Rise of the feminist wedding: No veils, no engagement ring - and don't DARE try to give me away

Brides are increasingly shunning traditions surrounding weddings

Choosing not to have engagement rings or wear white on the day

Almost a quarter plan to keep their maiden name after marriage

19% agree aspects of traditional weddings are 'anti-feminist'

But 76% still want to be walked down the aisle by their father



The image of a veiled bride walking down the aisle on her father's arm could become a thing of the past as a growing trend for 'feminist weddings' has been detected among modern brides to be.



Doing away with the engagement ring, choosing not to be 'given away like property' and wearing a colour other than white are key themes gaining traction in the feminist wedding trend.



The findings, revealed in a survey of 200 brides to be, revealed that almost a quarter of women planned on keeping their maiden name after marriage, while one in 10 were planning to wear a colour other than white on their wedding day.

And the bride wore black: Avril Lavigne sported a strapless Monique Lhuillier gown as she posed next to her rocker husband Chad Kroeger at their wedding in the South of France earlier this month

Pretty in pink: Like many women, Jessica Biel and Reese Witherspoon opted for a pink gown on their big day

Traditions such as the wearing of an engagement ring are also increasingly being rejected by brides who feel it is anti-feminist - with such an obvious token to be worn on the finger marking the woman in question as 'taken'.



The tradition of wearing a veil is being similarly rejected , as some women believe it plays into the idea that a woman is 'revealed' to her husband as the virgin bride (though actually the use of a veil is steeped in history and has very different significance across multiple cultures).



However, while there is undoubtedly a stirring among young brides to be, parents can take comfort in the fact that while some women are beginning to push back against the patriarchy, the majority are still keen to uphold certain traditions, with 76 per cent of brides saying they really would like their father to walk them down the aisle .

Elki Parmar of Wedding Days.co.uk, who conducted the survey, said: ‘Some of the brides we have spoken to are doing things that they feel make their wedding more 'feminist'.



'That could be reflected by deciding not be given away, the idea being that one of the connotations of this tradition is that the woman is property to be given away.



Brides are choosing to do away with many wedding traditions such as engagement rings

‘Other brides are choosing not to wear white on their wedding day as a woman’s white wedding dress traditionally carries connotations of virginal innocence whereas what the groom wears on his wedding day is not perceived to be symbolic, creating somewhat of an imbalance from some feminist perspectives.'



Elki said: ‘Many of the women we spoke to thought that changing their last name after marriage to their husband's conformed to a patriarchal ideology and didn’t want to feel they were giving up their own identity for their husbands



'While some were planning to not change their names at all, others were going to incorporate their husband's name into their own.



'However, many women also echoed the sentiment that a couple sharing the same last name is something that binds their family together.



Kelly Doncaster, Wedding Manager at Leicester wedding venue, The City Rooms, said: “'It is true that couples like to make their wedding their own and often do away with certain traditions.



‘For many, traditions are still part of the ceremony but not because of reasons which may be perceived as anti-feminist.

