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Most everyone has an idea of how some portions of a wedding is supposed to go. In today’s world, though, as the meanings of some of the traditions have fallen away to the point where most people don’t know why they were doing them, those traditions are going away, sometimes being replaced, and sometimes just being let go.
One of those traditions involves veils. In the past, veils were major because they signified trying to hide the bride from evil spirits so that her wedding day would go well. In some religions, it’s still considered as a vow of chastity and purity for brides to exhibit. For most brides, though, veils are hot and hard to breathe through, plus they spend a lot of money on hair and makeup, and thus they want to be seen.
Another tradition that’s starting to go away is the garter belt celebration, both taking it off and the throwing of it by the groom. Garters actually used to have a purpose in helping to keep stockings up, and the sharing of a bride’s clothes meant good luck to the one who was awarded the garter. These days, women see it as something they’d have to buy that they have no real use for, plus they don’t like having their wedding dress hiked up in front of family and friends. Many men who await the garter don’t want to catch it, because the significance changed to that of being the next person to get married, and some guys just don’t want to take that chance. So, where women might run to try to catch the bouquet, men will pretty much try to dodge it.
As for the throwing of the bouquet, that’s also becoming a lost art. More brides actually want to keep their bouquets instead of giving them away to someone else. Also, the fight for the bouquet has become a bit more violent, plus the brides who are willing to give away their bouquets seem to have forgotten how to throw the things, which means they either throw them straight into the floor or way over the heads of everyone.
Finally, the smashing of cake in each of the couple’s face is starting to disappear in a lot of weddings. Bridal gowns cost too much these days to intentionally want to get cake all over it. Also, in the politically correct times of today, it’s seen as more of a violent act than as anything that’s all that much fun.
See more:
Top 11 Wedding Traditions
Forgotten Wedding Traditions
Wedding Day Superstitions
yes the Veil has always been the outward sign of maturity and fraught with meaning in countries where there is conservatism in ceremonial, i think it is still followed in some part of countries where Protestant are in majority.