--- description: A new poll sheds light on some generational differences in our views on wedding traditions--including who pays for the party title: Millennial Brides Don't Want to Wear White image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a09bbfc9689e364/6986962335ba6f6206c026b3/79224010.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Living](/tag/time-section-living/) ## Living Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Millennial Brides Don't Want to Wear White  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jun 4, 2014 4:13 PM CUT  A pink bride holding a pink bouquet A pink bride holding a pink bouquetMIXA—Getty Images/MIXA  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jun 4, 2014 4:13 PM CUT White weddings might soon be a thing of the past, because almost half of Americans (46%) disagree with the expectation that brides should wear white. A new [Harris Poll ](http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/HarrisPolls/tabid/447/mid/1508/articleId/1446/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/Default.aspx "undefined")shows that wearing white is just one of a few wedding traditions that’s changing in an increasingly frugal climate. 46% of millennials now think that the bride’s family shouldn’t have to pay for the wedding, and only 56% think the groom’s family should pay for the rehearsal dinner. But millennials care about engagement rings more than older people do: 43% of millennials say they care about having an expensive ring, but only 21% of people over 68 think the engagement ring needs to be expensive. (Probably because older people know that a fancy ring isn’t the main ingredient of a long, successful marriage.) Other traditions are hard to shake. Three quarters of respondents of all ages said bridal showers should be women-only, and 84% say that the bride’s father should still walk her down the aisle. 70% said the groom should ask the bride’s parents before proposing. Even more surprising: 51% (and 47% of millennials) think the bride and groom should “wait” to have sex until after the wedding. This one sounds slightly dubious — are half of engaged couples in sexless relationships? Not likely. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2822053/weddings-brides-white-dresses-millennials/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2822053/weddings-brides-white-dresses-millennials/"},"headline":"Millennial Brides Don't Want to Wear White","datePublished":"2014-06-04T16:13:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:55:24.892Z","description":"A new poll sheds light on some generational differences in our views on wedding traditions--including who pays for the party","url":"https://time.com/2822053/weddings-brides-white-dresses-millennials/","keywords":["Living","Marriage","Weddings","fashion","wedding","Clothing","white","tradition"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a09bbfc9689e364/6986962335ba6f6206c026b3/79224010.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a09bbfc9689e364/6986962335ba6f6206c026b3/79224010.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"79224010","caption":"79224010","creditText":"MIXA—Getty Images/MIXA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2822053/weddings-brides-white-dresses-millennials/","name":"Millennial Brides Don't Want to Wear White"}}]}] ```