There’s a billion and one wedding traditions couple can choose to follow – or not to follow – on their wedding day.
Some of them have changed and evolved over the years, while others remain popular on the big day (or in the lead up to it) as they are the “thing” to do.
But where did these traditions and superstitions come from?
Here are the actual, but slightly odd origins of 5 of the more common wedding traditions from across the globe.
It’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding
It’s one of the most well known wedding traditions – and it turns out that it has absolutely bonkers origins.
According to Bridal Guide, this comes from when arranged marriages were more the norm – as it’s all down to the fact that it was seen as a “business deal” between families.
In an effort to make sure that the groom wouldn’t have a chance to change his mind, the soon-to-be newlyweds would only actually meet at the ceremony itself.
Eventually, this ended up being seen as it generally being bad luck for the groom to see the bride before their big day.
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue
This tradition is said to be from an old rhyme, “Something Olde, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, A Sixpence in your Shoe” – and the four items are basically just good luck tokens.
According to The Knot, the four trinkets – either added to the bride’s wedding outfit or that she carriers with her on the day – are “little tokens of love” that your relatives, or other guests, give.
Something old represents continuity and traditions, while something new looks towards the future.
Something borrowed symbolises borrowed happiness, while something blue is said to represent purity, love and fidelity.
Dropping the wedding ring is both bad and good luck
This one gets fairly complicated and grim very fast.
Nobody wants to lose their wedding ring, let alone drop it on their big day. But it turns out that there is both good and bad luck associated to the act.
According to Hitched.ie, dropping the wedding ring during the ceremony can be seen as a good omen, as it is thought it rids to couple of any evil spirits.
However, some believe that it is bad luck – as whoever drops the ring will be the first person to pass away.
Why brides and grooms feed each other the wedding cake
It’s been one of the more divisive wedding traditions, mostly since not everyone is into the idea of getting icing smeared all over their face.
But it turns out that the idea of the bride and groom smashing the cake in each other’s faces wasn’t always so…well, messy.
According to MentalFloss, the groom used to bite off some bread, then crumble the rest of the loaf over the bride’s head. Guests would then pick up any of the crumbs off the floor, as it was thought they would be good luck.
The tradition soon moved on to cakes – but thankfully for brides, a cake doesn’t break quite as well. So it was then that it began to be sliced up on tables.
The reason why wedding dresses are white
It hasn’t always been the norm, it turns out.
Brides used to wear red wedding dresses on their big day, up until around 1840 – when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, according to Insider.
Opting to go for something a bit more “out there” for the time, the royal bride wore a white lace, silk-satin gown that she designed herself.
And while the colour was initially “frowned upon” since it typically symbolised mourning, the idea of brides wearing white on their wedding day soon caught on – and the rest is history.
Keeley and Sam are saying ‘I do,’ in May 2019. And with less than a year to go, this bride-to-be admits she’s still learning the ropes. In the run-up to her Big Day, Keeley will be writing a weekly blog about all things wedding-related… from the start of planning, to walking down the aisle.
