Wedding Traditions

Many of today's wedding customs and traditions have roots in ancient times. Some once had practical purposes, others were connected to ancient beliefs. They all now serve to remind us of the may generations that proceeded us, and of our participation in prolonging the history of courtship and community.
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Happy is the Bride with a Sixpence in her Shoe.
We all know about it, but do you know the meaning? The "old" was usually a personal gift from mother to daughter, a symbolic piece of wisdom for married life. "Something new" symbolized the new family formed by the couple. "Borrowing" is especially important, since it is to come from a happily married woman, to ensure the transfer of happiness. Blue has two traditions: Pagan Roman maidens wore blue on the borders of their robes to denote love, modesty and fidelity, while Christians associate it with the purity of the Virgin Mary. In fact, in biblical days, both the bride and groom wore a blue band around the bottom of their wedding attire to express their faithfulness and commitment to one another. Finally, the 'silver sixpence' symbolizes good fortune and prosperity for the couple. And, if you really want to follow this famous old good luck wedding tradition completely, you can even order a genuine English sixpence coin for a bride's shoe.
WHY THE BRIDE STANDS ON THE LEFT Traditionally, the bride stands on the left, the groom on the right. (Except in Jewish wedding tradition) Weddings used to have a lot more interference than today, with thugs and warriors sometimes crashing the wedding. Sometimes even heroes did it, just trying to rescue a captured bride. So , the groom needed to keep his right hand free so he could grab his sword, thus the bride stood clear and to the left.
FATHER WALKING BRIDE The tradition of the father walking his daughter down the aisle reflects the old belief that she was his property to "give away" to the groom.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BRIDESMAIDS AND USHERS The presence of bridesmaids and ushers dates back to when marriage by kidnapping was the norm. He usually took a few good men to fight off her brothers and other suitors. She usually plotted with her girlfriends to make sure she was kidnapped by the right man. Bridesmaids and groomsmen sometimes literally had to defend the happy couple against real-life thugs and warriors.
THE BEST MAN The best man dates back to 200 AD in northern Europe. Bachelor men would sneak around nearby communities to steal an unsuspecting bride. Their best man served to guard the couple during the wedding ceremony - to ensure that the bride's family could not take her back.
THE WEDDING VEIL The origin of the wedding veil is unclear but it is thought that it predates the wedding dress by centuries. The bridal veil is descendant from two sources. A woman's face that was covered by a veil meant that she was spoken for. A veil was used to disguise the bride so that she would not be recognized by the evil spirits wishing to harm the vulnerable bridal couple. Ancient Greek and Roman veils were flame red, while early Christians chose white or purple. Over the years, the meaning of the veil has changed. Today it reflects modesty, obedience, chastity, youth and virginity.
THE WHITE BRIDAL GOWN There was a time when the bride would wear her favorite dress to the ceremony. In 1840, Queen Victoria wore an elegant all white gown to her wedding. She started a fashion trend which quickly caught on and continues to this very day. White was worn because people believed it represented affluence, virginity and purity.
BRIDAL FLOWERS The carrying of flowers by the bride has its roots in ancient times when it was believed that strong smelling herbs and spices would ward off and drive away evil spirits, bad luck and ill health. Traditionally, bouquets were a mixture of flowers and herbs. During Roman times, this tradition was extended, with the bride and groom wearing floral garlands signifying new life and hope for fertility. The bouquet in particular symbolized women in bloom.
DRESSING ALIKE If you've ever wondered why bridesmaids all dress the same, it's because Roman law required ten witnesses to make a wedding legal. Several of these witnesses dressed up exactly like the bride and groom, to confound any evil forces who might show up uninvited.
THE KISS The kiss that seals the wedding is much more than a sign of affection. It symbolizes the swapping of souls between the bride and groom. Even earlier than this Christian belief, the Romans used a kiss to seal a contract. The kiss was considered legally binding. Even more, a bride marrying in the Church of England had to kiss the minister before the groom.
THE ENGAGEMENT RING The circular shape of the engagement ring originates in Egypt, meaning unending love and commitment. In medieval Italy, diamonds were used in engagement rings to symbolize enduring love. But, the engagement ring was originally given as partial payment for the bride, as a symbol of the groom's intentions. The diamond ring dates back to 15th century Venice, where the earliest documented case was the Archduke Maximillian of Austria who popped the question in 1477 with a diamond as a token of his affection. In 1518, 2-year-old Princess Mary, daughter of Henry VIII, was promised to the dauphin of France, whose family sent a diamond to seal the promise. The rings were used to seal an engagement only (as well as other important agreements), but Pope Innocent III had instituted a waiting period between engagement and marriage in the 13th century, and insisted that a ring be used in the wedding ceremony.
RING FINGER A bride's engagement ring and wedding ring are traditionally worn on the third/fourth finger of the left hand. There is no precise evidence to explain the origin of this tradition, but there are two strongly held beliefs. It's because of an Egyptian and ancient Greek belief that a vein in this finger, the vena amoris, the vein of love runs directly to the heart. The second, dating back to the 17th century, is that during a Christian wedding the Priest arrived at the forth finger (counting the thumb) after touching the three fingers on the left hand '... in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost'.
ROSE PETALS According to tradition, rose petals are thrown before the bride and groom while they are walking down the aisle. This is to ensure faithfulness in their marriage. When rose petals are thrown before the bride as she walks down the aisle, it is to ward-off evil spirits below the ground and grant fertility.
CARRYING THE BRIDE OVER THE THRESHOLD The custom of carrying the bride over the threshold stems from the same belief that aroused the idea of runway carpet and strewing the aisle with flowers and petals. It was an ancient belief that the newly married couple was very susceptible to evil spirits. By carrying the bride and supplying a protective layer between the floor and bride, she would be protected from the ground monster.
THROWING CONFETTI Throwing confetti over newly weds originated from the ancient Pagan rite of showering the happy couple with grain, rice and nuts to wish upon them a 'fruitful' union. Pagans believed that the fertility of the seeds would be transferred to the couple on whom they fell. In recent years, small pieces of colored paper have replaced sweetmeats, grain and nuts as an inexpensive substitute but the use of the word confetti has remained.
THROWING THE BOUQUET AND GARTER Tossing of the bridal bouquet is a custom which has it's roots in England. It was believed that the bride could pass along good fortune to others. In order to obtain this fortune, spectators would try to tear away pieces of the bride's clothing and flowers. In the 14th century, Europeans would gather around the bride and try to remove her garter for good luck. In an attempt to get away, the bride would toss her bouquet into the crowd. This probably evolved into the modern-day tradition of throwing the garter and bouquet to determine the next lucky bride and groom. Tradition says that the single women who catches the bouquet is the one who receives the bride's fortune and will marry next. Today, the groom has the honor of removing the bride's garter and tossing it to single men. The man who catches the garter has the privilege of putting it on the girl who caught the bouquet.
WEDDING CAKE The Wedding Cake was originally a lot of little wheat cakes that were broken over the brides head to bring good luck and fertility. Every guest should eat a crumb to ensure good luck. In medieval England, guests brought small cakes and piled them on the center of a table. The bride and groom then attempted to kiss over them. A baker from France conceived the idea of icing all the small cakes together in one large cake. Today's three tier Wedding Cake is based on the unusual shape of the spire of Saint Bride's Church in London. Traditionally the newlyweds would make the first cut to signify sharing their life.
THE BRIDAL SHOWER custom came about when a father disapproved of his daughter's marriage and refused to provide a dowry to the couple. The shower became the alternative to the dowry. Supportive villagers would assemble and provide the bride a variety of household items for her new home. Tradition says that the first bridal shower was given to a poor couple in Holland who was denied the bridal dowry because of the groom's lowly miller status. The miller's friends showered the bride with gifts to help them set up housekeeping.
THE HONEYMOON It was believed that if the newly married couple were to drink mead (honey wine) each evening for the duration of one moon (month) following the wedding, they were assured a male heir within one year ... thus the word honeymoon.