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Although brides' may not realize it, their wedding day is surrounded with traditions that have been around for hundreds of years. One of the first, is that the groom and bride should not meet on their wedding day until the marriage ceremony. For, it is said that to even glimpse each other will bring bad luck.
A bride traditionally wears a white dress which denotes purity, and for the same reason, she wears a veil over her face. In the past the bridesmaids also wore veils - but this was to prevent the Devil singling out the bride for his evil intentions. It is usual for a bride to wear something old (a reminder of her old life) something new (a new life ahead) and something blue, a colour that has been associated with weddings since Roman times.
For many years a slim spray of lilies was popular as a wedding bouquet. Then designs changed, but now they are back in fashion once again. Being white, lilies are a symbol of purity - and are said to have grown from soil wet by Eve's tears after she was banned from the Garden of Eden. At the wedding ceremony, a bride is handed by her father to the waiting bridegroom. This custom follows ancient traditions, when the bride, being the property of her father, was passed over to the bridegroom for his safekeeping. Shoes tied to the back of the bridal car are also a symbol of her leaving home and her feet now being on her husband's hearth.
When it comes to placing the ring on the bride's finger, she holds her left hand forward, and the bridegrooms slips the ring on her third finger. A vein from this finger is said to run straight to the heart! And as the couple leave church, guests traditionally shower them with confetti, flower petals or rice. Throwing rice at weddings goes back to Roman times. As a quick growing crop, rice has always been associated with fertility. Romans also broke small cakes over the heads of the newly weds.
Chimney sweeps are sometimes seen mingling with the guests outside the church. They are associated with bringing good luck, as is giving the bride a cardboard cut-out of a black cat. Artificial horseshoes are yet another symbol of good luck. The Romans nailed horseshoes on the walls of their houses to counteract the evil eye of the Devil.
Before a bride leaves her wedding party she will often throw her bouquet to her bridesmaids, and the one who catches it hopes she will become the next bride. When the bride arrives at her new home it is customary for the bridegroom to carry her over the threshold into a new life. Later that day they have what is known as 'the first night'. Meaning the first night they have ever slept together.
Pat Lock is a cake decorating expert with over 25 years experience who runs the excellent Cake Decorating Tips website. She has won awards at the prestigious international competition at Hotel Olympia, London and is also an accomplished author.
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