For second marriages or older brides, how traditional are your weddings?

Over 40 bride here. I’ll be wearing an ivory dress. We’re getting married on the beach with a super casual reception at a pavilion on the beach. The whole formal thing just seemed off for us.

Second marriage for me but first for him. I never had a wedding just went to the courthouse. So I'm keeping it pretty close to the traditional type of wedding and I'm also wearing a white wedding dress lol... I dare someone to try and stop me😀😀😀this time is different and I know it's right so we will be doing everything because this it it we have found true love!!!

I was 52 last fall, second time for me, first time for my then 52 yr old husband. I wore a white dress, no bouquet toss, no garter toss. No veil, no bridal party but those were just to keep things simple.

It was more special, to be honest as we were planning for what WE wanted, not what 20 other people thought we should have, lol.

Shorter civil ceremony, lunch reception, no dance. But had I married my current hubby back in the early 90's our wedding would have looked the same, honestly!!

I'm skipping the majority of the usual traditions and it's our first wedding and we're in our early 20s. If you don't like them and don't want to do them, don't! We're skipping all special dances, garter, bouquet toss, cake cutting, customized vows, etc.

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I almost didnt wear a white wedding dress, but then decided that this was my first marriage to him and so decided I wanted to look like a bride!

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I agree! This time I am doing exactly as I want and have a mind and voice of my own to express it. Heck, my first marriage I just went along with what my mom and her friend thought was the best wedding dress for me!

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Ahhhh the beach, sounds lovely!

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Thats awesome! it should be the one day about you and your SO and however you envision it!

I'm 41 and just married on 8/5/18. Initially I didn't think a wanted any pre wedding celebrations or garter toss, etc since I am "older" but the more my family and friends asked I decided I wanted to experience it all and I am so happy I did. We were very traditional for our wedding ceremony. Premarital counseling, my parents walking me down the aisle, minister as our officiant, cathedral veil, white wedding dress, bouquet toss, garter removal and toss, first dance, father daughter dance, etc. I LOVED it all.

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That is lovely! Congratulations! I am so glad you had a wonderful day!

2nd wedding for both of us and we are 28 and 31. We both got married in early 20s in runaway weddings to Vegas and reno. So neither of us had our "dream wedding". I am wearing a big ivory dress. But we aren't having a bridal party or any of the parties. We aren't doing bouquet or garter toss although I am wearing a garter more for wedding night lol. We aren't doing any of the first dances actually no dancing at all. We aren't even having a DJ. Its basically a family dinner after a wedding ceremony. No one is walking me down the aisle because my dad has passed away. Even though it isnt a fairy tale wedding its still what we think of as our dream wedding. We wrote our ceremony and its way outside of traditional vows. It's actually really romantic. Our 4 kids will be in the wedding. We are really excited for it

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Sounds like the perfect day for you!

Im having my sons walk me down the aisle instead of my dad this time around as it seems more fitting.

H and I are both older (in our 40s) and our wedding was pretty traditional. It was the first marriage for both of us. We didn't do the bouquet/garter toss, but included most other traditional elements (first dance, parent dances, wedding party, ivory dress). I got some comments from MIL that made me feel kind of ridiculous about it, but overall everyone acted normal about it.

Really, the the wedding was more for our families, especially mine, who all seem so happy that I finally found someone, so we did all the traditional stuff.

View Quoted Comment Thank you Tina!!

This is the second and final marriage for both of us! We're in our late forties. I'm having attendants since I didn't at my first wedding, wearing a white dress and my young son is walking me down the aisle. One non trad thing we are doing is a pre-ceremony welcome/cocktail "hour" where I will be in a white cocktail dress. It will give is a chance to say hello to every single guest as they come in. Then I will put my "real" dress on for the ceremony and reception. No garter, no bouquet toss, but that has never been my style.

View Quoted Comment Laura, I am looking at doing the same for a reception. What type of food will you be serving?

I was 56, and my wife was 41, when we got married. It was my second marriage, but her first.

The ceremony was pretty traditional. While I would have been happy to do without a formal wedding dress or veil, she wanted them, and I wanted to coordinate. We had my two kids as our attendants, although we didn't worry about which kid was supposed to be attending which of us. And it was at a synagogue and with a rabbi.

However, the receptions were much more free form. The one right after the ceremony was at a restaurant, and was just a very nice meal--no dances, cake cutting, tosses, etc. The at-home reception didn't have our bridal party there. There was no head table. It had a first dance and a cake cutting, but that was about it for traditions. We had a singer rather than a band or DJ. There was an open bar, dancing, and a photobooth operated by a friend, as well as heavy hors d'oeuvres. But the only toast was us briefly toasting our friends. No tosses, no grand entrance or exit.

Hi Tina! I’m 40’s (1st marriage), hubby is 50’s (2nd marriage). We’re not too traditional. No WP, garter or bouquet toss. I did wear white & a veil but we changed into pirate outfits for our decked-out pirate reception! It was awesome. Then we did a themed 60’s reception a few months later & our guests dressed up (drinks, dinner, dancing).

The question is... what do you both want??? 😉

I'm 26, FH is 29. This will be his first marriage but my second. We were planning on having a more traditional wedding, but now we are considering an elopment. We have three young children and would rather just have a private ceremony and spend money on a great family vacation than spend 20+K on a 6 hour event. This is largely due to us wanting to save our money to buy a home.

View Quoted Comment Right I’m thinking bbq. It’s relatively inexpensive per person for choice of two meats, three sides, lemonade and tea. We’ll also provide sodas, water and possibly a small amount of alcohol. Undecided on the booze at the moment.