Printer Friendly Version
-
Traditions
Wedding Traditions
“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” – that phrase sums up the most popular of all wedding traditions.
“Something new” symbolizes the couple’s new life together. “Something borrowed”, most appropriately from a happily married woman, is the hope to impart similar marital bliss to the new bride. Last, but certainly not lease, “something blue” represents fidelity and constancy.
Traditionally, brides wear white and this custom represents purity. Even Queen Victoria was known to have abandoned royal tradition, that of a silver gown, choosing to wear white.
Ever wonder why guests throw rice as the couple leaves the site of their wedding ceremony? Rice is considered a “life giving” seed which is thought to bestow fertility and the blessings of having many children. In modern times, some churches forbid the throwing of rice and bird seed is a popular alternative.
Sharing wedding cake is a tradition that has Roman roots. Romans believed that by eating wedding cake together, a special bond is created between the bride and groom.
Some other established traditions include the groom, on cue from the person performing the ceremony, is allowed to “kiss your bride” and that simply represents the completion of commitment to each other. The groom’s boutonnière is a statement of love for his bride. And of course the unmarried female who catches the bride’s bouquet is believed to be the next one to walk down the isle. The same applies to the unmarried male who catches the garter being thrown by the groom.