Tradition or just tired?

I recently saw an article on TLC's website about wedding traditions. I'm not against tradition at all, but usually I lean towards marching to the beat of my own drum. Here's my take on the traditions we all know and love (or sometimes hate).


Line Dances- I'm starting off with this because it might be my least favorite thing in the entire world (except maybe cow milk). To me, there is nothing worse than dancing with your friends at a wedding and all of a sudden you hear the intro to the Macarena. With any party dance, some take it way too seriously,

"No! Like this!"...and then there are the people who are convinced they are doing it perfectly, when in reality they're doing the chicken dance during the electric slide...I can't talk about this anymore. I'm getting embarrassed for the people in this photo.


Smushing the cake- Whoever started this tradition clearly was not well-versed in the cost of bridal makeup. When you combine the dress, the hair, the makeup...you're talking thousands of dollars, and all to get cake shoved in your face? OK, if that didn't convince you that this tradition was terrible, let's think about it this way: You just proclaimed your undying love for someone in front of all your family and friends...and now you're involved in a food fight with that person?


Watch this video and then agree with me that this is a barbaric tradition. How about smashing the guests face into the first course instead? Or dousing the bridesmaids with the signature drink? Alright I'll stop...

 The white dress- finally a tradition I love. When else in your life are you going to get the chance to wear a beautiful white gown that is completely out of your price range? Never. I'm all for doing whatever you want, but there's something that makes me crinkle my nose when brides wear a different color.

I love purple, but I'm still going to be going with tradition on this one.

The garter removal- This is a surefire way to make everyone in the room uncomfortable, including the bride and groom. If you have been dreaming of doing this all your life, go for it, but my fiance will not be going under my dress in a room full of everyone I know.

Tossing the bouquet- Alright, this one I don't really have too many issues with. I think it's fine if you want to do it, but it's not for me.  I typically just stay seated when they start playing "All the single ladies" and the DJ calls up the unmarried women, and after June 30, I will never have to hide again!

Tossing the garter- OK, I'll admit, this is hysterical to watch. I know my friend Aris reads this blog- so I will shout her out and say that the garter toss at her wedding was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. Guys were jumping all over the place, taking football stances, and made for some awesome photos. But as a female, I always warn Ryan "You better not catch that garter" just to reinforce the fact that he won't be going up a random ladies dress. In fact, most of the time, I think guys forget what the garter toss is even about, because even if Grandma Betty catches the bouquet, everyone still wants the garter!

The garter placement- finally! After all that, now these two people have to violate or be violated. This is one of the reasons I never catch the bouquet, but it can get more awkward than this. I've seen two cousins both "win". What a prize!

Anniversary dance- This is a fairly new one that I think is fantastic! A great way to honor marriage and tribute the couple at your wedding that has been married the longest. Kudos to whoever came up with this.


Favors- I think lately, people are really getting creative with favors, in a good way. But if there aren't favors at a wedding, honestly I don't think anyone notices.

Alright, agree, disagree, tell me how dumb I am, or how much you love me...

Where in the world?...part dos

I last left off where we had decided that a tropical vacation was the thing for us. One would think this would narrow things down, but there are a lot of beaches in the world. First we thought about Hawaii

Beautiful, but pricey. We knew we were going to splurge on our Honeymoon, and so we still  considered it. Hawaii also, for the most part, lacks all-inclusive resorts. But in the end, it was the travel time that nixed this for us. We didn't want to spend nearly 2 days of our trip traveling.

How about Jamaica?

Jamaica was a cool option because neither of us have ever been there. Also, the resorts are all-inclusive, winning! (sorry, had to). The country is beautiful but one major drawback- the resort we liked was family friendly.

Don't get me wrong, I love kids! Ryan loves kids too. My whole life revolves around working with kids, and for this reason it was very important to me to have a resort that was adults only.

How about Mexico?

We actually had never planned on researching Mexico, but thanks to my favorite website, Long Island Weddings, we stumbled across a resort that looked absolutely perfect.

Hmm, beautiful beaches, amazing scenery, dinner on the beach, all inclusive, and basically everything else you could want to be treated like the most important couple in the world.

Here is a snapshot of what we will be seeing come July. Looking at this picture (almost) makes me want to skip the wedding and just go earlier (but not really).

So maybe it's not the trendy #1 travel destination of 2012 (not quite sure if there is one of those), but it's us, and everything we love to do.

Where is the best place you've traveled? (anyone?)