10 weird and wonderful wedding traditions and their origins
Weddings are full of weird and wonderful traditions that most of us take for granted during the big day.
But even some of the most simple acts of each service (be it religious or not, big or small) can date back to many moons ago and often have hidden meanings.
Of course, some of the traditions don’t mean what they used to now (unless you still believe in evil spirits) but yet we continue to enjoy performing them over and over again.
Many couples nowadays question the traditions and might choose to leave certain ones out if they don’t agree with them, and I am completely on board with that. During your wedding planning it’s important to understand what the traditions mean and then decide, as a couple, if it’s a tradition you want to include in your big day.
So I’ve pulled together 10 traditions and their backgrounds so you can make up your own mind when you are planning your wedding. Apart from number one, unfortunately, because just like sunshine – you can’t confirm rain!
Groom-to-be Hamish Shephard is the founder of free online wedding planner . His ES column, ‘Groom with a View’, gives fuss-free, practical advice to make wedding planning as enjoyable as it should be.
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10 weird and wonderful wedding traditions and their originsGroom With A ViewWeddingOur Groom With A View Hamish Shephard sheds some light on age-old wedding traditions
Wedding traditions
Wedding traditions
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1/11
Maxi Photography
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2/11 1. Something Old...
All brides know that the “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” is a ‘the’ wedding day tradition. But lots of people don’t know why. The old represents the bride’s past, the new is her bright future. Something borrowed should be from someone happily married, in the hope that the good luck will rub off on the bride. And the blue is connected to fidelity and love!
Chris Giles
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3/11 3. Rain
Rain on your wedding day is believed to symbolise fertility and, according to Hindus, is good luck! It also makes for awesome photos, so get your wellies on. But make sure you read my advice on how to weather proof your wedding.
Ross Hurley
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4/11 2. Wedding veil
The tradition of wearing a wedding veil originated in Rome, so that a bride can hide from the evil spirits who envy and want to steal her newly-wed happiness. Scary stuff!
Allister Freeman
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5/11 4. The Threshold
The tradition of carrying the bride over the threshold originated in Medieval Europe, where it was believed that the bride was extra vulnerable to evil spirits from the soles of her feet!
Simon Biffen
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6/11 5. Tears of Joy
Feeling teary on your wedding day? Don’t worry, it is believed that if a bride cries, she will have used up all her tears for years to come and will have a very happy wedding! (And boys shouldn’t be scared to have a little cry too!)
Jamie Bott
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7/11 6. The Garter
Believe it or not, there’s actually some meaning in throwing the wedding garter. In France, it was believed that a piece of the bride’s dress carried good luck, so to stop the crowd rushing at the bride and ripping off parts of her dress, some inventive individual decided to distract them with a thrown garter! Apparently it worked a treat.
Simon Biffen
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8/11 7. The Honeymoon
Did you know that the honeymoon wasn’t always the much-needed down time after the highly emotional wedding day! The idea of a honeymoon originated from the groom abducting the bride of his choosing. Through decades, this tradition became much more fun-filled, where the newlyweds would hide away for thirty (yes thirty!) days and each day a close relation would bring them honeyed wine! But if you’re looking for a more traditional romantic getaway, Bridebook.co.uk has a list of great honeymoon locations for all year round.
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9/11 8. Decorating the Wedding Car
Does tying cans to your wedding car seem like a silly idea? It didn’t to the French gents, who punished the groom for taking a single girl from them by noisily waking him up in the middle of the night and demanding a feast!
RJH Photography
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10/11 9. The Rings
Ever wondered why the wedding ring is worn on the third finger of your left hand? The tradition comes from the romantic Romans. They believed that a vein ran directly from the third finger of the left hand to your heart, with the circle of the wedding ring symbolising eternal love. (Awwwww)
Sam Lane
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11/11 10. The Best man
The speech-giving best man of the twenty-first century originated in Anglo-Saxon times, where a groom would abduct his chosen bride and to defend himself from the bride’s family, he would take his strongest and closest male friend as a partner in crime!
RJH Photography