Why Wedding Traditions Are So Important

It's your wedding. You want to do you. You want to buck traditions. You want a cupcake tower and a penguin ring bearer because YOLO. I get it. I wanted cupcakes and Pete wanted to ride in on a donkey. In the end, we went with a fabulous cake and Pete walked in with personalized Converse. Sometimes, traditional is okay. But always -- and I stress always -- wedding traditions are a necessity.

When I was planning my wedding, I knew we would have Ave Maria sung during the ceremony. I didn't know when, but I knew it was my grandma's favorite song and that it was important to her to have it sung at my mom's wedding. So here I was, a generation later, knowing it had to be in our ceremony. I never mentioned this to my grandma. I never told her I had it sung because of tradition. I just wanted her to sit during our ceremony and have a moment where she heard the song and thought, "This is my favorite." I gave her that moment, sure, but tradition and history and nostalgia really gave it to her.

And we had a band. Before she passed, before Pete and I were engaged, heck we might not have even been officially a couple yet, Pete's mom told me her favorite weddings were the ones with bands. She said she let her daughters, Pete's sisters, make every wedding decision without her input -- except for the band. She insisted they opt for a band over a DJ and they were both grateful for the push in that direction. So, keeping up the tradition of Pete's family, we had a band. And what a difference the band really made. Pete even got to play with them, which was such a special moment for everyone.

I was grandma-sitting last month, thinking about how lucky it was for me to be able to give her Ave Maria at our wedding, how lucky I was to give her a photo of me alone with my dress and veil because that's the shot she wanted. Did I want a veil? Originally, no. But was it a tradition that was important to my grandma? Yes. And that was that.

These are the things people are going to remember about your wedding. As much as you agonize over it, no one is going to remember if you have a garden or Caesar salad. People won't care if you have yellow or white votive candles in your centerpieces, although that is a decision you will have to make.

But if you play your parents' wedding song and have them slow dance to it, they'll remember that. If your groom wears his grandpa's hat, people will remember that. Both things we did.

Here's the things about traditions: If you skip them, you don't get a redo. After the wedding is done, you don't get a second chance for any shoulda-coulda-wouldas. It's like life. You don't always get tomorrow.

So when you're planning your wedding, you're going to get upset. You're going to get mad over some suggestions and you're gonna want to plan your wedding your way. But when it's all done, the selfishness that comes from your frustration (aka your Bridezilla moments) may cause you to miss moments that are so incredibly important, ones you wish you could add back in. But by then, it'll be too late.

If you and your husband met at a cupcake shop and you really want to have cupcakes at your wedding, I get it. And if your mom really wants you to use her cake topper that her grandma gave her, I get that too. But you'll have the rest of your life to go get cupcakes with your hubby-to-be. You'll only have one chance to use your great-grandma's cake topper.

And maybe you don't want to have everyone watch as you dance with your dad. I get it. It's hard to have the spotlight on you, even on your wedding day. But that tradition, it's one your dad has thought about since the moment you came into this world. And one day, you won't have the opportunity to dance with your dad. And you'll be clinging to every memory; every moment becomes so incredibly important and special. And you'll be so grateful you had that father daughter dance. And that feeling that fills your soul is worth so much more than the nerves of all eyes on you and your dad for three and a half minutes.

I'm lucky that these are the thoughts that fill my heart and soul and mind. I planned my wedding with these thoughts in my mind, and I hope you will too.

BRIDAL BABBLE: I didn't proofread this. I can't. It's too close to my heart right now. Also why there's no bridal babble question on it. I'm not sure when I'll be ready to come back and read this and chat with you all about it. xoxo, Lisa

DIY Glitter Wine Glasses

This DIY Glitter Wine Glasses post was sponsored by Dollar Tree. All thoughts and opinions belong to A Bride On A Budget.

Glitter and sparkles are what little girls' dreams are filled with. That and their wedding day. Who is their Prince Charming going to be and what type of horse will he ride in on. Girls grow up into women and start planning weddings to men who are more likely to drive a car than ride a horse (although marrying a rancher could be a pretty great life, it isn't the one most ladies end up in).

None of that growing up means you have to give up sparkles. I mean, who doesn't just feel a little bit fancier in a top that glimmers when the light hits it just right. So, of course, I am a huge fan of these glitter wine glasses I made. They're perfect for you and your bridesmaids to use on wedding morning. That's a fancy way to start the biggest day of your life.

DIY Glitter Wine Glasses

I made these wine glasses using only items I found at my local Dollar Tree. Since everything there is $1, it makes projects like these incredibly affordable. Saving money on these sorts of wedding projects allows you more cushion in your budget for other items -- like a champagne toast maybe -- that you couldn't afford otherwise.

What You'll Need:

• Wine glasses
• Glitter
• Mod Podge
• Paint brush
• Decorative shred
• Sparkling grape juice and cider
• Tape

What You'll Do:

Start by deciding how you want to design your glasses. I made three different designs to help you decide. I did just the base, the stem and base, and a design on the goblet.

Whatever you choose, start by using the tape to section off the area where you want to apply the glitter. If your local Dollar Tree has painter's tape, you can go with that. Mine didn't, so I just used regular tape. It worked fine.

Paint the Mod Podge (which YES! I found at my local Dollar Tree! What a hot find!) onto the section where you want your glitter.

A thin layer of Mod Podge works well.

When the Mod Podge is still wet, sprinkle on your glitter. I actually did this over a sheet of paper because I didn't want glitter all of the place. It made it easier to clean up too because I just rolled the paper into a funnel shape, stuck it in the glitter pack, and poured the excess back in the bag.

I loved the glitter I found at Dollar Tree, mostly because it was really fine flakes. They don't leave gaps in your project like large glitter does. And since the space on a wine glass is quite small, the tiny glitter is better. Each of these small packets was more than enough for each glass. Since it comes with six packets, you could do at least six glitter wine glasses per pack. That's a bargain!

If you brush off the excess glitter and realize you missed a spot, no worries. Just very carefully paint on a bit more Modge Podge and sprinkle that spot with glitter. It'll blend right in.

Continue with the rest of your glasses.

You can vary every design too, which is so much fun.

After you're done glittering, apply one more layer of Mod Podge to seal in the glitter. Then, let the glasses dry. I left mine overnight,  just to be sure.

When they're dry, dust off any loose glitter and remove the tape.

Fill the glasses with the decorative shred.

Then add a bottle of sparkling grape juice or cider. I was actually pretty impressed that my local Dollar Tree carried these individual bottles. It was the perfect thing to pair with my wine glasses.

Want to order these items from Dollar Tree's website? Now is the time to do it! Today though Saturday, November 26, you can get $4.95 flat rate shipping on your entire order during Dollar Tree's Black Friday event!

BRIDAL BABBLE: How would you design these DIY glitter wine bottles?

DIY Wedding Hangover Kit

If you have an open bar at your wedding, your guests will definitely take advantage of it. That's good ... until the next morning when their heads will be killing them. All they'll want is water and some Advil.

You would be the best bride ever if you actually gave that to your guests. Leave each of them a hangover kit in their hotel rooms and they will love you forever (once their heads stop pounding).

Enter our DIY Wedding Hangover Kit tutorial.

DIY Wedding Hangover Kit

This was really easy to put together.You'll want to make one hangover kit for each guest, though, so definitely enlist your bridesmaids or fiance to help you put these together. Set up an assembly line and this will go really quickly.

What You'll Need:

• Paper trimmer
• White paper
• Advil 2-count packs
• Tape
• Red marker
• Black marker
• Water bottles
• Twine

What You'll Do:

Cut a 6.5x6.5 inch square from your white paper.

Place the Advil in the center.

Take each point and fold it into the middle to create another square.

Take each new point and fold it into the middle (this will make the paper the size of the Advil pack).

Unfold the enter paper and draw a red cross in the center.

Write "Hangover Kit" under it in black marker.

Place the Advil back inside and fold the paper back together.

Slide a 12-inch piece of twine under the top point.

Tape the points down.

Tie the twine around the water bottle.

The end.

I absolutely love how this DIY wedding hangover kit came out. I would love to get it at a wedding. Wouldn't you?

BRIDAL BABBLE: Could you make this DIY wedding hangover kit?

Mason Jar Hot Chocolate Mix Favors (Plus free printable gift tags)

If you love this Mason Jar Hot Chocolate Mix recipe, be sure to Yum it here: Yum

I love hot chocolate. It's my warm beverage of choice. And I think it's pretty universally appreciated. Some people don't drink coffee. And if you offer tea, most people usually decline. But with hot chocolate, there's that second of thought -- which is filled with nostalgia, childhood, snow days and snowmen, mittens, and mom -- and then the, "You know what? Yeah. I'll have some."

Hot chocolate just gives people that warm, happy feeling. It's the same feeling you want to give guests at your wedding. So how perfect would it be to give your wedding guests a hot chocolate wedding favor?

But, I mean, you don't want to just drop a hot chocolate packet at their seats and call it a day. You have to put a little more effort into it and put together something like our Mason Jar Hot Chocolate Favors. I made it really easy for you. I put together a cute printable that you can use so you don't have to create your own. Just print, cut, and attach.

Mason Jar Hot Chocolate Mix Favors

What You'll Need:

• 8oz. mason jars
• Mini marshmallows
• Mini chocolate chips
• Printable gift tags (see below)
• Baker's twine
• Hot chocolate mix OR
• 3 cups nonfat dry milk powder
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

What You'll Do:

Mix together the last four ingredients in a bowl. That's the recipe I found on allrecipes. If you want to keep things a little simpler (and I get that, I really do), just open a can of pre-made hot chocolate mix. No one will really know.

Fill your mason jar about two-thirds of the way with the hot chocolate mix. You can spoon it in, use a funnel, whatever works for you.

Fill half the remaining space with mini chocolate chips.

Fill the rest of the space with mini marshmallows.

Attach one of the printable tags to the mason jar with a piece of twine. Set one at each seat at your wedding.

Now, I can't take full credit for this. My friend Danielle actually made these for me for Christmas last year and I just thought they were fantastic. So, of course, in typical fashion, before I could enjoy it, I had to turn it into a post. I did, however, design the tag. I made it green because I like color. But then I realized that something more neutral might work better for your wedding. So I created a second set of black tags.

The printables are created to print on an 8,5x11 sheet of printer paper. Just right click the image you want, save it to your computer, and print it when you are ready. It may be a bit of an ink hog, so instead of printing at home, you may want to send it to your local copy shop (that's what I would do if I was making more than two of these).

I used a paper trimmer to cut these (because I've been obsessed with ours since I bought it for our wedding invitations. It was the best wedding investment we made) and I hole punched the hole. It's the perfect size for a standard one-hole punch. I made these mason jar hot chocolate mix favors really easy for you.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Would you use the black or green tags for these mason jar hot chocolate mix favors?

Want something a little easier?
Check out our Hot Drink Mixes Wedding Favors.

What To Do Before Taking A Honeymoon Road Trip

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FallForPennzoil #CollectiveBias

Honeymoons are changing. While there are couple who are still jetsettting off to some island with good weather and great drinks, so many couples are opting for a road trip honeymoon. It's such a fun way to get in good quality time and lots of sightseeing.

If you're planning a road trip honeymoon, there are a few things you need to consider and take care of before you go.

What To Do Before Taking A Honeymoon Road Trip

Buy Cozy Clothes
We road trip a lot and I always make sure to wear cozy clothes. It just makes the car ride so much better. Now, I'll be honest. I was definitely one of the "leggings are not pants" people ... until someone sent me a pair of leggings. Now I'm a "legging are the perfect road trip pants" person. They're so comfortable. And if you pair them with a loose top, it's such a good outfit to drive in.

Be sure your fiance has an equally comfortable outfit. A pair of bagging cargo shorts might be best for him. And pack sunglasses, especially if you're driving during the day. Those are definitely key.

You also want to pack ahead of time too, obviously. Be sure to check out our honeymoon packing checklist to help you figure out exactly what you need to pack and what you can leave home.

Plan Your Stops
Before you go, be sure to map out your route. If you like breweries and zoos, mark down the ones along your path. If you have destinations to stop at along the way, you won't be wandering aimlessly. Of course, if you see an attraction sign along the way that jumps out at you, make an impromptu stop.

Have fun with your road trip and leave yourself room to relax along the way. You don't want to spend the entire time going from tourist attraction to tourist attraction. Schedule in some down time, but also set it up with pit stops. Definitely go with a balance.

Book Hotels Beforehand
You don't want to drive long into the night and then have to find a hotel with vacancies. You might not find the best hotel or the best deal that way. Instead, book your hotels before you go. Since you're already planning your stops, you can find hotels around them. You can check into your hotel, drop off your luggage, and then drive around a certain city.

I always use cash back sites when I book hotels too. You'll get back a percentage, so it'll save you money. Plus, you will usually pay less if you book ahead of time rather than if you just walk into a hotel and look for a room.

Pack Snacks
I always pack snacks before we leave for a road trip. It's just such a waste of money to pick up a snack when you stop at a gas station because they're so overpriced. You'll have to stop for meals because you don't want to lug around a cooler all honeymoon, but you can pack nuts, chips, granola bars, and sweets.

I make sure to pack one snack for each of us for every day. If I buy something like nuts, I'll also pick up plastic snack bags. I'll divide the nuts into bags. They're a lot easy than packing a huge container of nuts, plus it's cheaper than buying a bunch of small bags.

Pick Up Maps
I remember when we were young and would drive to Florida, my parents would get an entire map of our route. That way, we knew how to go. With a GPS in many cars and most phones, it seems like an atlas might be a bit archaic. But it's not! You might get stuck in traffic or around a closed road and need an alternate route. Or maybe the map has a landmark on it that your GPS would never make you aware of.

You can keep this in your car, under a seat or in the trunk, for whenever you decide to take another road trip. It'll be fun to even draw on it and attach photos to the cover, turning it into a travel diary too.

Get Your Oil Changed
You want to make sure that you and your car are ready for your road trip. If your car needs any maintenance done, be sure you do it before your trip. Fill up your tires, get a tune up, and have your oil changed. Those are the big ones that we do ever time we road trip.

Speaking of an oil change, you can get it done your local Walmart Automotive Care Center. And now, you can get your oil changed with Pennzoil® Platinum Full Synthetic Motor Oil. We knew all about Pennzoil when we lived up North, so I'm excited to know Pennzoil Platinum Full Synthetic is an option in Walmarts in the South (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee). It's usually $49.88 on Rollback to $44.88 through December 27, 2016.

We actually went to Walmart recently to check this out. The Rollback was advertised all over the Automotive Care Center. And with our oil change, we also got our fluids topped off. It was so easy to drop off the car and go about the rest of our afternoon. When it was ready, we got a call and picked it up. Simple -- and perfect for peace of mind!

BRIDAL BABBLE: What would you do to prepare for a honeymoon road trip?

This DIY Race Car Candy Jars has been sponsored. #RaceDayRelief #CollectiveBias

We went to a wedding once with a full out Venetian hour. It was in the same room as the cocktail hour -- with just as many items. There were fresh baked cookies, chocolate-dipped bananas, wrapped chocolate, cotton candy, s'mores, and a funnel cake maker.

Okay, I may have imagined that funnel cake maker.

What I didn't imagine was the waiter who was handing out to go boxes as soon as you entered the room.

There has been nothing -- no moment before or after -- that I've loved more about a wedding reception than that. For weeks after, I was telling anyone who would listen that I wanted a dessert-only wedding. That's not a thing (although it should be!). So I compromised and we had a candy bar. It was a hit and such a tasty end of the night treat.

Now, what if you're a race car fan and want to incorporate that into your wedding in a subtle way? Easy! Create a "Final Lap" candy bar with our DIY Race Car Candy Jars.

DIY Race Car Candy Jars

I'm obsessed with these candy jars. They came out better than I could have ever expected.

DIY Race Car Candy Jars Supplies:

• Mason jars
• Spray paint
• Candy
• Toy race cars
• Adhesive dots
• Scrap paper

How To Make DIY Race Car Candy Jars:

As with every project you spray paint, you want to bring the items (in this case, the two pieces of the mason jar lids and the race cars) outside. I always go into our woods behind our house to spray paint because of the open air -- and the pine needles. I don't worry if any of the spray paint ends up on them.

Tear your scrap paper into two pieces, one for each color spray paint.

Put the pieces of the lid and cars on each sheet, then spray paint. Allow the paint to dry and then apply additional coats as needed.

The silver went on with just one coat. Then, I came back and resprayed because I missed a few spots. The blue is three coats. So, of course, I was wishing I went with silver for it all. But I like the contrast of multiple colors. Just don't overspray. You don't need the same amount for each color.

Let them dry completely (I left them outside in the sun for a few hours).

Fill the jars with candy. You can pick wrapped candy, candy in your colors, your favorite candy, whatever you prefer.

Add a piece of adhesive dots on each wheel of the race car. I used half a dot per wheel.

Put the metal lid on the mason jar, then close it with the metal screw band. Then, stick the race car to the metal lid of the mason jar.

You have two options when you display these at your candy bar. You can leave out plastic treat bags and let your guests help themselves, like they would at our candy bar, or you can get smaller mason jars and fill them for your guests. Then, let each guest take one home at the end of the night.

Either way, you probably want to keep a bottle of fast acting Advil® Film-Coated handy. Your guests will be dancing all night and instead of them making a "pit stop" to their chairs, you want to keep them on the dance floor! If you have some Advil® Film-Coated around, it'll get them back boogieing quickly. The Rapid Release Formula goes to work in minutes on tough pain* (*Among OTC pain relievers.).

Just don't display your Advil® Film-Coated at your candy bar. You don't want people to mistake Advil® Film-Coated for candy.

You can pick it up -- and all your supplies for these DIY Race Car Candy Jars -- at your local Walmart. Even better, you can print an Advil®  Film-Coated Coupon before you go so you can save. And don't forget to check out the Ford Ecoboost 400 in Miami on November 20th.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Would you make these DIY Race Car Candy Jars?

Love race cars?
Check out our DIY Checkered Flag Escort Cards.

How To Entertain Kids At A Wedding

There's the big "Should we or shouldn't we" conversation when it comes to kids at a wedding. It's such a touchy situation. If you're one of the last of your friends to get married, your friends might already have kids. Or you might be the first one in your family to get married and all your cousins are young and you want them there.

It's hard, though. Kids don't really care about the toast and last call usually happens hours after their bedtime. So if you decide that yes, you will allow kids to come to your wedding, it's in your best interest to set up a few things to keep the kids entertained.

I put together a list of the top five ways to keep kids entertained at a wedding.

Hire a Babysitter

This is the first suggestion I give to every bride who asks me about kids at a wedding. Yes, a child is mommy and daddy's responsibility, but parents want a night out too ... especially if date night doesn't come often and your wedding has an open bar. You want the parents to have a good time and not have to worry about chasing Johnny all through the ballroom.

So let that be someone else's responsibility. Hire someone -- a friend of a friend, a coworker's age-appropriate child, your own babysitter -- and let the parents know that there will be someone at the ceremony and reception who will be responsible for the children during the day. I really stress that you hire someone who isn't a relative and wouldn't otherwise be invited to the wedding. You don't want to designate your mom as the wedding babysitter, even if she offers. You want your mother to enjoy the wedding, just as you want all the parents to enjoy as well.

Your cousin's next door neighbor won't mind missing the I Do's if that's the exact moment she has to chase a loose toddler, but your mom will.

Designate a "Child Zone" at the Reception

There's a good chance you will have a venue with an on-site coordinator. Sit down with him or her prior to your wedding and explain that you will have children there. Ask if there is an area that can be set up for kids only. Maybe there's a backdoor that leads to a lawn where you can set up a ball pit or a bounce house. Maybe there's a second bridal suite that you can turn into a playroom for the evening.

Work with the on-site coordinator to find this area and make sure it is child safe -- and far enough out of the way of the reception that if Johnny has a meltdown, it won't be overpowering the father-daughter dance.

You don't even have to set up such grand games. Try a ring toss, bean bag toss, an arts and crafts table. There's a good chance that the reception venue actually has a few things on hand. It never hurts to ask.

Have a Kid-Friendly Menu

It's no secret that children may get cranky if they're hungry. So make sure they eat. Most weddings have a pretty exotic menu compared to a child's pallet. Most kids would choose chicken fingers over shrimp cocktail, so make sure that some of your hors d'oeuvres are finger foods. I'm not saying serve mini pizzas, but if you only have mini crab cakes, you might have a little trouble.

Keep that in mind for the dinner as well. If your entree choices are the typical prime rib or salmon, you have to know if the kids are going to eat that. Maybe the chef can put together a couple grilled cheese sandwiches.

This is definitely something you have to arrange with the venue before the wedding day. Tell them the number of children that will be there and see what they can do. Also, there are a lot of venues that will charge a child's cost rather than the regular per plate cost (and you won't have to pay the per head alcohol cost for kids either). Be sure to square this away with the venue beforehand.

Create a Children's Goody Bag

As much as you think your wedding is the best day ever, a kid might disagree. If you expect children to sit quietly the entire time, you're mistaken. Kids need something to do -- and listening intently to the best man speech probably isn't it.

So put together a goody bag filled with kids toys: coloring books, bubbles, crayons, sand buckets (if you're on a beach), puzzles, notebook, pens. You get the idea. I actually checked out Amazon and found a couple really cute wedding-related kid's items.

• Individually Packaged Children's Wedding Activity Sets
• Wedding Treat Bags For Kids
• Tuxedo Bubble Bottles

If you don't feel like putting the kit together yourself, you can actually buy them pre-made:

• Ring Bearer Wedding Activity Backpack
• Flower Girl Gift Activity Backpack

Makes it a little easier when you are doing so many other things to prep for the wedding.

Have a Kids' Table

There's a good chance that if the kids are sitting with their parents, the parents will end up cutting the kids' food as their filet goes cold. That's horrible. Instead, have a table set up just for the kids and put the babysitter in charge of making sure they eat and that their food is cut. Let the parents enjoy the food in peace.

The kids will dance and hang out and when they're tired, they can just go back to the kids table with the other kids. They won't be going back to a table filled with couples (many of who might not have kids and don't want to be stuck sitting next to a child during the entire reception).

You can make this table very kid friendly too. Pick up children's placemats (I suggest this Wedding Party Paper Placemats for Children pack) and adorn the table with a kid-centric centerpiece (like the LEGO Mini Figure Set Wedding Bride Groom Table Decoration). Kids will see that and know that the LEGO table is the one for them, and the one with the huge glass vases and centerpieces is for the adults. It'll help them find their table and feel a little more comfortable.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What other tips do you have to entertain kids at a wedding?