In the age of Pinterest and Buzzfeed, there are so many unique ideas that brides and grooms are coming up with for their wedding day. As we began planning last January for our November wedding, it was overwhelming scrolling through page after page of wedding ideas and we had always imagined having a more traditional wedding anyway. With the guidance of our parents, we were able to include a variety of old-school elements in our wedding, to make the day unforgettable.

1. A Big, Beautiful Cake

One tradition that seems less and less popular is having an opulent wedding cake. Smaller, simpler cake designs seem to be replacing large, intricate ones. However, I have always imagined my wedding day with a big, beautiful, traditional cake.

My now husband and I ended up choosing a 4-tiered cake from a local bakery that has been around for decades. Our cake had 2 sets of lighted pillars between tiers and a fountain underneath the entire cake. The frosting was plain white, with ruffles to give it detail, but it was traditional buttercream frosting, not fondant. It was exactly how you’d imagine a wedding cake in the movies. We did go a bit more modern with the flavor and the topper. We chose a different cake flavor for each layer and our cake topper, a Precious Moments figurine with a boy and girl mouse, was a thrift shop find.

Sure, the cake cost more than if we would have just gotten sheet cakes, or a simple 3-tiered cake, but you only get married once, right? It was the right choice for us, as it is something we'll remember from our wedding day forever. And because it was so large, we were able to save the top tier to enjoy on our anniversary.

2. Jordan Almond Wedding Favors

Per Italian tradition (I’m half Italian through my father’s side of the family), we had Jordan Almond wedding favors for each guest. Typically, there are five almonds representing health, wealth, happiness, fertility, and longevity for the couple. The almond itself represents both the bitter (the nut) and sweet (the candy coating) of married life. My mother also insisted they had to be in a glass container according to our family’s tradition.

For our favors, we wrapped five almonds in tulle circles tied with ribbon and put them in shot glasses. Finding such a large quantity of reasonably priced shot glasses was tricky (we had around 230 guests). We ultimately ended up getting them in packs of three for a dollar at Dollar Tree, and my bridesmaids helped me make polka dots on all of them with a gold glass paint marker.

Honestly, I don't even like the taste of jordan almonds, and they are very expensive compared to other candy. However, I know that many of my Italian relatives appreciated them, and I loved the meaning behind them and having a part of my heritage represented at my wedding.

3. Grand March

After hearing my mother talk about the grand march at her wedding, I knew it was a tradition that I wanted to include in mine. The liveliness of the grand march appealed to me, and it was a way to to get all guests involved. After researching online, I found that there are a lot of different ways that the grand march is done. Ours was much simpler than many described.

Immediately after our bouquet and garter toss, the DJ called everyone to the dance floor. Then, my husband and I led a conga line throughout our reception hall, picking up guests at different tables to join. After weaving through all the tables, we headed for the bar, where the bartenders had set up shots of peach schnapps for everyone to celebrate. We ended up making two rounds throughout the hall, and running into the back of our line because we had so many guests.

So many of my parents’ friends already knew what the grand march was, and loved that we had it, as they hadn't seen it done at a wedding recently. So many of our friends had never done a grand march, so they also enjoyed it. We loved having all our guests come together to parade around with us and celebrate our marriage.

4. Cigars & Personalized Matchbooks

Another old-school tradition we opted for is having celebratory cigars for our wedding guests. I imagine this tradition has phased out mostly due to laws restricting smoking in almost all venues and overall awareness of health concerns regarding tobacco use. However, cigars have been used to celebrate occasions for years, and it was a tradition that we wanted to include at our wedding. Our venue had a gazebo outside, so anyone who wanted to smoke a cigar could do so. And we were even lucky enough to be blessed with beautiful weather for our November wedding.

We placed a basket of cigars and personalized matchbooks near the shots at the end of grand march for whoever wanted one. My mother had ordered the Dutch Masters cigars online, as she was able to get a better deal for a large quantity and she had ordered the personalized matchbooks from a local print shop. The matchbooks were printed in gold to match our decor.

Many of our guests enjoyed the cigars outside and some even took extra cigars and matchbooks home with them. Also, my husband and I were able to visit with our guests outside for a bit and relax during this time. This tradition allowed us to celebrate with our loved ones in a way that is only reserved for very special occasions, and it was memorable to us and our guests.

5. Apron

The last tradition that we included revolves around my Polish heritage through my mother's side of the family. After the grand march, my mother presented me with an apron. Traditionally, the apron is white, lacy, and has small trinkets tied to it, such as babies, rolling pins, etc. My mother had a tough time finding a wedding apron. After searching at local wedding and keepsake, craft, and even Halloween stores with no luck, she ultimately bought the apron online, and sewed the baby trinkets on herself.

At the reception she took my veil off because I was no longer a wife, and placed the apron around my waist as I accepted the duties of a housewife and eventual mother (haha, so the tradition goes). All of our guests joined hands to make a circle as my husband and I danced in the middleto“Let Me Call You Sweetheart”. With hands still linked and arms raised, guests rushed towards us as the song played.

It was heartwarming because my husband and I were surrounded by all our family and friends who support us, but it was a bit claustrophobic to have everyone yelling and rushing towards you at once, especially in such a small space. It was definitely an unforgettable part of our night, and we are happy we included this tradition.

Though including old-school traditions may not appeal to some couples, it worked for us. My wedding day was probably the best day of my life thus far, and it wouldn’t have been the same (or nearly as awesome!) without these things. Both my husband and I are glad we made the decision to include so many traditions.

Elizabeth is a Graphic Designer at Lifetime Creations - she creates fun new product designs among other projects, and ensures customers' personalized gifts look great.