WEDDING TRADITIONS AND FOLKLORE - Part 2

WEDDING TRADITIONS – where have they gone? Part 2


As I take a look at the traditions and folklore of weddings past, I am becoming so aware of how brides have drifted away from some of the traditional things with weddings. A little sad for me! We will continue in this next posting looking at several things.

WHY WEDDING CAKES ARE USUALLY TIERED

During the Anglo-Saxon era, guests would bring small cakes to the wedding reception and stacked them on top of each other. Now for me that is a little hard to embrace. As time progressed a baker in France created a cake with the shape of small cakes on top of one another and covered it in frosting. That style of cake is now known as a tiered cake.

THE TRADITION OF THE GROOM NOT SEEING THE BRIDE ON THE DAY OF THE WEDDING

A tradition passed down for generation is concerning the seeing of the bride by the groom on the day of the wedding. It is said to bad luck to the couple if they see each other. It is explained that if they see each other they are taking a glimpse in the future and bringing bad luck. This tradition still is practiced with some brides, but not all.

As a mother of sons, I can say that there is nothing more touching that watching the groom sees his bride for the first time in her gown as she comes down the aisle on the arm of her father. A real tear jerker. As a planner I see a lot of the brides and grooms seeing each other before to accommodate pictures. The venues have a hand in this also with the limited use time. They have to hurry with so many things.

This is a tradition that I would like to see practiced more!

MARRIAGE KISS

The kissing at the end of the ceremony is an Ancient Roman tradition. In those days it would mean that your marriage was now legal. It was considered a legal bond. It also is associated with the tapping of a spoon on a glass until the couple kisses. Today you sometimes see the spoon and glass tradition take place at the reception. It is not done at all receptions though, and sometimes does become annoying if over used.

LENGTH OF BRIDES TRAIN

In the middle Ages the length of a brides train showed her rank in royal court. The longer her train was the closer to the King and Queen. It showed that she had great influence with the royalty.
RECEIVING LINE

This is a tradition that has been discontinued by many brides. The receiving line came from an ancient belief or folklore that the bride and groom brought luck to all those that they touched on their wedding day. Today this tradition is often left out, or substituted at the reception with the couple making rounds to each table to greet their guests.

FAVORS FOR THE GUESTS

Wow, this is a tradition that has certainly changed during times. In the 18th and 19th centuries, gloves were given to the guests as their favor for attending the event. Today it is much more complex and expensive. Couples spend a lot of money on their favors! I only hope that the guests appreciate some of them. My favorite is a candy buffet, pieces of the cake to take with them, but I have also liked the idea of a CD given to each of the guests that has the couple’s choices of wedding music on it.

WHITE AISLE RUNNER

Aisle runners have been used by brides for years. The white runner symbolizes the marriage covenant between two people, and their God. It symbolizes God’s holiness and that he is part of their ceremony and that they are on holy ground.

Over the years, aisle runners have changed in colors, and not used by all brides. Even though the white runners are used, colors to match the brides wedding colors have become popular. They are even going so far as to have them monogrammed.

Outdoor ceremonies often combine the aisle runners by using flower petals to mimic the runner.

WHY THE GROOM ENTERS FIRST

The action of the groom entering first shows that he is the covenant initiator. This shows that as the initiator he assumes responsibility to make sure the covenant is fulfilled.
MORE TO COME………………..

I am certainly enjoying researching all these traditions from past days, and seeing how many are used today! I hope you are enjoying it too! More tomorrow as promised.

WEDDING TRADITIONS AND FOLKLORE

WEDDING TRADITIONS – where have they gone?


Today’s brides are not necessarily into the traditions of bride’s of the past. Glitter and glamour seem to occupy many brides’ wedding plans today. In looking at wedding traditions, we will talk about many in a three part blog posting.

Some of what we think of as traditions is actually folk lore, carried down from times past.

THE WEDDING RING

Since the Roman times, the wedding ring has always been placed on the third finger of the left hand. They believed that fingers vein ran straight to the heart.

The ring is also a circle – meaning never ending.

Some faiths place the ring on a different finger during the ceremony.

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLUE, AND A SIXPENCE IN YOUR SHOE

This is one of the customs that has been altered or entirely dropped by brides of today. We will look at each area individually and the meaning behind them

Something old is a reflection of the bond to the bride’s family and the past. It can be reflected in the wearing of the mother’s or grandmother’s wedding gown (which is seldom done today), or the wearing of a piece of family jewelry. It was often a hanky of a grandmother, or a small family bible.

Something new gives the symbol of hope and good fortune. This is often seen as the new wedding gown, a piece of jewelry as a gift from the groom or her family.

Something borrowed is usually an item lent to the bride from a happily married secure mature woman. It is meant to share the happiness, good fortune and joy of a stable woman.

Something blue is a symbol of love, fidelity and purity of the bride. This is often the garter the bride wears. This particular tradition of the something blue is not used as much today.

A sixpence in your shoe symbolized a wish to the bride for wealth in her married life. This is another tradition that has not been used by brides of the present.

WEDDING FLOWER – Bridal Party

Flowers in a wedding started out simple, but have moved into the expensive realm of wedding planning today. Flowers were originally incorporated into the ceremony as a symbol of fertility. Flowers have become a huge part of a wedding – elaborate bouquets seem to be a must with today’s brides.

Another part of the bridal party flowers that has also changed is who pays for what with regards to the flowers.

The old concept was as follows, but that has changed today. And this is in regards to the wedding party flowers, not the ceremony or reception flowers or décor.

Groom/Groom’s Family is/was responsible for:

Bridal Bouquet

Bride’s Veil or headpiece

Bride’s Toss Bouquet (which is now often provided by the florist at no charge)

Corsages for the Mothers and Grandmothers – both sides.

Bride’s going away corsage – isn’t used these days.

Rehearsal Dinner flowers.

Bride’s family responsible for all others. However, today the bride’s family usually pays for it all.

TOSSING OF THE BOUQUET

This tradition stems from England. Women often tried to tear pieces of the bride’s dress for good luck. But then the bride began tossing her bouquet and running to avoid the crowds. Today’s brides still toss a throw away bouquet to all the single women present, and the one catching is believed to be the next to get married. Years ago when I first married (40 years ago) the bride’s bouquet would be tossed; we didn’t have throw away bouquets.

THE BRIDAL VEIL

The veil has long been a symbol of youth, modesty and virginity, and was used to turn off evil.

BRIDESMAIDS

The bridal party was established many centuries ago. According to folk lure the purpose of the bridesmaids was to fool evil spirits. The bride’s friends would dress similar to her to fool and confuse any evil prescience that might be around. In today’s weddings bridesmaid are around to help the bride in stressful times during the wedding,

MORE TO COME….

This is just the beginning segment for Unique & Yours blog with regards to wedding traditions and are they still be used……stay tuned for more!!!! Coming next – why does the groom have a best man, why is the bride on the Groom’s left, and much more. It has been really interesting to research all these traditions and to see how many are still around.

In the many years that I have been doing wedding and event planning, I have seen the traditions begin to disappear. You will also notice this as the blog posts continue. You will find yourself looking for these things when you attend weddings....take a mental note of what you do see and don't see.