And today, boys and girls, we'll be talking about several definitions of that word... as in :
What FITS? Or to bottom line it: Why does paying less than $1000 for your wedding gown fit into a perfect wedding scenario? 
But first - 2 other important ways that your wedding dress should fit you:

​1) Does it fit your personality, figure and style as a bride? (See the playful BT bride above!)
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2) Does your gown fit the overall tone of your wedding? In other words, does it fit the location, the season and the theme, if there is one? (Another BT bride at the beach below chose her gown with the beach breezes in mind.)

And finally, does it fit your budget? And this an important one because while the first two may dominate a bride's thoughts and aspirations as she's shopping for a gown, most brides don't have a Kardashian budget to work with.

You have to pay for
the venue,
the pastor or officiant,
the flowers,
the food,
the photographers,
​the dj,
the rentals,
​the gifts for your tribe
... believe us, we get it.... we're in the bridal business.
​But it IS your wedding gown and it IS important, so let's break it down!​

First - does it fit your personality and you personally? If you've seen, well, ANY movie about a bride or a wedding, there is usually a scene of a gown fitting or selection and jokes are made about "poofiness" and "meringue-like dresses."

​The gown should make you feel beautiful and you should be comfortable wearing it, and we always encourage brides to think about who they are and what they've dreamed about. Often girls come in with an idea, find it and we're off to the races. But keep an open mind too. 

​Next! Does it fit the theme, season and overall tone? 

These days, a church wedding in a strapless gown and cowboy boots is no big deal. If it's a church wedding in the late fall or winter anywhere from NC to Maine however, you'll want to think about comfort and whether or not you'll want extras like a fur wrap or jacket to wear outside.
Destination wedding? What will the weather be? Are you and your future hubs going for a super casual garden wedding? We've had our BT brides tell us that they knew they wanted a dress that was going to have "flowy" aspect to it in a spring breeze or by the ocean. In the same way you're thinking about the flowers and colors based on theme - consider the month, place and vibe of your wedding as well.

By the time you've thought about your tastes and the style of your wedding, you're working with a budget and this is where Bridal Traditions comes in.

We are a boutique that sells beautiful gowns, made by designers who are in the bridal industry, are well-constructed but do not cost a fortune because these lines don't spend on the marketing that other lines do. The quality of our brands and lines is impeccable and the prices range from $500 - $1250, but the average price our brides pay is under $1000.
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Each of the brides above purchased her gown from us and not one of them settled. They ALL had a different price range too, but after chatting with us, sharing their specific visions and wishes, we found gowns that looked gorgeous on them and suited the dreams, themes and budgets.

We work very hard with designers and manufacturers to find exquisite gowns that are affordable, so before you buy online - site unseen - consider Reserving a Fitting Room and letting us help you meet all of your goals. 

See?!
See how she's looking at him? Well, it's a photo shoot, but she's also digging that what he's wearing is as crisp and current as what she's wearing.

​Accessorizing is not just for brides, or women who just got 8 inches of hair cut off and need chandelier earrings, or young ladies headed to church in the winter (read: mink..... in London).

The prom season is coming for us, big time, and at our boutique we're not only ready for the young ladies who need dresses, we're ready for the guys too. This is our official banging of the gong: "Heads Up Fellas! We have items THAT MATTER AND WILL REPRESENT you out there too."

​Like accessories!

The guys we serve and sell to love to accessorize with socks, and so do grooms on their wedding days, come to think of it. It's a really fun way to show some color, a theme, solidarity with friends or some rebellion on a day when the rest of you is buttoned up.

It's tough for you fellas! We get that.
Women can make a statement with hair, gown, makeup, bejeweled hair clips, gloves, purse, lip-stick, false eye lashes, shoes......... She could dip herself in yogurt and glitter and get a "WOW!" (We're not endorsing this, by the way). Guys need to play with the items they wear that are sort of "up for grabs" and get creative.

Neck ties or bow ties, pale or jewel tone, complimenting or contrasting with your date ~ the tie is where people's eyes go after they look to see you grinning your face off. The good news: we have both at BT and can work with you and your date to make it memorable. We have bowties and suspenders in stock and for purchase, and for those who have a tux or suit already, we can also set you up with a "vest and tie only" rental if you still want or need to accessorize.

Makayla Caroline Estep married her Navy groom Dillon Bullard in December of 2017 at Bethany Baptist Church with a lovely, intimate ceremony surrounded by the people they love.

Dillon is currently stationed in San Diego and Makayla is in school, so the key to their day was togetherness. She told us that the most memorable moment was being able to walk out with her dad down the aisle and see Dillon’s face looking back at her "knowing that from that moment on everything was going to be okay" and that they would be together. 

These two met in middle school when they were introduced by a friend of theirs. Dillon sat in front of Makayla and we can only assume that she did what most of us do in middle school: stared at the back of his neck and thinking "well, he's cute." They became friends and stayed there until their senior year when they officially started dating and fell in love. 

When Makayla came to us at BT, she said that she wasn’t expecting anything in particular, she just wanted to get her feet wet so to speak (Navy joke....). But she ended up "finding my dream dress on the third try!"

"I went in looking for a long sleeve dress because it was a December wedding, but ultimately I chose an elbow length sleeve, off the shoulder dress that I loved. It was traditional, modest and I loved the lace. Our ceremony was very simple and traditional. It reflected Dillon and me perfectly."​

Why do we do what we do at weddings?
​No, we're not talking about the embarrassing speeches from your college roommate formally known as Drunkles McGee ...  or why we take the centerpieces or why we do the Chicken Dance. You're on your own there.
​But it is fun to consider in this post-modern age, so we thought we would delve into the various legends and lore around certain wedding activities and traditions we do sometimes without knowing why.  Since this is numero uno in this series, we're starting with the more familiar and basic. 
​[Because these are legends and lore, by definition we cannot guarantee it historically, nor do we care to. What's more fun is to share what we found.]​

Why does the bride stand to the left of the groom at the altar? 
​You can do whatever you like in 2018, but back during the 5th century until around 1066, Anglo-Saxon grooms often had to defend their brides (and others) during the ceremony. Having your girl to your left allowed your fighting arm - always the right - to be free in case you needed to draw your sword. Handy.

Bouquets and Baking! Seems sort of obvious. The bride needs something to do with her hands walking down the aisle and any celebration calls for sweets. But why the bouquet of flowers instead of her walking with a box of gold toward her man? And why a tiered cake instead of a mountain of cornbread muffins? 
​Brides began holding a bouquet of flowers because they symbolized fertility. Spring herbs and flowers were a way of saying "here's to a growing and prosperous family." Over time, fruits were added to really drive the point home. Some brides carried herbs and spices to ward off evil spirits. These days, they tend to be more romantic and symbolize a bride's favorite flower or what's seasonal. 
​The tiered cake? 
​This origin is deeply cool, because it really does point to community and celebration. After all, a wedding is about joining families, but it's also about surrounding the beginning of a new alliance with love and support. As with the altar arrangement of bride on the left and groom on the right, the tiered cake came into existence during Anglo-Saxon times. Wedding guests would bring cakes to the wedding to share. [In the South, this is lovingly referred to as "pot luck."] For space, cakes would be stacked with the largest on the bottom and the littlest at the top, creating a graduating effect. Years later, a Frenchman (they are our classic model for baking) took the concept of stacking and created a cake in that arrangement and then iced them all together into one dessert. 

And finally - Why does the bride wear white?
​Our minds go immediately to white as a symbol virginal purity to describe the bride. Wellllllllll, sources tell us that we have Britain's Queen Victoria to thank. Before her marriage to Prince Albert, women wore colorful dresses to their weddings. This amazing monarch was an independent thinker and a trend-setter, however, and chose a ball gown in all white and brides everywhere took notice. She thought white would show off all the lace she'd chosen to give the lace-makers in England an economic bump.
​And it stuck. 

For more interesting factoids about bridal traditions - stay tuned! We're loving the historical digging and we're just getting started.