A large majority of wedding practices are based on traditions.  From garters to horse shoes, bouquets to wedding veils, many brides follow wedding customs that have been carried out for centuries. 

The information below will give you an idea of how it all began.

The Veil

There are many theories surrounding the tradition of the bridal veil.  The first theory dates back to Roman times when arranged marriages were common.  The bride would wear the veil in order to cover her face until the ceremony was complete.  The groom would then be permitted to lift the veil in order to reveal his ‘blushing bride’ for the first time.  The bride was therefore protected against the groom backing out of the wedding ceremony if he did not like what he saw.

The second theory, also dating back to Roman times, relates to a practice whereby a groom would throw a blanket over the face of his chosen bride as he captured her.

Yet another thought behind the tradition is that the veil was worn as a means of protection for the bride from evil spirits. It was assumed that if the evil spirits could not see the bride through the material, then they could not destroy her wedding day.

A fourth theory suggests that the veil was used in order to hide the bride’s blushes.  The veil is therefore often referred to as a ‘blusher’ and this is where the term ‘blushing bride’ stems from.

Bridal Garters

Traditionally speaking the bridal garter represented the virginal girdle.  It was believed that as the groom removed the garter from his bride it represented her relinquishment of this status.
Throwing the bridal garter at the wedding reception originated in France.  At the time, any form of bridal attire was considered to be a sign of luck.  The bride would remove her garter and throw it to the guests in the hope that whoever caught it would be the recipient of good luck. 

In Australia, and other parts of the world, this custom has undergone some adaptations and today, it is the groom who traditionally removes the garter from the bride.  All of the unmarried male guests are called upon to gather around in order to catch the garter as the groom tosses it to them.  It is believed that the man who catches the garter will be the next to marry.

Bridal Purses

Traditionally, the bridal purse (often referred to as the Dorothy bag, dolly bag, dilly bag, or bride bag) was used to hold confetti and was carried by the bridesmaid.  In modern times, the bridal purse is used more as a convenient accessory.  The majority of brides tend to use a purse to house items of necessity such as a sewing kit, lipstick, tissues and other important items.

Bomboniere

The giving of bomboniere is based on both French and Italian traditions. It is customarily performed as a token of the bride and groom’s appreciation to their guests for their kind wishes and gifts. 
Generally speaking, bomboniere is given to the wedding guests at the reception and usually consists of a small gift or sweet.  Traditionally, bomboniere was introduced by the upper class society of 16th century France.  Elaborate gifts were provided to wedding guests as a gesture of thanks from the bride and groom and consisted of fancy boxes (made of crystal, porcelain or gold) containing sweet delicacies.  At the time, sugar was regarded as a valuable item, being extremely expensive and also known for its medicinal purposes.

The Italians also developed their own custom of gift giving (to wedding guests), in addition to the French.  Traditionally, guests attending Italian weddings would receive bomboniere consisting of five sugarcoated almonds wrapped in tulle.  Although this may sound like an unusual assortment, each item had a special meaning behind it.  Firstly, the almonds were covered in a sugar coating to represent the bittersweet life of marriage.  The sweets were then customarily wrapped in white tulle as a sign of the bride’s purity.  The uneven or odd number of almonds represented the marriage as being undividable.  It was believed that the bride and groom would share everything throughout their life together and always remain undivided.  In addition to this, the five sugared almonds also symbolised five hopes and wishes for the happy couple and their guests – health, wealth, fertility, happiness and long life.

The Wedding Gown

The history of the white wedding gown dates back to the late 1400’s, made popular by Anne of Brittany.  The colour white was worn as sign of purity, and therefore symbolised the virginity of the bride.  Before this time, the colour blue was worn (symbolising purity) by both the bride and groom by way of a band around the bottom of their wedding attire. 

Queen Victoria also made popular the white wedding gown during her reign in the 1800’s, however it was worn more as a social standing.  In the Victorian era, any woman whom was able to afford an expensive white gown was regarded very highly among social circles.  White fabric was very costly and without modern day dry cleaners, was almost impossible to keep clean, therefore making it a rare item, created for one-off occasions.

As time went on, and modern technology evolved, white fabric became more popular and less expensive.  The white wedding gown re-emerged once again symbolising the purity of the bride and has continued to be popular among modern day brides.  Despite it’s popularity today, coloured wedding gowns including pastel shades and bold colours are making their way into wedding ceremonies as a fashionable and stylish accessory for modern brides.

The Bridal Attendants

Traditionally speaking, bridal attendants took on the role of protecting the happy couple from evil spirits who were believed to attend marriages with the intention of causing trouble and disharmony.  Roman law demanded that ten witnesses accompany the bride and groom, dressing in identical clothing so that the evil spirits wouldn’t be able to distinguish between the witnesses and the couple getting married. 

Well, obviously things have changed since then (unless you’re the superstitious type).  Today, bridal attendants usually assist the bride and groom in preparing the wedding and offer support on the wedding day itself.

The Best Man

Traditionally, having a best man in attendance originated from when a man would kidnap a woman with the intention of marrying her.  The best man would be prepared and ready to fight for the groom if the family of the bride came to rescue her.  The best man would obviously have to be a trusted and well respected friend to fulfil such a duty. 

This remains today, and the best man, like the maid/matron of honour is usually a sibling or best friend of the groom.  Today, their role is obviously somewhat different to that mentioned above.

The Bridal Shower

The tradition of the bridal shower is said to have originated in Holland in the 1800’s.  The legend tells the story of a young wealthy maiden who fell in love with a poor miller.  The miller, who was of a very generous nature, had spent his years helping others, more needy than himself, leaving him with very little to his name.
Upon hearing the news of his daughter’s intentions to marry the miller, the father of the young maiden was outraged.  He refused to pay the customary dowry, hoping that his daughter would change her mind.  Much to his disappointment, she decided to follow her heart, telling her father that she would marry her true love with or without his approval.  In doing so, she was left penniless.

When news of this spread around the village, friends of the bride and groom-to-be and many local villagers (who had been recipients of the miller’s generosity over the years), came forward to help the couple out.  They joined together and ‘showered’ the young maiden with gifts, being items required to set up the couple’s home.  In doing so, the bride acquired all that her father had denied her.

This tradition continued to grow over the decades, eventually replacing the customary dowry.  The bridal shower has undergone many adaptations over the years, and today, there are various choices when it comes to how you may wish to celebrate.  While many showers today are for ‘couples’, some brides prefer to stick with the ‘ladies only’ tradition, allowing them time to bond with female friends and family over a light afternoon tea or luncheon.

The Wedding Cake

The tradition of the wedding cake is one of the oldest, dating back to over 3000 years to ancient Greek and Roman times.
In its original form, the wedding cake was a mere offering of fruit, nuts and honey to the Gods.  It was believed that, by partaking in such a practice, the Gods would bless the marriage and bestow good luck and happiness upon the bride and groom.
In ancient Rome, wheat was viewed as the food of fertility.  The Romans baked loaves of wheat bread, which were presented to the couple to share.  Any uneaten pieces were tossed over the bride’s head as a blessing of fertility. 

Similarly, in ancient Greece, the tradition developed into the practice of showering the newly married couple (predominantly the bride) with small cakes.  The wedding guests would then gather around the bride and eat any leftover crumbs as a sign of good luck, wealth and happiness.  Julius Caesar introduced this custom to Britain, where it changed into a practice of sharing wedding cake among local villagers.  The wedding cake was usually reserved for those from wealthy families.

As time went on, the wedding cake tradition began to slowly transform.  In England and Scotland, guests began to bring small cakes or buns as gifts for the happy couple.  The sweet delights were piled one by one on top of each other until they formed a grand, sweet and sticky structure.  The bride and groom were then encouraged to kiss over the top of the piled cakes.  If they managed to do so successfully, it was believed that the couple would be blessed with fertility, prosperity and life-long happiness.

Legend has it, that whilst witnessing the wedding cake ritual at an English wedding, a French chef came up with an ingenious way of serving a sweet tower of cakes.  He viewed the cake-piling practice as tedious and unhygienic and decided to bake a unique, yet delicious tower of sweet tasting buns, held together with sweet and sticky toffee.  And so, the first edible wedding cake, the croquembouche, entered the world!

From the croquembouche, came various adaptations and designs.  Wedding cakes began to take on a more three-tiered appearance, which was not only based on the croquembouche shape, but also from that of the spire of St. Bride’s church in London.  Chefs and bakers gradually changed to fruit as a base of their sweet masterpieces, and moved away from the pastry base of the croquembouche.   The cakes were iced with white (marzipan) icing as a symbol of the bride’s purity.  At the time, sugar was regarded as a valuable item, being extremely expensive.  It was believed, that the whiter and sweeter the icing, the wealthier the family of the bride.  The three-tiered iced fruitcake has become the wedding cake as we know it today, and it’s tradition lives on. 

In modern wedding receptions today, the bride and groom usually cut the cake towards the later half of their reception.  Traditionally, the cutting of the cake symbolised the bride’s impending loss of virginity, however it is now seen as a gesture of the happy couple’s commitment to their new life together.  The cake is usually served as dessert or with coffee, or may be given to the guests at the end of the evening.  Tradition also has it that, should any single guest place a piece of wedding cake under their pillow, they will dream of their future bride or groom.

The Bridal Bouquet

The tradition of the bridal bouquet dates back to ancient times whereby the bride and groom each wore a garland around their neck. The garlands predominantly consisted of strong smelling herbs and spices that were believed to have mystical powers in warding off any evil spirits.  In addition to this, the circular shape of the garlands also symbolised new life, hope and fertility for the bride and groom.  Customarily, the bride would gather a few of the blooms and some foliage from each garland, creating a small posy to carry down the aisle.  The bridal posy, consisting of flowers, later replaced this tradition.

Over time, many variations have been made to the bridal bouquet.  From a small posy, to the arm sheaf and long style bouquet in the early 1900’s, and later to the princess and teardrop bouquets in the 1980’s, flowers have become an important accessory for any bride.  Brides of today have kept the floral tradition alive, ensuring that flowers play an important role in modern weddings, including floral displays in various aspects of their wedding. From bouquets to boutonnieres, posies to pew decorations, corsages to centrepieces, when planning floral decoration for your wedding, you may only be limited by your imagination.

The Honeymoon

The tradition of the honeymoon can be dated back several centuries.  Following the wedding ceremony, the happy couple were presented with a pair of bridal goblets and a supply of a fermented honey brew called ‘mead’.  The tradition states that the couple would share the brew for a full lunar cycle, or ‘moon’, which lasted for approximately one month.  It was thought that the delicate, yet volatile honey brew would bestow virility and fertility on the newly married couple.  And so, the ‘honeymoon’ was born.

The Wedding Rings

It is traditional for the bride and groom to exchange wedding rings after stating their vows.  The ritual of placing a wedding ring on the bride’s finger dates back to the days of the caveman.  Upon marrying his bride, he would wrap circles of braided grass around her wrists and ankles in order to prevent her spirit from leaving her body. 

Over the years, the bands changed from grass, to leather, stone, metal, and these days, usually silver or gold.  The symbol of the wedding ring has also adapted over the years and today has a somewhat different meaning.  In our modern society, it is believed that because a ring has no beginning and no ending, it symbolises everlasting love. It is placed on the finger as a visible sign of the vows that have united the couple as husband and wife.  Traditionally, it is the duty of the best man to hold the wedding rings until it is time for the exchange to occur.

Wearing the wedding ring on the third finger of the left hands stems from Greek and Roman traditions.  They believed that the vein within this finger ran directly to the heart and that by placing the bride and grooms wedding rings on this finger, their hearts would be bound together as one.

Something Old, Something New….

One of the most popular wedding rhymes, dating back to Victorian times is:

“Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue and a Silver Sixpence for her Shoe”.

The rhyme suggests that a bride wear an item or clothing or accessory representing each of the above on her wedding day to bring happiness and good fortune in her new life.

Something Old: Is usually worn by a bride representing a link with the bride and her family.  Traditionally brides will wear an item that may have been handed down over the years such as an item of jewellery from a grandmother, or her mother’s wedding dress.

Something New: Represents good fortune, happiness and success in the bride’s new life.  Most bride’s choose their wedding dress as their ‘something new’ item, however it may be any new item worn on her wedding day.

Something Borrowed:  Which a happy bride has previously worn is believed to bestow good luck upon the couple’s marriage.  An item of jewellery is a popular choice.

Something Blue:  In biblical times, the colour blue was believed to represent purity and fidelity.  A blue garter or handkerchief is a popular choice amongst modern brides.

Silver Sixpence:  This tradition dates back to Victorian times where a silver sixpence was given to the bride-to-be in order to bring wealth and happiness to the newly married couple.  The custom states that the coin should be placed into the left shoe of the bride.

Carrying The Bride Over The Threshold

In Roman times it was believed that it would be bad luck for a bride to trip as she entered her new home.  In order to avoid this, she was carried through the door.

Wedding Bells

It has been a longstanding tradition for wedding bells to sound as a newly married couple emerges from the church.  The sounding of wedding bells was traditionally used to alert town-folk of a new marriage, and to also drive evil spirits away.

The Horseshoe

The exact association between the wedding ceremony and the horseshoe is not very clear.  It is believed however, that the gift of a horseshoe to a bride on her wedding day will bring good luck to the newly married couple.  It is also believed that the horseshoe should not be turned upside down in order to prevent it’s good luck from falling away.

According to Greek tradition, the horseshoe also symbolised a crescent moon that was regarded as a symbol of fertility.  It is therefore believed that the horseshoe may also bestow fertility upon the newly married couple.

Another ‘horsey’ related tradition says that it is very good luck to see a grey horse en route to the Church, even more good luck if the bride travelled in a carriage drawn by a grey horse, whilst the luckiest horseshoes came from the hind feet of a grey mare.