Time Honored Wedding Traditions

It's a different world today. Your mother has shared her courtship and wedding experience with you, and if you are lucky, you've also heard the treasured memories from your grandmothers' wedding.

There are traditions specific to every nationality. Presenting information on each ethnic group would turn this site into an encyclopedia, so our best effort is to present basic traditions and include links to web sites containing detailed information on specific ethnic groups.

Have fun with these, and make your wedding day special by incorporating a few of these traditions.

• Something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue
• The Wedding Veil
• Carrying the Bride Over the Threshold
• Third Finger, Left Hand
• Bridal Flowers
• Why the Bride Stands on the Left
• First on the Dance Floor
• Throwing Rice
• African Wedding Traditions Web Site

The full wording of this popular bridal attire rhyme, which dates back to the Victorian times is 'something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a silver sixpence in your shoe'.Something old refers to wearing something that represents a link with the bride's family and her old life. Usually, the bride wears a piece of family jewelery or maybe her mother's or grandmother's wedding dress. Wearing something new represents good fortune and success in the bride's new life. The bride's wedding dress is usually chosen, if purchased new, but it can be any other new item of the bride's wedding attire. Wearing something borrowed, which has already been worn by a happy bride at her wedding, is meant to bring good luck to the marriage. Something borrowed could be an item of bridal clothing, a handkerchief or an item of jewelery. Wearing something blue dates back to biblical times when the color blue was considered to represent purity and fidelity. Over time this has evolved from wearing blue clothing to wearing a blue band around the bottom of the bride's dress and to modern times where the bride wears a blue or blue trimmed garter. Placing a silver sixpence in the bride's shoe is a symbol of wealth. This is not just to bring the bride financial wealth but also a wealth of happiness and joy throughout her married life.

The origin of the wedding veil is unclear but it is thought that it predates the wedding dress by centuries. One explanation is that it is a relic of the days when a groom would throw a blanket over the head of the woman of his choice when he captured her and carted her off. Another explanation is that during the times of arranged marriages, the bride's face was covered until the groom was committed to her at the ceremony - so it would be too late for him to run off if he didn't like the look of her! It is also thought that the veil was worn to protect the bride from evil spirits that would be floating around on her wedding day.

There seems to be two explanations for this tradition where the groom carries his bride over the threshold when entering their home as a married couple for the first time. The first is to protect the bride from evil spirits that were thought to be lying in wait under the threshold. The second explanation relates to Roman times when it was believed that if the bride stumbled when entering the newlywed's home for the first time, it would bring bad luck and harm to their marriage. So carrying the bride across the threshold would prevent this from happening. What happens if the groom stumbles while carrying the bride?

A bride's engagement ring and wedding ring are traditionally worn on the third finger of the left hand (the finger next to your little finger). Although there is no precise evidence to explain the origin of this tradition, there are two strongly held beliefs. The first, dating back to the 17th century, is that during a Christian wedding the priest arrived at the fourth 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'. The second belief refers to an Egyptian belief that the ring finger follows the vena amoris, that is, the vein of love that runs directly to the heart.

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. Garlic and chives were also popular for the same reason. 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 symbolised a women in bloom. During Victorian times, flowers took on an additional significance as lovers would send messages to each other using different flowers, with each flower having its own meaning. These associations were soon adopted for the bride's bouquet and are still used today by many brides. The most popular flowers with their traditional meanings are:

• Apple Blossom - Better things to come
• Camelia - Graditude
• Carnation - Fascination and love
• Chrysanthemum (red) - I love you
• Chrysanthemum (white) - Truth
• Cyclamen - Modesty and shyness
• Daffodil - Regard
• Daisy - Innocence
• Fern - Fascination and sincerity
• Flowering Almond - Hope
• Forget-me-not - True love and remembrance
• Heliotrope - Devotion and faithfulness
• Honeysuckle - Generosity
• Hyacinth - Loveliness
• Hydrangea - Boastfulness
• Iris - Warmth of affection
• Ivy - Eternal fidelity
• Japonica - Loveliness
• Jasmine - Amiability
• Lemon Blossom - Fidelity in love
• Lilac (white) - Youthful innocence
• Lily - Majesty
• Lily-of-the-valley - Return of happiness
• Magnolia - Perseverance
• Maidenhair - Discretion
• Mimosa - Sensitivity
• Orange Blossom - Purity and virginity
• Peach Blossom - Captive
• Rose (red) - Love
• Rose (white) - Worthiness
• Rose (other colours) - Love and beauty
• Rosemary - Remembrance
• Snowdrop - Hope
• Sweet Pea - Delicate pleasures
• Tulip - Love
• Veronica - Fidelity
• Violet - Faithfulness

During the marriage ceremony, the bride stands on the left and the groom on the right. The origin of this goes back to the days when a groom would capture his bride by kidnapping her. If the groom had to fight off other men who also wanted her as their bride, he would hold his bride-to-be with his left hand allowing his right hand to be free to use his sword.

At the evening celebrations, the bride and groom traditionally dance first on their own to a waltz. However, as ballroom dancing is not so popular these days, the newlyweds usually dance to a favorite romantic song. During the playing of this song, it is traditional for the groom to dance with his new mother-in-law and then with his mother, while the bride dances with her new father-in-law and then with her father. The best man also joins in dancing with the chief bridesmaid and the ushers with the other bridesmaids when the bride and groom first change. After the first dance, all the guests are invited to join the newlyweds on the dance floor.

Throwing rice over newlyweds originated from the ancient Pagan rite of showering the happy couple with grain 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.