Weddings are a lifestyle tradition couples have celebrated dating back centuries and as times change sure enough conventions do too. With an influx of technology and shift in social behaviour we look at the evolution of modern wedding day conventions.
The Engagement
Where the fairy tale begins, the engagement marks the start of the wedding excitement, typically beginning with a big announcement. Where past bride-and-groom-to-bes would wait until seeing friends and family in person, it seems habits have since changed largely due to the oversharing on social media. A survey by Onbuy.com claims 78% of brides asked shared word of their engagement through social media within 24 hours of the proposal. Perhaps not the private family affair it once was.
Social media takes users right through from being engaged to prepping for their wedding days, with many brides admitting to making a pinterest board. In fact so eager to tie the knot, 67% of brides told they had created a pinterest board before even getting engaged. Quite in keeping with the little girl persona of dreaming for her wedding day.
Taking inspiration from the web is one thing, but sharing tips with others seems to be a big no-no, it seems brides are vehemently individual in their wedding choices and feel worse when compared against their married friends choices. 42% said they when looking at friends weddings social media makes the more anxious about their own big day. The learnings from this show we’re happy to draw inspiration from unknowns but hate the thought of competing against our own loved ones with the pressure to out-do and match those who go all out.
The Big Day
It seems the social addition doesn’t waver even when the wedding day arrives as a staggering 84% of people use the sharing platforms throughout their wedding.
A whopping 64% are now creating bespoke hashtags for guests to track coverage of their wedding day, talk about creating a brand. It’s a statistic that certainly leaves you wondering how the guests take these commands and how willing they are to comply with millenial wedding law.
There are still some spouses-to-be who value their privacy, as 7% go completely tech-free and ban social media from their weddings. Perhaps refreshing to some and absurd to others, there may be something to be said about keeping your day intimate and between loved ones.
The Wedding Guests
On the subject of guests, another survey by One4all delves into how much we spend on entertaining our wedding guests after enforcing social related etiquette. Good friends are willing to invest an average of £827.45 on their pals wedding and willing to travel up to 1,163 miles. 31% welcomed the idea of a wedding abroad, with the majority not feeling a wanderlust-goals wedding.
You can hardly blame guests with the rising costs of holidays and difficulties that come with finding time to travel and get time off. It’s not surprising that some may be almost annoyed and being asked to drop everything and attend a wedding abroad, using vital holiday that could be spent in a destination of their own choice.
Here’s the breakdown of what Brits are prepared to spend when attending a wedding:
Travel – £174.70
Accommodation – £182.79
Gifts – £130.88
Outfit – £136.01
Beauty Treatments – £104.08
Drinks – £98.99
What are your thoughts, are weddings getting too expensive and less private? Let us know on social and in the comments below.
