The Wedding Date
Now a day some couples are really set on certain dates weather that’s an anniversary, birthday or somehow related to their lives together or a love for numbers. However many years ago there was a lot of superstition and traditions behind the months you should get married and also even down to the day of the week this was more important than a certain date itself.
Below is the month and days and what is believed by each one:
○ Married when the year is new, he'll be loving, kind & true,
○ When February birds do mate, You wed nor dread your fate.
○ If you wed when March winds blow, joy and sorrow both you'll know.
○ Marry in April when you can, Joy for Maiden & for Man.
○ Marry in the month of May, and you'll surely rue the day.
○ Marry when June roses grow, over land and sea you'll go.
○ Those who in July do wed, must labour for their daily bread.
○ Whoever wed in August be, many a change is sure to see.
○ Marry in September's shrine, your living will be rich and fine.
○ If in October you do marry, love will come but riches tarry.
○ If you wed in bleak November, only joys will come, remember.
○ When December snows fall fast, marry and true love will last.
· Married on Monday, you'll have good health.
· Married on Tuesday, you marry for wealth.
· Married on Wednesday, the best day of all.
· Married on Thursday, the bride will suffer losses.
· Married on Friday, the bride will bear crosses. o
· Married on Saturday, for no luck at all.
As much as these beliefs are no longer something most couples worry about it’s always something interesting to consider before picking a date.
The Dowry
This is a tradition which is still very much still used overseas but in the United Kingdom this is not something which happens in some case it is the case that’s the bride's parents still offer a large contribution towards the special days itself but they do not pay one side of the wedding party to marry the other. This offered a payment to the bride should they divorce but was seen as a security against divorce happening.
Veils
There are many reasons to why a veil became a tradition in weddings and now a day they are not used for the original purpose as most brides already walk down the aisle with the veil off their face. A few of the reasons why it is believed veils were used to stop grooms leaving in arranged marriages if they didn’t like the bride looked another reason was to warn of evil spirits which was often the believe behind lots of traditions in roman times.
Best man and Bridesmaids
These are still a key part to any weddings but have changed a lot over the years and often in many cases not as helpful as you would hope regardless of how many you have. It used to be the case people would have an even number so they paired up now couples have anything from 1-10 best men or bridesmaids.
Back in Saxon times when grooms would kidnap their brides the best men would assist in this task, this soon changed that his main task was to protect the groom from bad luck and ensure he got to the church; this last element is the only part which is still sometimes needed today. Again Bridesmaids are to protect the bride from evil which seems to be a consistent reason behind traditions. Previously bridesmaid would be dress similar to the bride to confuse evil spirits this is a long lost tradition as nowadays often the bridesmaid do not even wear the same as each other.
Wedding Cakes
The wedding cake is something which for most couples is still traditional in style but with different interesting flavours inside traditional the richness of the cake was a symbol of fertility. The main traditional around the wedding cake which has really stuck is the couple cutting the first slice which I’m sure a lot of couples do not realise this was to ensure a fruitful marriage. A very strange tradition which unsurprisingly has not continued is the custom for unmarried girls to sleep with a slice of cake under their pillow to dream of their future husband.
Wedding Rings
In the United kingdom it is traditional for all wedding rings to be worn on the third finger of the left hand this is not the case in all European countries in the united kingdom it is seen as unlucky to wear the ring on any other finger it is also believed this was a safer hand as most people were either right handed or made to be right handed when at school
In previous year’s even up to the late 1960’s. The symbolism of the ring is unity of lovers, with the unbroken circle.
There was and probably is a lot of belief that if you lose your ring your marriage has bad luck, this same belief is also the case with using second hand ring’s, which is why these are often only used as engagement rings.
Something Old, Something New
This is a great tradition which a lot of brides today still love to try and do, possibly not even knowing where this tradition came from or what each element stands for.
'Something old' - this element is related to the brides own family it is often the case to be given a mother or grandmothers jewellery to wear during the wedding.
'Something new' this element is looking forward to the future which represents bringing success and wealth to the couple, this element is fairly easy as there is plenty of new elements for the bride on the day weather this is the dress, shoes, veil, jewellery.
'Something borrowed' this element represents the present and to remind the bride that everyone is there to support her and bring her good luck and success. This element can be doubled up with something old if the jewellery is only borrowed but could also be anything else the bride wears just for the day
This just part of an EBook I wrote about Tradtions and Supersitions , get in touch for the full book.