Symbolizing purity and virginity, the while
bridal gown is a tradition that almost
all brides follow today. This tradition
started in the 16th century. Before that,
the bride was free to wear the color of
her choice, although certain colors were
frowned upon. For instance, green was
supposed to imply a girl of loose morals
while red and black were symbolic of
witchcraft. The tradition of wearing white
to a wedding was further boosted when
Queen Victoria chose white as the color of
her bridal dress over the traditional silver.
Even in these modern times, where many
traditions and customs have fallen by the
wayside, this is one tradition that refuses
to go away.
The white bridal dress
Married in White, you have chosen right,
Married in Blue, your love will always be
true,
Married in Pearl, you will live in a whirl,
Married in Brown, you will live in town,
Married in Red, you will wish yourself
dead,
Married in Yellow, ashamed of your
fellow,
Married in Green, ashamed to be seen,
Married in Pink, your spirit will sink,
Married in Grey, you will go far away,
Married in Black, you will wish yourself
back.
The bridal veil
In ancient times, besides symbolizing
‘maidenly modesty’, the bridal veil was also
supposed to ward off evil spirits. Quite
possibly, it was also meant to ensure that
the groom did not see the bride before the
ceremony, just in case he didn’t like what
he saw. Remember that in old times, most
marriages were arranged (sometimes for
social and political considerations) and in
many cases the bride and groom didn’t
get to see each other before the wedding.
Hence the bridal veil was quite possibly
also intended to avoid disappointing the
groom just before the ceremony, in case it
resulted in an embarrassing reaction. The
veil would be lifted once the ceremony was
over, and of course by then it would be too
late. Today the veil is merely ornamental
and only serves to make the bridal dress
more special.
The bridal bouquet
Originally, the bridal bouquet was
not made of flowers but of herbs and
spices. The aroma from the bouquet was
supposed to ward off evil spirits. In all
probability, these herbs were also possibly
supposed to guard the bride from disease.
As times changed, the herbs and spices
were replaced with better looking (and
better smelling) flowers.
The tossing of the bridal bouquet
originates from the old belief that a
piece of the bride’s dress and flowers
would bring good luck. And since it
never hurts to have a little bit of luck
on your side, women present at the
wedding would almost physically
assault the bride and rip pieces of her
gown away. So rather than risk being
manhandled and have her wedding
gown torn to shreds, the bride would
throw the bouquet at crowd and run
for her life. The custom persists to this
day, although fortunately the bride
in no longer assaulted. She merely
throws her bouquet at her single
friends and it is believed that whoever
catches it will be the next to marry.
Something old, something new
All of us have heard this rhyme and
nearly every bride (however much
she may scoff at superstition) will try
and find something old, something
new, something borrowed and
something blue to wear on her
wedding day. The ‘something old’
was usually any highly valued item
belonging to the bride’s family and
symbolized her ties with her family
and her past. ‘Something new’
represented the new gown or jewelry
that was symbolic of her new future.
‘Something borrowed’ was usually an
item belonging to a happily married
woman which was given to the bride
in the hope that some of the marital
happiness would pass on to the new
bride. Blue was the symbol of fidelity
and true love, hence ‘something
blue’. In addition, it is also the
custom to place a coin inside the
bride’s shoe – this was supposed to
bring wealth and prosperity to the
married couple.
Bridesmaids’ dresses
In old times, the tradition was to dress
the bridesmaids exactly in the same
manner as the bride, in the hope that
any evil spirit trying to target the bride
would be confused on seeing so many
lookalikes. It is also possible that this
was done to ensure that the bride
didn’t become a target of a jealous
or spurned suitor (who would be as
confused as the evil spirit seeing so
many women dressed identically with
veils covering their faces).
Today of course, the bridesmaid’s
dresses are quite different from the
bride and come in a variety of colors
– although some unkind people do
say that they’re deliberately designed
to be ugly, so as to avoid giving any
competition to the bride.
It’s customary to throw rice at the
newlyweds as a symbol of happiness
and prosperity. Rice is also symbolic
of a life giving seed and it is thrown at
the couple in thehope that will have
many children.
Giving away the bride
In old times, the daughter was quite
literally the property of the father.
Marriages were very often based not
on love but on financial and other
considerations. The groom would have
to pay a ‘bride price’ to the father of
the bride. This ancient tradition of
giving the bride away indicated that all
fatherly obligations had been fulfilled
and that the ownership of the bride
was being passed from the father to
the husband. Of course, the tradition
has evolved over the years and today
the father is usually the person who
walks his daughter down the aisle. The
modern version of this ritual celebrates
the loving bond between the father
and the daughter, and represents a
father’s blessings and good wishes to
his daughter.
The best man
In ancient times, it was not unheard
of for men to forcibly capture women
in order to marry them. Quite
naturally, the bride’s family was likely
to retaliate equally violently to any
such attempt, so the man would
usually be accompanied by a trusted
friend who would defend and protect
him. The ‘best man’ was therefore
someone who was literally the ‘best’
choice for the job – in other words,
someone who would be handy in a
fight. The tradition persists to this day
and it is customary for the groom to
be accompanied during the ceremony
by a close friend – although it is
doubtful if this friend would go so far
as to make himself an accessory to
kidnapping and abduction.
The honeymoon
The term ‘honeymoon’ is believed
to have originated form the ancient
custom of the couple drinking honey
wine every day for one month after
the wedding ceremony. It may have
also come from the ancient practice
of men abducting women to be their
brides. The bride would be kept in
hiding for about a month or so until
the bride’s family called off the search
or consented to the wedding. It was
customary for the couple to drink
honey wine during this period, which
could have been the origin of the
tradition.
Whatever the tradition and the logic
behind these customs, today they
have become an integral part of the
wedding ceremony and lend an old
fashioned charm to the proceedings.
So even if they’re not relevant today,
there’s no harm in celebrating these
ancient customs and enjoying them.
After all, a little bit of tradition doesn’t
harm anyone, if taken in the right
spirit.
