Bride and Groom Do Away With Ring Bearer in Favor of Something Unexpected

A bride and groom have divided opinion online after doing away with a time-honored tradition in favor of something a little more unconventional.

U.K. wedding celebrant Meg Stanier posted a video to TikTok showing one couple's fresh approach to recruiting a ring bearer.

Stanier was working in health care as a speech and therapy assistant when COVID-19 hit, and she ended up embarking on an altogether different career. "I became a celebrant after my two best friends asked me, as a joke, to officiate their ceremony during the pandemic and I said yes," Stanier told Newsweek.

That experience and the training she subsequently received have helped shape the way she works. "I strive to create amazing ceremonies and for my couples to feel like a friend is officiating their big moment," Stanier said.

It has also given her a flexibility and willingness to embrace creativity when it comes to the big day. That is how she ended up taping a box containing one happy couple's wedding rings to the bottom of a random guest's seat during the ceremony, subverting tradition.

There are plenty of wedding traditions that people are more than happy to do away with.

A 2021 YouGovAmerica poll of 700 U.S. adults found that 50 percent of respondents were opposed to the idea of the bride promising to obey her husband in their vows, while just 32 percent in favor of keeping it in place. Similarly, 43 percent rejected the notion that the bride's parents should pay for the wedding, with only 25 percent keen on maintaining that particular tradition.

Some traditions did remain popular though. A resounding 79 percent of respondents felt the tradition of the happy couple exchanging rings should stay in place.

This particular couple, who asked not to be named, had sent Stanier a video showing a clip from another wedding where the bride and groom had essentially turned one of their guests into a "surprise ring bearer."

Stanier said: "They wanted something different for their ring exchange and this was the perfect fit, something fun to match their vibe."

That involved having Stanier tape the rings, in their box, to a randomly assigned chair. Though it might have been unconventional, the wedding celebrant was confident about the plan going off without a hitch, or with a very happy one, rather.

"I personally think nothing much could go wrong; I knew exactly where they were," Stanier said. "It was an intimate wedding of 30 guests, but I wouldn't hesitate to do it with 100 guests either, if the couple are up for it."

Even so, the idea appeared to divide people on TikTok, where the video, posted under the handle @megstaniercelebrant, has been watched more than 3.4 million times since May 6.

Some users loved it. "Stop this is such a cute idea," one viewer said, with another commenting: "Love this idea, how special."

Others were less sure. "I would ignore it if it was under mine," one wrote. "My worst nightmare. I would cry." Another agreed: "My anxiety would never let me go to another wedding again."

A third added: "Now I will check under every chair before I sit at weddings thanks."

Stanier was pleased to confirm that the happy couple's plan couldn't have gone much better. "They were totally happy with the fact it was the bride's longtime friend from school and a really wonderful guy," she said. "They would've been happy with any of their guests being it, hence the freedom they gave me. "

Stanier would recommend others try it, too, though she said that it's better to "put them under one of the chairs on the first two rows as that's where your bridal party will be."