If you’re planning a wedding, the number one thing I can advise you to do is take deep breaths. Take them very often. Try and tell yourself that all of the stress and anxiety and pressure that comes along with a wedding are temporary, controllable, and unnecessary. Most of those dreaded feelings come around because brides think they need to plan a wedding that resembles everyone elses. They need to print out a wedding to-do list from an online website and follow it exactly, imitating the look, feel, and traditions from weddings that have spanned the last hundred years.

 

The truth that most brides forget is that your wedding can be however you want it to be. If you don’t understand why the bride is supposed to wear a veil or why people throw rice at the happy couple as they make their grand exit, skip those traditions. Or if those traditions are still something you’d like to incorporate into your wedding, that’s perfectly okay. There’s nothing wrong with having tradition at your wedding, but give it a more modern spin. Mix in the old with a modern twist, that way your personality will shine through on the most expensive party you will ever throw for yourself in this lifetime. Here are eight old-school wedding traditions that can be revamped to have a more modern, 2016, feel to them.

 

 

1. Go Crazy With Your Cake

Instead of doing a traditional tiered wedding cake, swap out the tasty dessert for a treat that you and your fiancé enjoy the most. Perhaps it’s mini cupcakes, one giant pie, or even chocolate chip cookies. Instead of doing a cake cutting, you can cut into the cupcake, pie, or split a cookie together.

 

2. An Untraditional First Dance

A lot of couples are terrified at the thought of doing a traditional first dance because they have no idea how to slow dance together. Instead, pick a more upbeat song and dance like you normally would. This will be a good chance to let your personality shine and also have a memorable wedding song for years to come.

 

3. Make a Different Kind of Exit

Instead of being the first to leave, having guests throw rice at you or lighting a path of sparklers for you to walk through, plan for your guests to leave safely first. Provide them with transportation back to the hotel with a school bus or even to their homes with a pre-paid taxi service.

 

4. Pre-Written Thank You Cards

It’s always been tradition to send thank you cards after your wedding, once you’ve received a gift. Instead, you can write the thank you cards before, personally thanking each guest for coming to the wedding, and use these notes as their table escort cards.

 

5. Wearing Heels

Think you need to pair your fancy dress with a pair of high-up heels? You can skip the uncomfortable shoes and instead wear your dress with flats. Your feet will thank you very much for doing this.

 

6. Smile, You’re on Camera

Instead of having a photographer take poised shots of you and your family members, you can opt for more fun photos that are taken with a seflie stick, a GoPro, or even disposable cameras that your guests carry around with them throughout the night.

 

7. Bye, Bye Guest Book

Asking your guests to sign a guest book when they arrive is always a task that people forget to do. Instead, set up a video booth and have them record a 30-second hello video for you. This will be something you cherish and view more often than reading through a wedding guest book over the years.

 

8. Skip the Party Favors

Instead of sending your guests home with party favors, use the money you would spend on these items and donate it to a charity that means a lot to you. You can display a sign with information on the charity you donated money to so that your guests can see this on the way out of the wedding.