Traditional vs Alternative Weddings: Why Doing It Your Way Feels So Damn Good!

There’s nothing wrong with a classic wedding, of course. If you genuinely love manicured lawns, matching chair covers, and a fancy affair. But if the thought of a “function package” makes your eye twitch… welcome. Pull up a bar stool. You’re my people. We're going to talk about traditional vs alternative weddings: Why doing it your way feels so damn good!

More and more couples are ditching the old script and planning weddings that feel like them—relaxed, creative, a little bit rebellious, and full of heart. So let’s compare the usual wedding traditions with the alternative, queer-friendly, joy-filled options that are taking over.

Benny and Chloe: Photo Credit, Joshua Scott www.thecwolf.com

1. The Venue: Function Centre vs. Literally Anywhere Fun

Traditional: Ballrooms. Wineries. Places with chandeliers you’re not allowed to breathe near. You choose from three “packages,” and heaven forbid you want to move a chair.

Alternative: Why have a wedding in a place you’d never normally hang out? Imagine saying “I do” in your favourite pub, backyard, local park, on your mate’s rooftop, aboard a boat, or out in the bush surrounded by gum trees.

It’s more personal, more relaxed, and you don’t need to pay $12,000 to rent the “oak room” that looks exactly like every other oak room.

2. Outfits: Trad Bridal Wear vs. Clothes That Actually Feel Like You

Traditional: White gowns you can’t sit in. Suits so stiff you’re scared to sweat. Heels designed by someone who must hate feet.

Alternative: Wear colours. Wear sequins. Wear Doc Martens, jumpsuits, linen sets, vintage finds, matching tracksuits—whatever lets you move, breathe, dance, and feel like yourself.

Your wedding day is not a costume party (unless you want it to be—then it absolutely can be).

3. Food: Sit-Down Dinner vs. Things You’d Actually Order in Real Life

Traditional: Three courses. Alternate drop. Dry chicken or fish that tastes like the ocean but not in a fun way.

Alternative: Pints and parma's at the pub. Cocktail-style roaming food. Pizza trucks. Dumpling carts. A BBQ. A taco bar. Dessert only. A giant cheese tower instead of a cake. Grazing boards shaped like a work of art, a human platter :-P

Feed your guests in a way that feels delicious, unfussy, and a little bit cheeky (like literally hand feeding them cake ;-)

4. The Timeline: Rigid Schedules vs. “Let’s Just See How the Vibe Feels”

Traditional: Ceremony at 3:00 sharp. Photos at 3:40. Entrée at 6:15. The DJ can only play between 8:12 and 10:45. You must cut the cake before exiting through the designated doors.

Alternative: A ceremony at sunset. First dance whenever the mood hits. Mingling turning into a party without anyone announcing it. Speeches that happen naturally (or don’t happen at all).

It’s the difference between being choreographed and actually living your day.

5. Traditions: Cake Cutting & Bouquet Toss vs. New Rituals That Actually Matter

Traditional: Cut the cake. Throw the bouquet. Sign the guest book you’ll never look at again.

Alternative: Swap the cake for a cheese wheel. Skip the bouquet toss and have a group champagne tower instead. Create a drinking ritual with your favourite spirit. Have your dog as ring bearer. Bring in cultural traditions that actually resonate with you.

Make new rituals (eg. SHOTS) that tell your story rather than repeating traditions out of habit.

6. The Dancefloor: Uptown Funk vs. A Party That Feels Like You

Traditional: A DJ playing the same pop music wedding playlist from 2014.

Alternative: Someone who gets your crowd and consults with you on your music taste —whether that’s queer anthems, punk, disco, house, R&B, Hip Hop, 90s nostalgia, or a dancefloor that evolves from sweet to sweaty to downright iconic.

(P.S. Hi, yes, this is where the MC/DJ part of the business winks at you.)

7. The Vibe: Stuffy Formality vs. “Holy Sh*t This Is Fun”

Traditional: Rules, religion, formality, expectation.

Alternative: Love, connection, laughter, personality, and the freedom to be utterly yourselves.

Alternative weddings aren’t “less than.” They’re intentional. They’re joyful. They’re creative. And they’re often so much more you than anything you’d find inside a white-washed wedding venue.

Final Word: Do the Day That Feels fitting forYou!

The best weddings aren’t the fanciest—they’re the ones where people walk away saying:

“That was so them.” One where the guests really felt included!

Whether you want a backyard ceremony with a beer in hand, a queer joy explosion in a pub courtyard, a boat party on the Yarra, or a relaxed family-style feast at home… you deserve a day that feels real, warm, and bursting with love.

If you want a celebrant, (maybe MC & DJ) who’s all about ditching the rulebook and celebrating love your way, you know where to find me ;-)