Wedding Traditions

I always see at least one wedding tradition of the many traditions out there at every wedding I capture. I also often get asked what certain things mean, so I thought I would bring you a little guide to just a few of the wedding traditions you could follow on your day.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a silver sixpence in her shoe
Something old represents continuity with the bride’s family past.
Something new is for good fortune and success in the bride’s new life.
Something borrowed is to remind the bride that family and friends will always be there for her.
Something blue is a symbol of faithfulness and loyalty and dates back to biblical times when blue represented purity.
A silver sixpence is for wealth, both financially and in happiness. A Swedish bride puts a silver coin from her father and a gold coin from her mother in each shoe to ensure she’ll never go without.

White wedding dress
Brides used to wear their best dress, but Queen Victoria started the white dress tradition in 1840. Although in Japan, white was always the colour for bridal.

Wedding veil
Ancient Greeks & Romans thought the veil protected the bride from evil spirits.

The bride’s garter
The garter comes from a medieval tradition where witnesses would bring it forth as a sign that they were there to confirm that the marriage had been consummated. For privacy eventually, the groom would throw it to prove consummation.

Bridesmaids
In Roman times, the bride would have ten witnesses dressed identically to her who would act as a decoy to evil spirits trying to harm the bride. The lookalikes would also give the bride extra protection should a rejected suitor try to kidnap her.

Preparing the groom
In Greek weddings, the best man, called the ‘Koumbaro’, will shave the groom to show the trust between them. All other family and friends help to dress the groom to have a symbolic role in getting him ready.

Best Man
In the past often a groom who has decided upon a wife, would have to kidnap her and to take on such a task he would take with him the best man he knew to help and protect him during this attempt. The best man would also then stand guard at the wedding and potentially have to fight off the bride’s family if they came to rescue her during the ceremony. He was given a position of trust which could explain now, why the best man is asked to take care of the wedding rings.

Weather
Rain on your wedding day is considered good luck in Hindu tradition.

Time of your wedding
It is said a couple should exchange wedding vows when then clock’s minute hand is ascending upwards towards heaven.

The Bride’s late arrival
In ancient traditions female children were deemed to be the property of their fathers and hence why the father ‘gives away’ his daughter at the wedding ceremony. Often weddings were arranged marriages and so the bride arrived after the groom, hence that by the time his future wife was presented to him, it would be too late to change his mind.

Engagement and wedding rings
They are worn on the fourth finger of the left hand because it was thought that a vein in this finger connected straight to the heart.

Gold crowns
Two gold crowns (Stefana) connected by a single strand of ribbon are used in Greek wedding ceremonies to symbolise the union of two people in to a single married couple and signifies they shall rule over their household together.

The groom’s stance
The bride stands on the left side of her groom because in bygone days, the groom needed his right hand free to fight off suitors with his sword.

Confetti
Rice or grains used to be thrown at the couple to encourage fertility and thankfully this has been replaced with confetti now.

Jumping the broom
This practice started in slave times when it was illegal for them to marry, so they jumped the broom together in place of a legal wedding. It was disdained in the past for its connection to being a symbol of bondage, but was revived due to a poignant scene in ‘Roots’ where it is acknowledged as a powerful bond with another person. It is now often incorporated into modern weddings as a tradition of heritage.

Wedding cake
Bread, or cakes have been a part of celebrations since medieval times. The tradition of a tiered wedding cake came from a game where the bride and groom attempted to kiss over an ever higher cake pile without knocking it over. Guests used to bring small cakes to the wedding feast and place in front of the couple who had to try to kiss over the pile for future prosperity.

Wedding favours
Started in the 16th century, European nobility handed out cubes, or small boxes of sugar, which was an expensive delicacy at the time, as a show of wealth and a thank you to the guests. This developed in to sugar coated almonds and five of them represented health, wealth, happiness, fertility and a long life.

Wedding bouquet
Throwing of the bouquet came from America and it is said that the person catching the bouquet will be next to get married.

Carrying across the threshold
The groom does this to protect the bride from the evil spirits lurking below.

Wedding dance
At the end of the night in Greek wedding celebrations, the bride and groom dance with a handkerchief and guests pin money on to them as gifts. The parents start first and often pre-pinned reams of notes are draped over the couple.