The weddings of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have brought attention to the many royal wedding traditions these couples followed. Old fashioned they may be, these traditions are still charming, and we believe romantic too! We couldn’t resist sharing ten royal traditions you may want to steal for your wedding!
10 Beautiful Royal Wedding Traditions
You may not be an ‘official royal princess,’ but there’s no reason why you can’t pretend to be one for your upcoming wedding. Here are ten royal wedding traditions we think are worth considering:
- Ask permission – the Queen may not have a say over whom you marry, but tradition says the groom should ask permission from the bride’s father before he asks the bride herself.
- Choose a family stationer – this means everyone in your family who needs wedding stationery uses the same stationer.
- Give children a larger wedding role – consider having your niece, nephew or child be a bridesmaid, ring bearer, pageboy or flower girl.
- Carry a meaningful bouquet – the royal brides carry myrtle in their bouquets and have since Queen Victoria. What flowers did your Mum or grandmother use?
- Wear a sparkly headpiece – a tiara, headband or comb; there’s nothing like wearing the crown jewels (or cheaper alternatives) to add some royal glamour to your wedding day.
- Ask guests to wear something special – fascinators, morning suits and long dresses are seen at royal weddings. As this may not sit well with your guest list, ask if they would wear a specific colour palette to match your theme instead.
- Exchange special wedding bands – the royal family have all sourced the gold for their bands from the same Welsh mine for almost a century. Ask your parents and grandparents what their rings are made of and use the same medium if you can.
- Serve traditional wedding cake – it may not be your favourite, but a fruitcake is what the royals always choose. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have another flavoured cake for yourselves though.
- Take an official wedding portrait – be sure to have a photo taken containing every family member who attends your wedding.
- Send guests home with pieces of your wedding cake – you don’t need to go as far as sending pieces via mail as a thank you present. But you could send guests home with boxed pieces of cake instead.
For more great ideas on special things to include on your wedding day, check out our Wedding Planning tips section.