By: Recently, the Huffington Post added a post to their site about some wedding trends that needs to be retired. We don’t think all these trends need to be retired, a couple of them still go pretty strong when done right. It’s a good piece to read, but we think it’s a little out of touch in some areas, yet dead on in others, while missing in a couple of areas. We’ll take a look at their trends with our views and add a couple as well.
The list includes:
- Cutesy favors that wind up in the garbage
- MCs that “get the party started”
- Club weddings
- Peonies
- Buffets
- Chocolate fountains
- Performances
- Wedding gowns that look like lingerie
Some bonus trends:
- The dollar dance
- Going traditional
Cutesy favors that wind up in the garbage, yes we can understand that. While we still have a favor or two from all but a couple of our weddings that we’ve been honored to have been part of (kids like candy favors!), we’ve talked to a few DJs who’ve seen entire tables of favors left at the end of the night. The best favors are either edible or functional. During one of our meetings, a bride asked about favors because the last wedding she went to, the favors were single roses. People didn’t take them, because they looked like the decor.
You can still do something cute, but make it something that makes the recipient think of the couple. One of our recent couples gave out “puck surprises” which had Hershey kisses and a puck wrapped in red cellophane which was inspired with the couple’s favorite hockey team. The puck had a design similar to an NHL game puck, with their picture in the center of the puck. Agreement factor: Disagree
MCs that “get the party started” talks about radio DJs and hype guys who don’t quite understand how a wedding actually works. Just because someone is a DJ, doesn’t mean they are a professional wedding DJ. We’ve heard the other side of this with hype guys getting on the dance floor while the DJ is in the booth playing the music. We’ve heard the horror stories about how it becomes less about the happy couple and more about the entertainment appearing. Our DJs know how to get the party started and transition from one part of the reception to the next. Agreement factor: Completely Agree
Club weddings, when done right, are about as fun as any other kind of reception. We’ve been part of an amazing wedding reception in which booths, hi-tops, and lounge furniture were all used and it worked. Why? Because the wedding coordinator knew what she was doing, the uplights accented all of her work, and the space brought it all together. There were spaces people could still talk, but most of the guests came to dance. Agreement factor: Somewhat Agree
Peonies, ummm, we’re not florists, but do grow peonies. They look lovely when they bloom, but it’s for such a short period of time, and we never knew they were really that expensive. And when I say we’re not florists, we believe we planted a couple of the bulbs upside down in our garden. Agreement factor: We’re Not Florists
Buffets, to say nothing good happens with a buffet, we disagree. Why? Because it allows for guests to relax and a good facility will assign someone to dismiss tables so it’s not some extremely long line at the back of the room. Depending on the couple, we ask to be the ones allowed to dismiss to the buffet because it allows for some audience interaction. We’ll have a little fun with the last tables, telling them we ran out of food, or that their food is coming in a pizza box, and there’s some laughter. It’s all about fun.
Now, on the other side of the buffet, we’ve attended a wedding in which the DJ went table to table to dismiss guests to the buffet. The DJ held his clipboard up, making sure all who were there saw his company name and advertisement. It came off as tacky and if that’s going to happen, yes, we can completely understand why buffets need to go, but this should be a small minority of DJs who do this. Agreement factor: Somewhat Agree
Chocolate fountains, like everything else, when done right are done well. We recommend Capitol Chocolate Fountains for providing the chocolate fountain, because that’s what they do. If you have a facility provide it, well the attendant may be assigned to other duties and not keep the area clean and organized. Agreement factor: Disagree
Performances, with the proper preparation, these are quite enjoyable. The barbershop quartet, MAXX Factor were guests at one of our weddings and gave an amazing performance, singing for the bride and groom. This group appeared on NBC’s ‘The Singoff’. They were connected to the bride which made perfect sense to have them in attendance and made the reception that much more personal. When scheduled accordingly, performances can enhance the experience your guests have at the reception. Agreement factor: Somewhat Agree
Wedding gowns that look like lingerie, we haven’t experience this so…no comment?!
The dollar dance, honestly we had no idea what this was until our own wedding. Essentially this dance is very popular in some cultures and virtually unknown in others. Many European cultures, along with those from the midwest and northeast are very big on the dollar dance.
The dollar dance is when people pay money to dance with the bride and/or groom to raise money for the couple to spend on their honeymoon or other designated newlywed expense. We had one couple who absolutely despised the ritual, however performed it to raise money for disabled veterans. This is one of those that we leave up to the couple to decide. When done right, it’s great, when it isn’t, it flops. One of our weddings featured the dance, and there were several ice hockey referees in attendance. We used this as an opportunity to get all of the referees onto the dance floor together. Along with the bride, they danced to “Three Blind Mice”.
Going traditional, a lot of brides and grooms recently have asked us about “a traditional wedding”. In truth, there isn’t a such thing as a traditional wedding beyond the “I Do’s”. Every culture has their traditions, but there are also pieces in every wedding and reception that the bride and groom can put their own personal touches. We encourage this. That’s why we’ve seen autograph baseballs instead of a guestbook, sports-related table markers instead of numbers, hockey sticks used on the altar, hockey pucks as favors (at two weddings!), nose flutes given to guests with a lesson from the bride’s father, and countless other unique and personal details that stand out. It doesn’t have to be something big or flash, but something unique that will remind the guests of the happy couple when they see “it” again.
