Wedding Traditions. Why we do the things we do...

Most of the things we do at weddings come from the days of old, and the reason we do them are very interesting. Lets take a look back into time...

Tossing the Garter: Most think this is something designed to go along with the bouquet toss, or a DJ's way to make fun. This custom actually traces back 500 years ago to an England ritual called "flinging the stocking". Wedding guests would invade the bridal chamber and the women removed the grooms stockings, and the men removed the brides. They all took turns tossing the stocking, and whoever landed the stocking on the the bride or grooms nose would be the next to marry.

The Best Man: Today the Best Man is considered to be the best friend, or cherished family member. In ancient times the groom sometimes had to capture his bride by force. The groom would take along his strongest and most trusted friend to help him fight off the resistance of the brides family. The best man would then escort the groom down the aisle to help defend the bride.

The Bride Standing on the Grooms Left: Because the groom often had to defend the bride she would stand to his left so that his sword arm could be free.

Tiered Cakes: Wedding guests would bring small cakes and stack them on top of each other. Later a french baker created a cake in the shape of the stacked cakes and covered it in frosting, thus became the tiered cake.

Matching Bridesmaids Dresses: In the ancient times the brides friends wore the exact outfit as the bride to confuse evil spirits that wanted to destroy her happiness, and also to prevent the bride from being kidnapped by a rival suitor.

Receiving Line: In the ancient days it was believed that the bride and groom brought good luck to everyone they touched.

Jumping the Broom: Slaves in the United States were not permitted to marry, so they would exhibit their commitment by jumping the broom. Jumping the broom is embedded even farther in African History, its true meaning is the joining of two families, and is a symbol of sweeping away the old, and welcoming the new.

Sharing the first piece of cake: The Romans believed that eating the cake together created a special bond between the two. The wheat used to bake the cake was symbolic of fertility and the cakes sweetness was thought to bring sweetness in life.

Did you know that during the 18th and 19th centuries gloves were the traditional wedding favors for guests?

Comments

Bradford said…
Cool blog Lisa! Tossing the grooms stockings... I'm glad that tradition has died out...

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