I have been to a handful of UK weddings since living in London, but this past Saturday was my first time as Maid of Honor here in England. So for those of you that haven’t been to a British wedding, I thought I would highlight some main differences for you. You may have picked most of these tid-bits up from the Royal Wedding, but if not you have this as a reference…..
Dress
*Men wear Morning Suits. This is an English tradition, and you can easily find them to rent if you don’t want to have your man buy one.
*If you have to change into black tie, tuxes are referred to as “Dinner Jackets.”
*Yes, ladies will wear hats or fascinators. You should have picked up that one from the Royal Wedding. That said, this is by no means a requirement, and you can easily get by not wearing one if you don’t feel like it.
The Ceremony
*Bridesmaids FOLLOW the Bride in, they don’t go first. Something that I found a bit strange, but after-all it’s HER big day so if she wants to go first so be it!
Seating
*Parents sit on the head-table, in addition to, or sometimes instead of the Bridal Party.
Terminology
*Flower Girls are also called Bridesmaids. Ring Bearers are called “Page Boys.”
Speeches
*Speeches are given by the Groom, Best Man, and Father of the Bride. No Maid of Honor speeches (good in my case!) I adore the Grooms’ speeches, as they usually involve the Groom delving into how much he loves the Bride.
Please feel free to add anything in the comments as usual! x
{All photos owned by American Girl in Chelsea Ltd. Taken by Ira Lippke}
Love this and love English weddings, but I've got to point out that there are so many differences amongst weddings even WITHIN the UK! I mean, just look at the Royal Wedding v. My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. There are absolutely opposing UK/US traditions, but there are also so many variations – often regional or class-based – even just on this one little island.
Emailed to me from Tora:
Another English tradition is that the groom faces the altar and does not see the bride till she stops next to him and he takes her hand. American grooms watch the arrival/procession of the bride.
It is also tradition for the brides family to pay for the wedding and it should be a full bar – all food/drink paid for.
If you wear a hat (and really it should be a hat for a daytime event, not a fascinator which is more for cocktail parties/evening events) it should remain on all day.
My friend recently married a lovely American girl and we chatted about this cultural difference! Just a few observations!
Hats are such a key difference, I think–The only serious occasion that I can think of for hats in America is the Kentucky Derby! Is there an etiquette behind wearing hats (and/or fascinators) correctly? Also, that's fascinating that the groom faces the altar and doesn't see the bride until she arrives at the stand; I'd never known that. I'd love to witness an English wedding..