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OTTUMWA, IOWA -- It’s the day all little girls dream about, their wedding day – the lavish white dress, beautiful jewelry and of course the handsome groom.

And then come the traditions.

“I think they can be fun and it’s nice to have tradition in a wedding. But a lot of them are just crazy anymore. They're back from ancient times. But it is nice to have some tradition in a wedding,” said Kristie Durflinger, owner of the Bridal Cottage.And something no bride wants on her wedding day, rain!

“But it is considered lucky to have rain on your wedding day. That means you will have children in your future. So it is actually a good thing to have rain but not so much if your wedding is outside. If you’re doing an indoor wedding, that tends to work better,” said Durflinger.

And of course, no one should outshine the bride but today’s bride is making things a little easier for her bridesmaids.

“Big bows with big poufy sleeves is what people picture; that's definitely an old myth anymore. The bride lets them choose their dresses usually. They can all wear whatever color but choose their own dress – whatever looks good on them,” said Durflinger.

And who says you have to wear all white on your wedding day? Today, brides are putting more and more personality into their bridal attire, including colored sashes and even giving their shoes a pop of color.

“They are doing some fun things adding their own touches to it and I’ve seen some really cool pictures that they're dong with some new looks to it. So that’s all fun,” said Durflinger.

And one tradition brides feel most strongly about is not letting their groom see their wedding dress before the wedding.

“They know they don’t want him to see it and they will take pictures and then make sure they delete them as soon as they are done. They don’t want him getting the camera; they don’t want him seeing it.  It’s a big surprise and it’s considered unlucky for him to see her before the wedding,” said Durflinger.

Today’s brides choose which traditions to follow or not to follow.