Thursday Thirteen... 13 Bridal Traditions

To celebrate the upcoming June 22nd release of my novella Something Old, Something New in By Grace's Brides and Bouquets '07 anthology, a list of 13 bridal traditions is in order. GGG

1. The bride wears "Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue." My something old and borrowed was my mother's wedding gown. My earrings were new, and my garter was blue.

2. Bridal showers. How can you be properly married without having first had at least one shower where you've played silly bridal games, been given honeymoon lingerie and had a stripper? (Okay, the stripper came to my bachelorette party... He was very... memorable. ;) )

3. Bridesmaid dresses. I opted for tasteful and feminine. One of my sisters picked a print that I later saw in the drapery section of a fabric store. My other sister went for elegant. I think we covered all the bases there.

4. Bachelor party. Why do men get to have all the fun? I wanted a bachelor party, too. Hehe. As noted above, my bachelorette party featured a stripper, followed by an evening of club hopping. Much fun was had by all.

5. Wedding presents. I discovered these run quite a gamut from tasteful and useful to the less tasteful and useful. I received a ginormous bowl that I initially thought was hideous. After a while, I grew to like it, so of course, it then got broken. Sigh. Still miss that bowl, by the way. Oh, and I still have the blender we received as a wedding gift. Um... it's getting rather elderly now, as far as kitchen appliances go.

6. Invitations. Oh boy, picking out not only the style, but the wording, font, colors... Men, just smile and nod, okay? You may be the groom, but really, you should just smile and nod. It's less painful that way. For all concerned. ;)

7. The wedding cake. Yummm! You get to pick the flavor, the filling, the type of frosting, the cake topper. I love tiered cakes-- mine had 3. And it was delicious.

8. The wedding rehearsal. The practice run for all involved, followed by the...

9. Rehearsal dinner. An opportunity for the bride and groom to be teased mercilessly by friends and family alike. And also the last time you'll see each other before the wedding. Order the beef plate. The chicken is usually dry.

10. The pre-wedding Arby's run. What do you mean this isn't a tradition? I made my Dad take me to the church in my bathrobe, but since I was hungry, we went through the Arby's drive-thru first. Found out after the wedding that my DH had done the same thing. See? It IS a tradition!

11. The first dance. Ahhh... the first time you and the DH dance as man and wife. You get to pick the song. DH and I danced to "Everything I Do, I Do It For You" by Bryan Adams.

12. Throwing the bouquet. I'll just say I was ecstatic I didn't have to participate in this little tradition at either of my sisters' weddings, as I was already married. Hehe.

13. Throwing rice/birdseed at the newlyweds. We have a picture of Mr. Laura's late Grandmother throwing the birdseed DOWN his collar, while grinning with glee. Considering getting married soon? Get an umbrella to keep the birdseed off. Seriously. It will be in your hair for days.