The Bizarre History and Surprising Origin of Wedding Traditions
Discover eleven startling wedding tradition origins and their true connotation.
1. The Promise Ring
The path to wedded bliss is paved with diamonds - or at least with a diamond ring and a heartfelt “I do.” But historians believe the true meaning behind the custom is far less romantic. The custom of putting a ring on the bride-to-be’s finger has an old history, but it initially meant “I owe you” instead of “I love you.”
The ring only changed its meaning when the ancient Romans recognized it as a symbol of devotion.
When Pope Innocent III decreed the waiting period between troth and the Sacrament, the rings gained their true popularity.
2. The White Gown
Perhaps you’ve been dreaming your perfect white wedding dress since you were little. But did you know you have to thank Queen Victoria for it?
Before her, the spouses didn’t really worry what shade had the dress they were wearing. They just suited up in their best attire, regardless of its hue. Through the Victorian age, red gained popularity, perhaps due to its symbolism.
But Queen Victoria decided to break the staples and walked down the aisle in an ivory lace gown.
A few years after the famous wedding, a popular magazine declared white as the most fitting hue for brides. The white gown is now a symbol of innocence and purity, nonetheless the favorite color among most brides.
3. The Veil
The veil plays a vital role in the wedding traditions history. Its modern interpretation speaks about virtue. But its original function is much more woebegone.
Historians attested the bridal veiling emerged in archaic Rome. Back then, people thought that brides could ward off evil spirits by covering their face.
As the times evolved and the union developed into arranged marriages, the bride’s veil became an instrument used by the family to shroud the lineaments of the bride until the Sacrament was over, to prevent the spouse from disavowing his commitments.
4. The Bouquet
Each blossom in a bridal bouquet has its own meaning nowadays, from purity to wealth and eternal love. But things were pretty diverse back in the days.
While the Romans had the bridal veil to scare off spirits, the Greeks used fragrant bouquets for the same purpose. They consisted of ambrosial herbs and various spices thought to protect against the evil.
These turned into garlic and dill, two plants known for their antimicrobial properties, during the Plague.
Luckily for us, brides started to add better-smelling blossoms to their bouquets, and the scented blooms replaced spices and herbs entirely over the time.
5. The Wedding Bands
The history of wedding traditions hides exciting mysteries regarding the wedding rings too. Sources claim wedding bands have Egyptian origins. Apparently, they symbolized the cycle of life.
Roman and Greeks adopted the habit, and the latter established the rings must fit on the fourth finger and exclusively on the left hand. A custom explained by a belief claiming a vein running through that finger would lead to the heart.
Although physiology demonstrated this is anything but the truth, the heritage lasted to our days.
6. The Wedding Cake
The origin of wedding traditions includes interesting curiosities regarding the wedding cake too. The moment new spouses cut their cake is perhaps the most expected by the guests waiting to taste a piece of goodness. But the celebratory sweet wasn’t originally eaten.
In antique Rome, the sweet consisted of barley bread which the groom had to break over the bride’s head as a symbol of fertility. Wedding guests would gather and take home the crumbles for good luck.
Bread slowly became elaborated wedding pies, which were ultimately outpaced in popularity by the wedding cakes. However, guests wouldn’t eat their slices, but take them home and place them under their pillows.
Queen Victoria set the trends once again, commissioning an elaborated tiered cake for her wedding.
7. The Best Man
We all know a spouse needs his best man’s support during the wedding day, but are you aware of this wedding tradition history?
Marriages have been considered transactions rather than a sacrament of love for centuries. Unhappy wives-to-be were known to run away from their spouse either before or suddenly after the service. Likewise, unhappy families could fight to oppose the marriage.
That’s why the groom required the best swordsman by his side in such a big day, to help him discourage an angry father or retrieve a lost spouse.
8. The Rice Tossing
Rice tossing is only one of the many historical wedding traditions that survived to these days. And it even maintained its meaning unaltered. Initially, wedding attendees were throwing rice or oat to the new spouses to bless them with good fortune and fertility.
The custom lost its popularity, although in some parts of Europe the wedded couple is still blessed with rice when walking out of the church.
9. The Launch of Garter and the Launch of Bouquet
The history behind wedding traditions is in some instances awkward or bizarre. And this is the case of the tossing of the garter and of the bridal bouquet.
Back in antiquity, the newlyweds were expected to consume their union immediately. To attest the union, they obviously needed testimonies, and it was common for the invitees to witness the act.
To speed things up and help the couple, the invitees used to rip off the bride’s dress and keep its pieces as a sign of fortune.
Perhaps embarrassed by the whole thing, the new spouses developed a strategy to run off from the event. To confuse the crowds, the bride and groom started to toss their bouquet and the bride’s garter right before making their way out.
10. The Bachelor’s Party
One of the most ancient wedding traditions is the stag party, dating back to the pre-Christian era. The first civilization to celebrate a groom’s last night as a single man was the Spartans.
The original celibate parties consisted of massive feasts where the soon-to-be spouse would swear loyalty to his brothers in arms. And bachelorette parties weren’t yet a thing back in those days.
Nevertheless, both modern day spouses can thank the 5th century BC Spartans for the idea.
11. The Honeymoon
The sweet escape after the wedding is the most important thing to plan besides the wedding. But what does the history of wedding traditions have to say about it?
As strange as it may seem, originally the honeymoon had nothing to do with a blissful vacation. The name is owed to mead, a honey-based drink with aphrodisiac properties newlyweds consumed during the first month after the Sacrament.
The habit of traveling right after the ceremony emerged in Britain in the 19th century, but it was more of a bridal tour in which the couple was expected to visit all relatives who couldn’t attend the wedding.
Luckily, at the end of the same century, honeymoons started to look like the ones we know today.
Honeymoons only started to look like the ones we know today in the last years of the same century.