"Rest Assured: 10 Unique Wedding Ceremonies that are Common Among Brides-to-Be but Rare for Guests"

The Problem of Overthinking Your Wedding

A question for brides-to-be preparing for their wedding.

As you strive to plan a wedding full of details and gather a lot of information,

don't you end up experiencing the phenomenon of "not knowing what is normal"?

Especially when you are gathering information on social media like Instagram.

While you find comfort and empathy seeing other brides preparing at a similar pace,

you can also feel anxious when you see brides who have extravagant weddings, thinking, "Everyone is doing so great...! I still have a long way to go. I need to work harder...!" Hasn't that happened to you?

It's okay ♡ What's "normal" on Instagram is different from what's "normal" in the world!

But it's okay!

The information shared on Instagram is only a tiny part of reality.

Just as the time spent eating stylish pancakes at trendy cafes, shared on Instagram, doesn't represent our entire daily lives,

brides hosting very detailed weddings that we often see on Instagram also represent just a small fraction of reality.

Moreover, since guests don't attend weddings multiple times a year, even if there are "trending performances" or "currently popular performances," they might never actually see them.

And for brides-to-be with lots of information, performances that seem standard may appear brand new to guests!

Yes, while some things may seem standard to the bride, every performance can feel quite refreshing to the guests.

Here are some of those typical yet fresh ideas compiled for you!

Familiar to Brides but Fresh for Guests: ① Candle Relay

Most people have seen candle services, but in reality, most have never experienced a candle relay, which is well-known yet rarely done.

The moment when each guest holds a candle, reflects the light, and lights it is not only enchanting but also creates a sense of togetherness, making it a wonderful performance.

@kana_t.wedding

Familiar to Brides but Fresh for Guests: ② Balloon Spark

Balloon sparks are often seen on Instagram accounts of brides, wedding venues, and photographers, but

few people have actually seen it in a wedding.

The internet allows us to access information from across the country and the globe, making it difficult to assess how much of what's happening worldwide overlaps with what we see around us.

Familiar to Brides but Fresh for Guests: ③ Drop & Fly

Throwing balloons into a pool and watching them float up is the essence of Drop & Fly ♡

Most guests may have seen balloon releases but not Drop & Fly!

@yy16052012

Familiar to Brides but Fresh for Guests: ④ Bouquet Pulls

The bouquet pulls, where everyone draws a ribbon connected to the bride's bouquet, originally comes from overseas. This performance has gained popularity in Japan mainly among stylish brides over the past two years.

It's not at all an "ordinary" performance. The sight of everyone holding numerous ribbons in a circle is incredibly cute, and it photographs beautifully.

Prepare surprises with candies or charms attached to the ribbons for those who draw ribbons that don’t lead to the bouquet ♩

@wd325dy

Familiar to Brides but Fresh for Guests: ⑤ Fruit Liqueur Making

In the "fruit liqueur making" performance, guests put fruit and rock sugar into glass jars at each table, and at the end, the newlyweds pour gin, vodka, or whiskey into them during the table rounds. This has become a popular new performance over the last six months.

For guests who haven’t attended a wedding in the last six months, this will surely be a first-time experience ♡

@sonokinu_0718

Familiar to Brides but Fresh for Guests: ⑥ Colored Drip Cake

As an alternative or addition to the cake cutting, the "colored drip cake" performance, where syrup or sauce is drizzled over the wedding cake, is gaining popularity.

This trend has just started in the last six months, so guests will surely be surprised, thinking, "I've never seen this before!" ♩

While there is a nice meaning of "a first joint effort" in cake cutting, the colored drip cake symbolizes "completing something unfinished together," providing a more mature connotation ♡

Familiar to Brides but Fresh for Guests: ⑦ Big Spoon

Many people have never actually seen a "big spoon" for the first bite, which is not just a shovel or spade but a gigantic spoon.

The big spoon creates a significant visual impact, and the charming effect makes it a desired performance for many brides-to-be.

Some may think, "I've seen so much of this on Instagram already; it might be too common... maybe I should skip it," but

Don’t worry! That concern is unnecessary! ♡

@tonko_wedding_miavia

Familiar to Brides but Fresh for Guests: ⑧ Thanks Bite

Besides the first bite, the "thanks bite," where the newlyweds serve cake to special people who helped them, has become popular in the last two years.

For both the thanks bite to parents and the reverse last bite, few people have likely seen these in real weddings.

Familiar to Brides but Fresh for Guests: ⑨ Closing Kiss

This is one performance that many brides-to-be who do a lot of information gathering know about, but you don't see it much in real wedding reports on Instagram.

After the ceremony ends and while exiting, the newlyweds kiss behind closed doors, sealing their vows... this performance is very romantic and sure to surprise the guests. If kissing on the lips feels embarrassing, a peck on the cheek is fine too ♡

Familiar to Brides but Fresh for Guests: ⑩ Child Photographer

Having a child photographer is a rare experience for many.

If you have an event where kids can use special cameras during the wedding, it will surely surprise both the children and their mothers*.

Let's Surprise and Excite the Guests ♡

☑ A wedding is inherently a special time and space.

☑ Guests aren’t coming for a surprise; they come to celebrate the newlyweds.

Setting that aside,

many performances that brides-to-be think of as "ordinary" might actually be fresh and new experiences for the guests!

When you gather a lot of information, it can feel like you've attended every wedding available online.

You might think, "I already know this" or "I've seen this multiple times," leading to raising the bar for what you want to achieve for your own wedding,

but in reality, a person in their 20s or 30s attends an average of just two weddings a year.

Some people may attend as many as four weddings a year.

And most importantly, your wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event, a first time for every guest!!

While gathering information is genuinely fun, placing limitations on the "things you want to do" because you know too much is counterproductive.

Focus on enjoying your bride-to-be life and welcoming your happily ever after wedding with sheer joy ♡