Have you seen the recent article “Brad & Angelina’s Wedding Broke Rules: 15 Other Real Bridal Parties ‘Gone Wild’”? Now don’t get me wrong – I am in complete agreement of mixing up the traditional gender roles and your wedding party if you want.
But for the author to consider this a “widespread trend” makes it sound like couples are suddenly choosing to mix up the traditional gender roles merely for the sake of doing something untraditional on their wedding day.
And to use the term “Gone Wild” in the article title is, well. . . I’m at a loss for words. Misleading? Unnecessary? Just plain ridiculous?
I suppose it makes for a more interesting title than ‘Couples Choose Who They Want For Their Bridal Party,” which in turn gets more readers. But Gone Wild?
My complaint of this article is not that it is about “bucking the trend,” or having men in traditional womens’ roles, and vice versa, but an attempt to sensationalize what should be (and is) a regular occurrence.
In 20 years of wedding planning, I’ve seen:
- brides with male attendants
- and grooms with female attendants
- couples with only children in their wedding party
- an adult “flower fairy” (this young lady was about 24 years old, wore a full length black vinyl dress with cobalt blue butterfly wings, and skipped down the aisle dropping flower petals)
- a mother-of-the-bride who was a bridesmaid
- a father-of-the-groom who was the best man
And in all of these instances, no one batted an eye! None of the guests were confused or felt that it was an affront to what was “supposed” to be done.
Why? Because all of these choices made sense for each couple, and represented what (and who) was important to them.
Bottom line – our nearest and dearest come in a wide array of shapes, sizes, colors, ages, genders – you name it. There is no “rule” to govern who is important in our lives. So why should there be a “rule” which defines how their roles can represent, express, celebrate, and the meaningful events in our lives?
So choose who YOU WANT to choose and celebrate with the people YOU WANT to celebrate with!
You can check it out here: brad_angelinas_wedding_broke_rules
Hearts, Joy, Love!
Jean
If you have questions or are looking for ideas for your wedding, contact me at [email protected] or at 937-581-3647 for your free, complimentary appointment!
