| |
Beach
Wedding - Marriage
License - Honeymoon Vacations!
Destination Weddings-Weddings
and Honeymoons
Wedding Flowers-Wedding Dresses
Wedding
Flowers
From
the earliest times, brides have adorned their hair with wedding
flowers and carried bunches of wedding flowers. Traditionally,
each type of wedding flower arrangements had a special meaning
and significance in and of itself. Wedding Flowers were often
thrown at the couple after the ceremony. However today, most
brides pick their flowers for color and personal appeal not
based on the traditional meaning of particular flowers.
The groom's flower, worn on his lapel, usually matches one of
the flowers in his bride's bouquet. This tradition goes back
to medieval times when knights wore the colors of their lady
in tournaments.
Garter Toss/Bouquet Toss
In parts of Europe during the 14th contrary, having a piece
of the bride's clothing was thought to bring good luck. Guests
would literally destroy the brides dress by ripping off pieces
of fabric. In order to prevent this, brides began throwing various
items to the guests - the garter belt being one of the items.
|
|
In
order to avoid this problem, it became customary in the 14th century
for the bride to toss her garter to the men. Sometimes the men
would get drunk, become impatient, and try to remove the garter
ahead of time. Therefore, the custom evolved for the groom to
remove and toss the garter. With that change the bride started
to toss the bridal bouquet to the unwed girls of marriageable
age.
Shoes on the Bumper
This tradition originated in England during the Tudor period.
At that time, guests would throw shoes at the brides and groom
as they left in their carriage. It was considered good luck if
their carriage was hit. Today, more often than not, it is beverage
cans that are tied to a couple’s car instead of shoes. It
should also be noted that the English consider it good luck if
it rains on their wedding day!
Tying shoes to the bumper of the car represents the symbolism
and power of shoes in ancient times. Egyptians would exchange
sandals when they exchanged goods, so when the father of the bride
gave his daughter to the groom, he would also give the bride’s
sandals to show that she now belonged to the groom. In Anglo-Saxon
times, the groom would tap the heel of the bride’s shoe
to show his authority over her. In later times, people would throw
shoes at the couple. Now, thankfully, folks just tie shoes to
the new couple’s car.
|
Something
"old", "new", "borrowed", and "blue"
The tradition of carrying carrying one or more items that are
"old", "new", "borrowed" and "blue"
also comes from English. There is an old English rhyme describing
the practice which also mentions a sixpence in the bride’s
shoe. Something old, signifying continuity, could be a piece of
lace, jewelry, or a grandmother's handkerchief. Something new,
signifying optimism in the future, could be an article of clothing
or the wedding rings. Something borrowed, signifying future happiness,
could be handkerchief from a happily married relative or friend.
Something blue, signifying modesty, fidelity and love, comes from
early Jewish history. In early Biblical times, blue not white
symbolized purity. Both the bride and groom usually wore a band
of blue material around the bottom of their wedding attire, hence
the tradition of "something blue", blue represented
purity. Thus the bride and groom would wear a blue band around
the bottom of their wedding attire, hence something blue. Originally
the sixpence was presented to the bride by her future husband
as a token of his love. Today, very often, it is the bride's father
who places a coin in the brides shoe prior to leaving home for
the church. |
|
 |
Wedding
Cakes
Like most any other ritual handed down from the ages, a wedding
wouldn’t be complete without fertility symbols, like the wedding
cakes. Ancient Romans would bake wedding cakes made of wheat or
barley and break it over the bride’s head as a symbol of her
fertility. (Whether this meant cracking the wedding cakes above
the bride’s head or actually bonking her on the noggin with
it is rather unclear. We’re not sure we want to know…)
Over time, it became traditional to stack several wedding cake atop
one another, as tall as possible. The bride and groom would then
be charged to kiss over this tower without knocking it over. If
they were successful, a lifetime of good fortune was certain for
the new couple. Finally, during the reign of King Charles II of
England, it became customary for cake to be a palatable palace iced
with sugar.
In the 1st. century B.C. in Rome, wedding cakes was thrown at the
bride or broken over her head as one of the many fertility symbols
which then were a part of the wedding ceremony. |
|
 |
|
|
