 1980), it was almost unheard of for a lady to wear black at a wedding. Now I’m not talking about the bride (Goth wedding anyone?) but any of the females at the wedding. Bride, attendants, parents, guests, anyone. Black was pretty much a fashion faux pas for females. Males? Well, we have always been pretty much free to wear any color that didn’t infringe on our sense of masculinity. But black for females? Well, it just wasn’t done.

Now, think back to the last time you went to a wedding. What was the most popular color among the female guests? If it was like any wedding that I have done recently it was most likely black. The ubiquitous little black dress has invaded the wedding scene and I suspect that there is no turning back.

There is another color that female guests are traditionally not supposed to wear to weddings. And that is white. This color has traditionally been reserved for the bride and flower girl. This unwritten law held out longer than the restriction against black did. I am seeing cracks in it though. At a fairly recent wedding I actually saw the mother of the bride wearing white. Ok, I admit it, I never noticed. But upon looking at the photos my wife sure did. I thought I was going to have to give her CPR. My lovely wife is kind of old fashioned in some things. She needs to get used to it though, since I suspect that this taboo is going the way of the dodo also.

Train length seem to have settled down though. When I started they could be any length at all. Now they mostly seem to fit into the three to six foot range. I have had one Cathedral length train in the last eight years or so. I have to admit that I don’t miss them. The things seem to be twenty-five yards long and make the group shots a bit on the adventurous side. I actually see quite a few veils that are longer than the trains now.

Speaking of veils, a quarter century ago pretty much all brides wore the veils in front of their faces as they walked down the aisle. If nothing else it gave the groom something to lift before the kiss. Over the last five years or so I have seen a grand total of one bride wearing the veil in front as she did the step-pause to the Wedding March. And that caused some very interesting whispering among the attendees. “She has the veil in front! Isn’t that romantic!” How times change. The DIPics prediction on this one? I suspect that the tide may change back. It does seem romantic, and that is never a bad thing at a wedding.

And don’t get me started on what people throw at weddings. It all started with the rice and bird myth and has gone from there. Rice, birdseed, lizards (just seeing if you are paying attention), rose petals, bubbles, sparklers, you name it, they throw, blow or wave it. And it’s all good. Now, if they start shooting guns into the air like the tradition in some countries, I may reconsider my career choice.

Richard