Ten Ways Modern Weddings Are Completely Different

Image via Joshua Withers

You’re getting married? That’s awesome, but, it’s 2014 in-case you haven’t seen the calendar. Modern weddings are different, and although mothers, grand and not-so-grand, are dragging hundreds of years of tradition into most weddings, your marriage is a modern one, so your wedding should be a modern wedding.

Here’s ten ways that weddings are totally different now, according to marriage celebrant, Josh Withers. Sorry, mums.

1. Most weddings don’t happen at 3pm on Saturday anymore.

From the wedding bookings I see, more and more weddings are happening outside of 3pm Saturday, the old school traditional time of bridal bliss. The new popular times are 5pm Saturday, 9am Sunday, 11am Saturday and 5pm Friday. Tuesday, Thursday and Monday are becoming crazily popular as well!

It’s just a reflection of modern society where a good handful of the population don’t work Monday to Friday, 9-5 anymore. Shift workers, hospitality and retail workers, the self-employed and people that just have really cool jobs can get any old time off to party.

2. Weddings are being celebrated outside of (gasp) wedding venues! (gasp)

The rising trend is to celebrate your wedded bliss in venues that aren’t your traditional wedding venues, golf courses and function rooms. Look out for more art galleries, warehouses, concert venues, backyards, restaurants and parks on wedding invites this year.

3. Not everyone’s exchanging rings.

Some people don’t like rings. They’re exchanging other things, and some people aren’t exchanging anything except for their undying love.

4. Only 28% are religious.

72% of all weddings being celebrated in Australia this year will be officiated by a civil marriage celebrant.

Please don’t confuse celebrant with celibate. A wedding guest recently asked me how long I had been a celibate. I responded with “22 hours” and she was shocked!

5. You’ve got the power.

There is no “standard wedding” or normal layout today. Where it happens, when it happens, whether you take photos before or after, or anything like that, it’s all up to you. You have the power as you plan your wedding in 2014!

6. Wives are taking their husbands names again.

This is a trend that comes, then goes, then comes again. We’re on the rise at the moment, with most wives wanting to join their husband not only on a marriage certificate but also with the same last name.

Though one couple last year saw the husband take the wife’s last name!

7. 100% (of my) brides and grooms already live together.

This comes purely from my records, but 100% of the brides and grooms I married last year, and this year, live together already. Don’t tell your priest! In fact the last six couples I have married had actually been together more than ten years, two of them were high school sweethearts!

8. Weddings are no longer weddings, they’re actually marriage-starting-parties.

The word wedding arrives on your doorstep wanting to stay for a few months and brings with it more baggage than that weird friend from high school that just broke up with her boyfriend and needs a place to crash.

Stop planning a wedding, start planning a party to celebrate the beginning of your marriage!

9. Guest lists are getting smaller than ever.

The average guest list 10 years ago was more than 120 people. Today I’m surprised if I see a wedding with more than 40-50 people. Everyone knows that it costs and people don’t get offended as much when they’re not invited to your wedding. Its’ totally ok to not fill an A4 piece of paper with a guest list. Heck, most of my family didn’t come to my wedding!

10. Weddings are freaking cool, today.

Weddings used to be pretty same same. Now they’re not. Get amongst it and plan an awesome wedding!