Wedding Rules You Should Break

Bridal trends come and go, but the rules that accompany them are forever. Or, are they? Here are five rules that you can break. And we think you should.

You need to wear a floor-length gownFor her fall 2014 collection, Carolina Herrera didn't include a single floor length gown. And she wasn't the only one. This trend seems to have made it's way through many collections, including Hayley Paige, Monique Lhuillier, Reem Acra, and Marchesa. Being a bride no longer means that you have to wear a long gown complete with an even longer train if you don't want to. In fact, you don't have to wear a dress at all. J. Crew recently debuted its lace bridal jumpsuit, which is sweet, feminine, and screams bride, despite the fact that it's not a dress at all.

Your gown should be whiteThe tradition of wearing a white wedding gown actually came about by a rule being broken. In the 17th century, most women wore the nicest dress they had to their wedding, while the nobility wore silver. When Queen Victoria got married in 1840, she decided to wear white, starting a tradition that has lasted more than a century. We think a rule that came about by breaking another rule is one we can do away with. Kaley Cuoco, Jessica Biel and Gwen Stefani all wore pink gowns to their nuptials, while Sarah Jessica Parker and Shenae Grimes both chose black. Vera Wang's's Fall 2014 collection ran the gamut from petal pink to coral, but didn't have any white dresses. Your wedding is a reflection of your personality, and your dress should be just as vibrant as you are.

You should wear heelsWe all remember the scene from Father of the Bride when Annie Banks reveals her amazingly bedazzled sneakers. If, like Annie, you'd choose your Converse over your Manolos any day, then your wedding day shouldn't be any different. Even Karl Lagerfeld himself designed a pair of wedding sneakers that were paired with a shimmery white gown for his January 2014 haute couture show in Paris. And the best part? Wearing sneakers means you don’t have to worry about aching feet or, even worse, a Jennifer Lawrence-worthy trip to the altar.

Your engagement and wedding rings should be the same metalGone are the days where mixing metals was considered taboo. Many women are choosing to mix white, yellow, and rose gold along with other metals like platinum for a truly unique wedding ring look. You can either choose to do the mixing yourself by combining a white gold or platinum engagement right with a yellow gold wedding band, or you can find a ring that does the mixing for you, like a halo setting where the halo diamonds are set in a contrasting metal from the rest of the ring, or a stunning vintage ring that effortlessly combines yellow and white metals with brightly-colored gemstones.

You can only have women in your bridal partyWho says you can't have a bridesman in your bridal party? It used to be that a bridal party consisted of bridesmaids and groomsmen, but not anymore. If one of your closest friends is a guy, it's now totally acceptable to ask him to be one of your attendants. You can distinguish him from the groomsmen by giving him a different color tie or shirt, or he can wear the exact same thing they are.