Fun Wedding History & Traditions

*Before fertility drugs, women would place pearls under their pillows to increase their chances of becoming pregnant. Thus, the bridal tradition of giving pearls as a sign of innocence was born in the hope of children early in the marriage! 

 *Blue is said to be the color most often chosen by brides who look to the color as a symbol of steadfast love.

*The Wedding Cake tradition stems from medieval times, when the tradition was for guests to bring small cakes that would be piled on a table, over which the bride and groom would kiss to bring good luck, fortune, and fertility. Later, a smart baker covered the pile of small cakes with frosting and created the first Tiered Wedding Cake.

*Once upon a time…Orange was considered the “Hue and Fragrance” of young brides who desired abundance and bounty.

*The Bride and Groom are not supposed to see each other for 24 hours before the wedding or it will bring bad luck to the marriage.

*The First Kiss at the Wedding Ceremony shared between the bride and groom was believed to be an exchange of their spirits leaving a part of their soul!

*Ancient Greeks and Romans walked down the aisle carrying bouquets of garlic and grain to ward off evil spirits and symbolize fertility.

*The Throwing of Rice stemmed from Hindu and Chinese cultures where rice is a symbol of fruitfulness and prosperity. Throwing it at the wedding ceremony is thought to guarantee health, wealth, and happiness, as well as to bestow fertility on the bride and groom.

*Eating Rice or other Grains at a Wedding was thought to guarantee health, wealth, and happiness for the Newlyweds.

*The Veil is, in some cultures, is thought to symbolize youth and purity.

*The wedding dress wasn’t always White. In the Middle Ages, Red was very popular because it symbolized wealth. Blue was another fad color symbolizing Constancy. A Green dress symbolized Youth and a White dress, Purity. Now White is considered the only color suitable for the bride's traditional wedding dress.

*The bride's Veil was originally thought to have hidden her from abductors; this was the same reasoning behind having the bridesmaids wear similar dresses.

*Having favors for the wedding guests stems from early British traditions of baking baskets of dry crackers in abundance to symbolize fertility. After the ceremony the guests would take some home.

*To Symbolize Fertility, the Ancient Romans would break cake over the Bride's head and then eat the crumbs for good luck.

*Diamonds first became a sign of Engagement / betrothal when Mary of Burgundy was given a Diamond Betrothal Ring from the Archduke Maximilian of Austria.

*The Traditional Wedding Finger was decided upon by the Ancient Greeks because the vein of love (vena amoris) runs from it directly to the heart, keeping your lover closest to your heart!

*The Tradition of a “Honey Moon” first started when men would steal women from their families and claim them as their brides. The man would steal his bride away from her family and hide with her for “One Moon Phase” so that her family would take her for dead and stop looking for her. Meanwhile, he would give her “Honey Wine” to drink, which is an aphrodisiac and would calm her down. Over time and cultural changes this evolved into the traditional “Honeymoon.”

*A Christian Priest later re-decided married couples should wear their Wedding Rings on the Traditional Wedding Finger, by touching the three fingers of the left hand and naming them to represent “The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost”; ending with the fourth finger.

*During the Renaissance the most desired Wedding Dress Color was Red because it was a sign of nobility and wealth.

If you know of some Wedding History or Traditions email us; we would love to hear them!