Much of what was once considered standard wedding procedure, dress, and structure was actually held over from the Elizabethan, Renaissance, and Victorian eras, when marriage was a business transaction or political move as often as it was a personal choice. Many traditions have gone out of style in the past thirty years. These days, while many wedding ceremonies follow some sort of outline that recalls the traditions of the past, changing social mores, technological advances, and new trends in fashion have allowed modern couples to make their weddings truly their own.
Although a really good wedding happens when all of the elements work well together, the top priority as far as material goods are concerned should be the wedding bands. They are the only items or wearables that will get any use beyond the day of the ceremony, so before the cake or even the clothes, the rings should be the couple’s main concern. Modern wedding bands provide many more options than the old-school standards of domed, gold, and plain. Particularly, elements like other precious stones, eternity styles, and cutting-edge metals like titanium, ceramic, and tungsten have opened the door to perfectly personalized contemporary rings.
Tungsten rings or, more accurately, tungsten carbide rings, are a distinct gunmetal gray color that sets them apart from other types of rings in appearance. Their special properties don’t stop there, however– tungsten carbide is much stronger and harder than standard jeweler’s metals and is incapable of tarnishing. Tungsten carbide rings are also extremely difficult to scratch and lend themselves well to other modern elements of design, such as tension setting and laser etching.
Coming back to the actual day-of necessities, music is a major part of any event and an important choice in setting the mood and tone for the atmosphere you want to create for yourselves and your guests. In the last few years I’ve become something of a professional bridesmaid/maid of honor, and the best weddings weren’t the ones that stuck to tradition or tossed it out completely just for the sake of doing either. Instead, those couples figured out a basic structure for the ceremony with the traditional elements they found appealing, and built upon that to create something all their own. A great example of doing this with music is a friend’s ceremony that used both Pachelbel’s Canon and a song by the Beatles for the entrance of the wedding party and couple.
Flowers are another instance in which some modern touches can breathe new life into a wedding-day staple. In the past, wedding flowers were often limited by availability, but now virtually any kind of plant or blossom can be featured in your bridal bouquets and centerpieces.
Much like the modern concept of marriage itself, the modern wedding is definitely more about the couple and the choices and tastes they prefer rather than a strategic move or attempt to do everything properly according to outdated standards.
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