Wedding Superstitions

So, you've made that incredibly important decision to get married to the person of your dreams, everything is going great, and you are steam-rolling through the planning when one tiny little thought pops into your head: "I don't really know if I want a traditional wedding, perhaps I'll be more original?" Hey, most people think of this while planning, but with that thought there comes a smaller, but more persistent one telling you that not following the tradition is like breaking some sort of criminal law. However, you can try to brush that off with things like (although, let's face it, it never works): "Why do I need to follow traditions? I don't believe in any of that junk anyway! And besides, I don't even know what they mean!"
And that, brides and grooms to be, is what I intend to answer for you, so you are better equipped to fight in the ever-conflicting battle of Traditional VS Non-Traditional.
Life is so complicated, and weddings are certainly no exception. But, if we trace the routes of marriage back a few hundred years, we would see a far more simple way to be wed. In the times of Kings and Queens, Knights and Knaves, if a man saw a woman of whom he wished for his bride, he merely kidnapped her from her village. Many basic wedding traditions originated (believe it or not) from this very way of marriage. The man(groom) would acquire the aid of his best friend(best man) to fight off any family so as to successfully steal away the girl. Once captured, he would have the woman (bride) stand on his left side because predominately he would have been right handed, and at the time his right hand would be wielding some sort of weapon to fend off his bride's angry family and friends. And thus, the traditional best man took form, and, the reason why the bride stands on the left and the groom on the right. Can you imagine any wedding nowadays containing a sword-wielding groom? Ah, what a violent sport love is!
If we travel in time back even centuries further, back to the days of the Ancients, we can find the origins of many more superstitions and traditions. For instance, why, you wonder, does a bride need to have bridesmaids? Wouldn't it be cheaper to just have a bride and groom? Bah! Bridesmaids are very important to the welfare of the Bride! If you were to eliminate bridesmaids, then who would confuse the evil spirits? That's right, it was thought by the Ancient Egyptians that when a couple were to wed (often less violent than medieval weddings, but not too peaceful themselves) evil spirits would come to ruin the good mood and atmosphere of the event with trickery and black magic. The bridesmaids main function were to dress as extravagant as the bride to confuse the evil spirits. The spirits could no longer distinguish who to pick on with so many well dressed ladies in one room! This is not all they did, however, as if giving the nasties multiple targets to confuse them wasn't enough, the bride would carry strong smelling herbs and flowers which were also believed to ward away evil. The strong smelling herbs have since been replaced by sweet smelling flowers, but the intent is one in the same, and thus, we have our bride's bouquet of flowers. Those crafty Egyptians, they always have a backup plan!
I know what you're saying to yourself right now: "Wow, and I thought all they did for us was discover mathematics, science, reading and build the pyramids!" But wait! There are actually a few other common parts of the wedding originating with the Egyptians. The wedding cake first started as a cake of wheat or barley and it was broken over the bride's head to signify fertility. As time progressed, the "headache cake", as I like to call it, evolved into a towering, many tiered cake, much like we have today. It was good luck if the bride and groom could kiss while leaning over the cake without knocking it over. It wasn't until King Edward II did the cake actually become edible. During his reign was the cake first (and since) iced white and eaten. The Egyptians may have invented it, but give a point to the English for their "want not-waste not" (and tasty) amendment.
Now I know you're saying to yourself: "Well, you have explained some of the major things, but what about the little things, like the Bride's veil for instance?" And I'm saying to you, hey, who's writing this anyway? Just kidding, I was just getting to that, I'm glad you asked!
The reason the veil was placed over the Bride's face is one of my personal favorite stories. It started with the Romans who were very fond of arranged marriages. The Bride wore the veil so that the husband-to-be couldn't see her face, and back out of the marriage because he thought her to be too ugly! Sheesh, you would think in a politically correct time like the one we live in, a tradition like that would have been one of the first things to be squashed.
Moving on, but still staying with the Romans, for they were the ones to start wearing the wedding band on the third finger because they believed that the vein in your third finger in your left hand connected directly to the heart, the centre of all love. It was also worn there to symbolize the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The left hand was used because it is the right hand which generally does all the work, and gets the dirtiest, leaving the left hand virtually clean, and therefore a better, and more sacred spot for a wedding band.
I can read your thoughts all you Brides-to-be. You keep saying to yourself over and over: "Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. Why??" Ah, come one, come all for I shall show you the way, well, I'll tell you why at least.

Something Old: This refers to the brides previous way of living, before the wedding. It is suppose to symbolize the transition into her new life, whilst not forgetting the one she had.

Something New: This is the second part of the transition. It signifies the future ahead and all the prosperity it shall bring.

Something Borrowed: This item tends to be borrowed from another previously wed bride. You borrow it so that you may have all the luck and joy that the bride who first wore it has now in her marriage.

Something Blue: Before Queen Victoria set the standard for marrying in white, Blue was the common colour to be wed in. Blue, much before white (in fact during biblical times) was the colour of purity, and thus, women would marry gowned in it. The artifact of blue is merely a testament to the original colour of purity.

Finally, the wedding is over, and you and your spouse can begin your happy lives together, but hold on just a minute here! The superstitions don't end with the "I do's". In fact, throwing rice at the Bride and Groom after the ceremony was begun by Pagans many centuries ago because the grain was thought to "shower the Bride with fertility" so as to make her bare children easier. And tying shoes to the back of the car? Not just a silly prank! The Egyptians (yes, them again!) would often trade sandals when ownership of something was passed to another, so when ownership of a man's daughter was passed to her new husband, the father would give her sandals to the groom. The Romans would later change this to a much more subtle way of showing authority by having the groom tap the bride's footwear, but they also had people shower the couple with shoes as they exited the church as well. Personally, I prefer rice. Nowadays though, with the invention of the automobile, we just tie shoes to the back of the newlyweds car. Less sexist, and definitely less painful.

Finally, when all is said and done, and the bride and groom are safely away from the shoe-wielding mob there is one more tradition to tackle: carrying the bride over the threshold. In the times of the Romans, when men ALWAYS opened doors for ladies, this would just seem like a natural thing to do, but yes, even this has significant meaning. It is considered bad luck for the bride to trip or stumble as she crosses the threshold of her new house, and, if it were to happen, the marriage would be doomed to failure. So, to combat this, the groom would carry his bride over the threshold making sure she didn't trip. If the groom tripped however, well, no superstition will act against them, but I wouldn't want to be the bride he fell on!

Well, that's it ladies and gentlemen. Plan your weddings carefully, and maybe re-think extracting a few of the more traditional aspects. After all, how many of us want evil spirits to crash our wedding? Or be doomed to failure because we tripped over a carpet not properly set? But most importantly, have fun! Marriage is a serious thing, but not so serious that it stops being joyous. It should be the most joyous day for you and your spouse, so whichever way you choose to go, be it Traditional or Non-Traditional make it a happy one. And please, watch out for shoe-wielding Romans!

I've listed a few more of the smaller superstitions below just in case you were wondering about them.

Putting a silver six pence in the Bride's shoe to bring wealth and prosperity was started by the Romans around the time of Caesar.

In Medieval England, a woman could propose to a man on February 29 because the day was not counted as an official day and therefore no laws or statutes were upheld, giving women equal rights as men. This was often taken advantage of by women who felt that they had waited long enough for their slow acting men.

Before Queen Victoria Royal's always wed in Silver and commoners in blue. She was the first to wed in white and almost everyone since.

Who is the Best Man Anyway?