Written By: Alexandra Sferra
Have you ever wondered why wedding cakes are tiered or why brides carry a bouquet down the aisle? These are such common things, that we may just look past them without even thinking to ourselves – wait, why? Weddings are packed full of traditions, and most of us don’t even know the history or origins behind them! Well, we are here to explain the top traditions almost all of us take part in, and the best part about a modern day wedding is, you can personalize your wedding literally however you want! Whatever you decide to do on your wedding day, get to know the history behind these popular American wedding traditions!
Believe it or not, a bride carrying flowers down the aisle is much more than keeping a bride’s hands busy or tying all of the wedding design and décor together. Ancient Greeks and Romans carried fragrant herbs and spices to ward off evil on their wedding day. In the middle ages, brides originally started carrying bouquets of flowers as a form of perfume (since bathing wasn’t the most frequent occurrence centuries ago) as well as the smell of “death” surrounding them during the plague. Carrying a favorite flower variety is the tradition that became popular in 1840, when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert and carried his favorite flower down the aisle.
This tradition is based on an old English rhyme that dates back to 19th-century Lancashire. As we know, it is for items that a bride should have on her wedding day. The original rhyme was “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, a sixpence in your shoe.” The meaning behind each item isn’t very clear, but there are definitely theories to the madness. “Something old” represents a tie to the past, while “something new” stands for hope. “Something borrowed” is an item from a happily married friend or family to bring good luck, and “something blue” to ward off evil while also meaning love, purity and fidelity. The sixpence that kind of made its’ way out, brought prosperity to the couple. The British coin is no longer made, but there are replicas that we see today, and some brides hunt down a real one to stick in their shoe!
Today, we may think the reason for matching dresses is for the aesthetic and making sure everything ties together, but there’s an actual reason why this trend started! In Roman times, people believed that evil spirits would attend the event and attempt to curse the newlyweds, so to confuse the spirits, the bridesmaids would act as decoys to throw the evil spirits off and confuse them so they would leave them alone (now that’s some good friends if I do say so myself.)
This tradition we all participate in today also dates back to the Romans, who believed that the finger was connected to the heart by a vein called the “vein of love.” Although medical science has shown us that there is no such vein that connects to the heart in our fingers, the tradition still lives on today!
Another Roman tradition, where a bride would walk down the aisle wearing her veil over her face to disguise herself from, yes you guessed it, evil spirits looking to ruin her wedding. Also, people would wrap brides from head to toe to represent the delivery of a modest and untouched maiden. Another tradition in this blog mentions that later, the veil is used to hide the bride from her groom in an arranged marriage, so if he thought she was ugly, it’s too late to call off the wedding the moment she lifts the veil to seal the marriage with a kiss.
The history behind this one is a little hard to swallow, where women were the property of men thousands of years ago. Fathers walking their daughter down the aisle and giving their daughter away represented the transfer of ownership to her new husband. Yes, seems a bit harsh and yes, it’s surprising that we still practice the same tradition today but the beauty of modern weddings is we get to reinvent the tradition. Today, the act signifies joining the two families together as the father escorts his daughter down the aisle to meet the love of her life.
Another Roman tradition is the wedding cake! Marriages were sealed when the groom would smash barley cake over the bride’s head. (sound familiar? This is also where the smashing of the cake in each other's faces came from!) The newlyweds would have a few bites of it while the guests took the crumbs for good luck. In medieval England, the bride and groom would kiss over a pile of buns, and if they successfully kissed without tipping over the buns, they were ensured a prosperous future, which is where the tiered wedding cake originated. This is also where the bride and groom still kiss while cutting the cake! Unmarried guests sometimes took home a piece of the cake to tuck under their pillows for good luck.
This tradition started back when arranged marriages were a thing, serving more as a business deal rather than a couple in love. Most couples didn’t just spend that morning of the wedding apart; there was a time where the couple would first meet each other at the alter. Can you imagine?! Walking down the aisle to a total stranger?! Thank god times have changed. The bride’s father usually made the deal, where he wanted her to marry rich to help his own family. However, the father worried that If the groom saw the bride before the ceremony, he may call the wedding off, which would lead to shame to the family and the bride. To avoid the risk of the reputation of the family, the tradition that the couple didn’t meet or see each other until the ceremony was born. The veil played a roll here as well, by having the veil over the bride’s face, the groom wouldn’t see her until the very last second when they are meant to kiss, and it would be too late to back out. Thankfully, the tradition of the bride and groom not seeing each other the morning of has evolved into a much more romantic idea where they don’t see each other until dressed in their wedding attire or at the altar. Today, it symbolizes the pair coming together to start their lives in front of all of their supportive family and friends.
