What ideas are brand new to you since joining Ww?

Bridal luncheons were a whole new idea to me, and I only learned about those from these forums! They aren't common for the weddings I've attended (rather, I don't know of anyone who had them). Also, bridal portraits being taken prior to the wedding is another idea that I learned about on these forums! No one that I know personally has had these taken for their weddings, but I've seen some on here that have turned out beautifully.

I think this is more of a more old fashioned thing. Most of my peers had weddings in the 80s and it was common that parents friends and colleagues were invited, and parents of the couples friends. They made up the bulk of wedding/cash gifts - the couple’s friends were likely all starting out too so were broke LOL.
Since then people are marrying later after they’ve been financially independent, and their parents peers aren’t as connected with the younger generations. The couple usually pays for their wedding and don’t want Mrs. Next Door from childhood there.

Never heard of grooms cake !

View Quoted Comment We both are really camera shy and for me, my natural smile and face when I am laughing is...just not photogenic. It makes me cringe when I see photos. So we are doing formal portraits at a studio after and I am so relieved! We aren’t having a photographer at the wedding so I don’t have to worry that I will be sharing a great laugh with friends and then see the photo and feel bad.

View Quoted Comment That's a really cool idea to do photos at a studio afterwards, I'm sure they'll turn out great!

I had never heard of a bridal luncheon before WW. And to be honest, I am still a bit confused as to what they are ha ha Is it a southern thing? I feel like people from the South have all kinds of neat “extra” traditions us Northerners are not familiar with.
Cash bars are considered a huge no-no in my family and friend circle. I literally cannot even imagine the trash talking that would ensue if someone had a cash bar at their wedding.

View Quoted Comment I think they will, as long as I don’t have my mouth hanging open LOL

Oh my friend married a Scottish man in Scotland and she was confused when the caterer was sending “wedding breakfast” info. It’a a thing over there I guess?

I'm from the south, so I knew bridal portraits were a thing, but I'm not getting them done lol. I just don't see the point when I can literally get the same photos the morning of my wedding.

One thing I've noticed that's 'on trend' in my area, are boudoir shoots. My friend actually brought it up to me and said I could borrow her veil for the wedding if I needed to, and that her friend actually used it for her boudoir shoot. Kind of a weird thing though, and I def. won't be doing it lol. I'd rather give my FH something he'll actually use (like a golf club), rather than a book of pictures of me in lingerie...

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I remember this from growing up too.

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I have a few friends in England and they said this is basically the post-wedding meal for all the guests. What we would call a reception but just a dinner without other activities.

View Quoted Comment Boudoir shoots aren't a new concept to me, but I have definitely passed on doing them as well. I actually find them pretty cringe worthy. And like you, I don’t really see them as a “gift” that a man would actually want to receive. But I thought maybe it was a guy thing. So I asked my fiancé about it, and he agreed. He said it was kind of cheesy and couldn’t imagine pulling out a book of boudoir pictures of his wife to look at, especially when he could see it at home in real life whenever he wanted haha

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SAME. Soooo much cringe lol. My FH was the same way when I talked to him about it. He said he didn't see a point in them, and would feel awkward having our photographer take photos of him opening up a 'naughty picture book' from me haha!

To each their own I guess. I mean, I get why some women say they love them because they feel empowered etc. I'm just not a fan lol.

Getting a fake/decoy/backup ring was a new concept I learned on here. But the more I read about it, I was interested and bought myself one! Not sure my fiance even realizes I have the real one and the fake one. lol

View Quoted Comment Oh and I just realized we have several guests that are friend’s of my daughters! It’s like the opposite?
If you want people to be super excited about your wedding, invite young adults who cleared out your fridge when they were teenagers! They are all cracking me up with all the stuff they want to do for me, it’s very touching! (Maybe they just want free food?)

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I've heard of a fake ring to try to deflect unwanted advances when you're single bit it rarely works. A backup ring when you're engaged/married makes no sense. That is what insurance is for.

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Love that idea!

View Quoted Comment Faux rings are such a great idea! All my friends have them and I plan on getting one as well. We all travel frequently (well before Covid anyway) and it is such peace of mind to wear the faux ring and leave the real one in the safe at home! I have heard of bartenders wearing faux rings at work also since their hands are in water a lot. And a lot of people wear them to the gym so they don’t get damaged

I've been to hundreds of weddings in the western US over the years (as a guest and as a catering server) and these are things I have never seen or heard of until I started visiting this forum: cash bar, cake & punch wedding, bridal portrait, "first touch", wedding sendoff (with sparklers, wands, etc.), groom's cake, bridal luncheon, destination bachelor/ette party, ceremony dress AND separate reception dress, bridal attendants who weren't bridesmaids (i.e., house party), stag & doe/Jack & Jill (i.e., wedding fundraiser), and honeyfunds. Edited to add: mini bride and groom, and unplugged weddings.

I don't know if there is anything that is common to my region/family/circle that would be unfamiliar to posters here. But I did have a courthouse wedding with immediate family and a few close friends, followed by lunch for everyone at a local casual restaurant as my reception, and that seems to be pretty looked down on/unpopular here (i.e., not a "real" wedding).

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Yes! Totally agree with this.

I got mine off amazon if you are looking for one!