Five Wedding Cliches to Avoid

There’s a fine, thin line between traditions and cliches, and it helps to avoid mistaking one for the other. Traditions have an emotional resonance that stand the test of time, whereas cliches have been so repeated and overdone that they have lost their emotional oomph and became boring. Of course, what’s cliched and what’s not is a highly subjective matter, but it helps to look what brides today are doing to know which traditions to drop and which traditions to keep. Here are five wedding practices that many brides consider to be cliches.

Matching bridesmaids dresses

Your bridesmaids aren’t your back-up dancers – they’re your friends, relatives, or future in-laws with their own style and taste. Instead of letting them wear the same dress in different styles, let your bridesmaids come in mismatched dresses. Give them a color scheme to work with and let them choose different styles, or give them a style and color options. This will add dimension and character to the overall look of your wedding party, not to mention that your maids will be grateful for getting a dress they can wear to other occasions!

Ornamental wedding favors

The whole point of giving out wedding favors is to thank your guests while giving them a reminder of how much fun they had at your wedding. Why give figurines, tiny saucers, and other wedding doodads to your guests when you know they’ll just end up gathering dust on their shelves? Instead, try something that won’t take up too much space like personalized chocolates or photobooth pictures.

Bridal toss

The age-old wedding tradition of the bridal toss is so passe, especially now that women have more options beyond getting hitched and bearing babies. Avoid putting undue pressure on your friends and skip the bridal toss.

Sweetheart table

Wedding cakes should have their own display table, not you! It doesn’t make sense to isolate yourselves in a sweetheart table when you can be sitting and catching up with the most important people in your lives. Instead of staying at a sweetheart table, sit at a large table with your family, siblings, or your wedding party.

“Wacky” shots

Ironically, the “wacky” bridal party shot – the one where everyone is supposed to goof off, or pretend to – has become way too predictable. If you want fun wedding photography, hire a photographer who can capture these spontaneous moments without putting your guests on the spot.

What cliche do you want to avoid at your wedding?

Photo credit