Photo Credit: Harwell Photography

An American Wedding Tradition

We have posted many blogs about wedding traditions and the history behind them. We feel it’s important to know the back story of customs you’ll be incorporating into your wedding. However, we haven’t detailed many American wedding traditions, as many of the oldest wedding traditions stem from other countries. Our great country has a few great wedding customs of its own. Try incorporating some of these into your wedding ceremony or reception.

Photo Credit: Mark Eric Photography

Second Line Parade

Louisiana couples know how to take their weddings to the streets. This wedding tradition entails hiring a brass band to escort wedding guests from the ceremony venue to the reception venue. Traditionally the band plays and the bride and groom follow them in the front line, with wedding guests following in the second line. The newlyweds carry parasols, while guests wave handkerchiefs to the music.

Viennese Hour

A wedding tradition that is enjoyed in the New York and New Jersey areas, it’s a tradition no wedding guest will complain about. The Viennese Hour stems from Italian custom, and includes serving a massive buffet of desserts that wedding guests can enjoy after the wedding cake cutting.

Burying Bourbon

As you can probably imagine, this American wedding tradition comes from the Southern states. To prevent rain on your wedding day, you are supposed to bury an unopened bottle of bourbon as close as possible to the ceremony location. The bottle is supposed to be placed upside down in the ground. After the ceremony is over, you can dig up the bottle and enjoy it with your wedding guests.

Cookie Table

This Pittsburgh tradition means that it’s more important at Pittsburgh weddings to have a cookie table than a wedding cake. When immigrants came to this region of Pennsylvania they wanted to bring a taste of their homelands to weddings. Family members and wedding guests bake tasty treats for everyone to enjoy at the reception.

Bar Hopping

This American wedding tradition finds its home in the state of Wisconsin. The wedding party goes bar hopping while the bride and groom take wedding photos in between the ceremony and reception. Some couples even rent party buses to take everyone safely from bar to bar, and join their bridal party on the bar hopping tour after their photos are done.

Photo Credit: Tom Harmon Photography

We have more ideas to make your wedding unique. Check them out here on our blog!