British vs US Weddings
Spring has FINALLY sprung here in England 🙌🏼 It felt like the longest winter, but I’m so happy to have sunny 6:45am wake up calls where you can feel the cool breeze mixed with the warmth of the sun on my daily coffee walks.
April was honestly the busiest month! And while I don’t have that many proper British friends (yet), two of my British friends just got married in the same week in different parts of the country 😅 Between two weddings, as well as visiting two new countries, I was probably away more than I was home this month.
Besides being really fun celebrations bespoke to each couple’s love, there was quite a few distinct differences I found in British weddings compared to US ones.
Disclaimer: I’ve attended quite a few weddings now and been a bridesmaid twice. But then again, I’ve never actually been married, so this is obviously just my observations- feel free to tell me your thoughts in the comments!
1.They sign their wedding certificate during the cereomy
In the US, you typically go down to obtain your wedding license a week or two before, then you sign your certificate a few days after the ceremony and mail it in. Instead, with a British wedding there is a representative from the registrar, who enters the information into the electronic registrar and has the couple sign on the spot after they kiss & before they walk down the aisle as husband & wife. Very efficient if you ask me!
You can see the white table in the front right is where the bride and groom would sign their certificate on the spot.
2. Open bar is not as common
I felt like there was a bit of confusion about when the alcohol was free versus when you needed to pay. For example, one wedding had free champagne before the ceremony as well as right after, but then you had to pay for your drinks until we sat down for dinner, there was wine provided at the table with dinner as well as glass of champagne for the toasts, but then back for paying drinks during the reception. The second wedding, though it was open bar which I was a fan of 🥂
3. British weddings tend to be longer
In the US, I’d say our weddings start around 3 to 5 PM for the ceremony and go on till about 10 or 11 PM. Whereas the first British wedding I ever attended, the ceremony started at 1:30pm and my colleague and I didn’t leave until almost midnight. 🤯 I was a bit unsure how the days schedule would go, but found there was only one a real break between dinner and dancing.
4. You get fed more at a British wedding
My favorite thing about both British weddings was that at around 10 PM, they brought out another round of sandwiches as well as the cake. when you’re dancing for three hours straight, as well as drinking like a fish, that extra pulled pork barbecue sandwich really saved my butt the next morning 😅.
5. Personal wedding vows are more of an American tradition.
Both weddings I attended, had a very similar format for the ceremony where they repeated the same standard vows. When I asked other guests, they said writing your own vows is not a very common thing to do in England.
6. Only men traditionally do the toasts
In England, the traditional format would be the father of the bride, the best man, and the groom giving toasts. This is a bit sexist in my opinion. In America, we have many toasts at the dress rehearsal, but also we include a toast from the maid of honor at the reception.
I loved that instead of champagne, it’s a family tradition to have schnapps instead! Próst!
6. There’s no dress rehearsal
This is something that I find when I explain to British people they think is kind of a silly American tradition, usually arguing that you don’t need to run through walking down an aisle. Yet as many times as I’ve been to weddings, and been IN weddings as a bridesmaid, I still always appreciate that extra run through walking down the aisle the night before. The last wedding I went to, instead of a dress rehearsal they actually did a drinks reception for all their guests and I felt it was a nice way to meet other guests, so we were all well acquainted & ready to party by the time we hit the dance floor at the reception 💃🏻
If you’ve attended a British wedding- what was your experience?
Sincerely,
Sarah
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