Unique Wedding Tradition Etiquette in the USA

If you are looking for a wedding tradition specific to the USA, you may be surprised to know that most traditions people incorporate in their weddings here actually did not originate in the U.S. at all. A majority of American wedding traditions are adopted from European countries, and they can either have religious or civil connotations.

That said, here are a few examples of some of the most common wedding traditions in the U.S.

The Bridal Shower

Did you know that the original purpose of a bridal shower was not for the bride to receive gifts? In fact, a bridal shower’s original purpose was as a sort of fundraiser to help raise dowry money for a European bride and her family to help them pay for her wedding. American brides started their own bridal shower tradition – the one we know today – in or around the 1800s.  

The Wedding Procession

In the United States, tradition dictates that the bride is the last person to walk down the aisle after the rest of the bridal party have already done the same. (This, in part, gives the guests enough time to take in the bride’s beautiful wedding gown!) 

This is the exact opposite of the way brides in the U.K. do things, with the bride walking down the aisle first, followed by the bridal party.

Traditions During the Wedding Itself

In addition to those traditions that come before and after an American wedding, there are several traditions that make an appearance during the ceremony itself.

Tossing Items

American weddings enjoy the tossing of certain items. For instance, the bride will toss her bouquet into a crowd of her single women guests. Whoever catches the bouquet, as folklore dictates, should be the next one to get married.

A counteractivity to the tossing of the bouquet is the tossing of the garter. Here, the groom removes the bride’s garter and tosses it into the crowd of waiting for single male guests. Just like the bouquet, whoever catches the garter should be, per tradition, the next to get married.

There is also the tossing of rice or birdseed after the ceremony, which the guests perform as a way to wish the newly betrothed couple luck. This tradition actually began in Ancient Rome, where wedding guests would toss coins or seeds to wish the couple well.

The Honeymoon

While a honeymoon in America is the first romantic getaway the happy couple takes together after becoming husband and wife, it didn’t always start out that way. Some believe the honeymoon started as a form of bridal abduction! That’s right – the groom would pay the bride’s father for her hand in marriage, then “abduct” her after the ceremony!

And if that wasn’t enough, the word “honeymoon” actually originated as a warning to new couples to enjoy their happiness while they had it, because once the moon waned, so too would their love!

Perhaps the happy vacation that we have come to appreciate the honeymoon to be today stems from the more uplifting idea that couples would honeymoon to visit friends and family who were unable to make it to the wedding.