Study finds which wedding traditions couples want to leave behind
- 8 months ago
Forget walking down the aisle to “The Wedding March” — a new survey suggests couples are looking to make their wedding as unique as they are themselves.
A poll of 2,000 adults in serious relationships, engaged or married, split evenly by generation, revealed 68% feel it is important that their wedding is customized to be unique to them rather than follow tradition.
For 45%, that means hosting the ceremony in a place with personal significance.
Meanwhile, others agreed that it means ditching the same old tunes and choosing a different song to walk down the aisle (36%), leaving dress code norms behind (29%) and choosing an unconventional theme (18%).
One in five millennials would even take it a step further and incorporate a surprise performance by the couple, guests or a professional performer.
In fact, more than three-quarters (78%) of respondents feel weddings are more memorable when they reflect the couple’s lives.
Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Minted Weddings, the survey revealed that regardless of how the couple chooses to customize their day, some traditions are best left in the past.
Customs like not seeing each other before the ceremony (36%) and wearing a white dress (36%) are considered outdated.
But that doesn’t mean guests should come in their all-white attire. Almost one in five (19%) Gen-Zers say wearing white is the rudest thing you can do as a guest, whereas only 2% of baby boomers would also take offense.
However, the top tradition couples are leaving behind is the bride’s family paying for the wedding (46%). So much so that the majority of respondents say that they and their partner are forking out the big bucks together.
Ceremony locations are also seeing a shift. When analyzed by age, respondents who would get married in a house of worship declines with each generation — 39% of baby boomers, 24% of Gen Xers, 18% of millennials and just 13% of Gen Zers.
When it comes time to make the big decisions, many couples tend to base their final calls on budget (45%). However, 16% of Gen Zers are likely to make a pros and cons list, more so than any other generation.
The survey also found that 63% of married couples encountered at least one surprise mishap on their wedding day or weekend.
Most commonly, those surprises included family drama (34%), missing or late guests (32%) and inclement weather (27%).
Food mishaps such as “[the] wedding cake toppled over”, and “my mom spilled the punch she had just made” also wreaked havoc on their perfect day.
But many couples weren’t letting anything get them down — 48% simply let it go, while 30% handled it themselves. Only 5% of respondents admitted those unexpected turns ruined their big day.
A poll of 2,000 adults in serious relationships, engaged or married, split evenly by generation, revealed 68% feel it is important that their wedding is customized to be unique to them rather than follow tradition.
For 45%, that means hosting the ceremony in a place with personal significance.
Meanwhile, others agreed that it means ditching the same old tunes and choosing a different song to walk down the aisle (36%), leaving dress code norms behind (29%) and choosing an unconventional theme (18%).
One in five millennials would even take it a step further and incorporate a surprise performance by the couple, guests or a professional performer.
In fact, more than three-quarters (78%) of respondents feel weddings are more memorable when they reflect the couple’s lives.
Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Minted Weddings, the survey revealed that regardless of how the couple chooses to customize their day, some traditions are best left in the past.
Customs like not seeing each other before the ceremony (36%) and wearing a white dress (36%) are considered outdated.
But that doesn’t mean guests should come in their all-white attire. Almost one in five (19%) Gen-Zers say wearing white is the rudest thing you can do as a guest, whereas only 2% of baby boomers would also take offense.
However, the top tradition couples are leaving behind is the bride’s family paying for the wedding (46%). So much so that the majority of respondents say that they and their partner are forking out the big bucks together.
Ceremony locations are also seeing a shift. When analyzed by age, respondents who would get married in a house of worship declines with each generation — 39% of baby boomers, 24% of Gen Xers, 18% of millennials and just 13% of Gen Zers.
When it comes time to make the big decisions, many couples tend to base their final calls on budget (45%). However, 16% of Gen Zers are likely to make a pros and cons list, more so than any other generation.
The survey also found that 63% of married couples encountered at least one surprise mishap on their wedding day or weekend.
Most commonly, those surprises included family drama (34%), missing or late guests (32%) and inclement weather (27%).
Food mishaps such as “[the] wedding cake toppled over”, and “my mom spilled the punch she had just made” also wreaked havoc on their perfect day.
But many couples weren’t letting anything get them down — 48% simply let it go, while 30% handled it themselves. Only 5% of respondents admitted those unexpected turns ruined their big day.