There are many traditions, customs and superstitions with weddings, from white dresses to confetti - do you know the real reason why dresses are white? or do you know the real job of a bridesmaid?
Tying the Knot
Tying the knot, comes from the Celtic tradition of 'handfasting' where the Bride & Grooms hands are tied together. The term handfasting comes from the Norse 'hand-festa' which is 'to strike a bargain by joining hands'. Nowadays handfasting can be symbolised by wedding guests tying a ribbon around the married couples hands.
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The Rings
The wedding ring was initially given to the bride as a symbol that she was 'owned property', The wedding vows still begin with 'who gives this woman to be married to this man' and ends with the receiving of rings - this harks back to when ownership of the bride passed from Father to Husband.
 Nowadays things have moved on and the Wedding Ring symbolises the unbroken circle of love and commitment. It is also a form of protection against harm and temptation, hence why the rings are 'blessed' during religous ceremonies. Although one medieval tradition does continue and that is we still wear wedding rings on the left hand. The right hand is the fighting hand & the left hand is the peaceful & loving hand.
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The Dress
The wedding dress has traditionally been white only since the victorian times - It is beleived that the first white wedding dress was worn by Queen Victoria during her marriage to Prince Albert. The 'white wedding' then grew from being a status symbol, to fashion, to a tradition over the next hundred years. White is said to symbolise purity, not virginity as commonly understood. A white dress is considered inappropriate for subsequent weddings of a widow or divorcee.
Other colours of dress can of course be worn & recent trends have meant that wedding dress colours have gone 'full circle' in that 150 years ago, brides that wanted to be 'a little different' wore a white dress on their wedding day, whereas now brides who want to be 'a little different' choose a coloured dress.
however when chooseing your dress, please bear in mind the following 19th century poem........
 Married in white, you'll have chosen all right.
Married in grey, you'ill go far away.
Married in black, you'll wish yourself back.
Married in red, you’ll wish yourself dead.
Married in blue, you'll always be true.
Married in pearl, you’ll live in a whirl.
Married in green, ashamed to be seen.
Married in yellow, ashamed of the fellow.
Married in brown, you’ll live out of town.
Married in pink, your spirits will sink.
It is also tradition for the Groom NOT to see the wedding dress until the Bride walks down the aisle.
The Bride should not wear her complete wedding outfit until her wedding day (usually this entails leaving a single button undone etc)
It is thought to be unlucky for a Bride to make her own dress.
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 The Vows
Traditionally during the ceremony, the Bride stands on the left and the groom stands on the right. The reason for this goes back to medieval times and is so the groom is able to draw his sword from it's sheaf without fear of cutting his bride, turn right and defend her honour and virtue.
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Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue and a Silver Sixpence in your Shoe.
'Something Old' represents the continued friendship between the Bride & Groom and their friends.
'Something New' represents a happy and prosperous future life.
'Something Borrowed' should be an item lent by a family member, that MUST BE RETURNED!
'Something Blue' This represents fidelity & stems from an ancient Israeli tradion of the Bride wearing a blue ribbon in her hair.
'The Silver Sixpence' symbolises prosperity. Nowadays it can be any coin, and is often used in conjuncton with the 'first to purchase' superstition, whereby the first person to make a purchase will be the dominant force in the marriage - therefore the bride can use the 'Silver Sixpence' to purchase a pin or something similar from the head Bridesmaid.
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The Best Man
Probably an urban myth but In ancient times when a Man saw a woman that he wanted as a bride, he would 'kidnap' her to get married. The Best Man's role was to act as a 'bouncer' and to protect the groom as he carried his bride to the alter.
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Bridesmaids
Although it's now thought of to be an honour - back in medieval times, being a bridesmaid was an unenviable job. The Bridesmaids would dress identically to the bride - the theory was that if any evil spirits tried to attack the Bride, they wouldn't know who she was and hopefully be fooled into attacking a Bridesmaid instead.
It was a job handled by professional bridesmaids, who had given up on the notion of ever getting married themselves, as the more often they did it, the more unlucky evil spirits they would encounter.
Hence the saying 'Always a Bridesmaid - Never a Bride'
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Confetti
Back in Pagan times, rice and grain were thrown over newlyweds to promote fertility & prosperity. This tradition has evolved into the thowing of coloured paper, flower petals and the blowing of bubbles.
The name 'confetti' comes from an Italian sweet of the same name, which are almonds with a sugar coating. These are handed out at weddings as favours and symbolise the hope that the couple have a fertile future together.
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The Wedding Breakfast
 The Wedding Breakfast is so called because it is the first meal of married life.
Until recently it was thought that the Wedding Breakfast was so called because in Catholic customs, the couple would take Mass as part of the wedding service and as no one can take Mass unless they have fasted since day break, it was a 'break fast' for the Bride and Groom.
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The First Dance
The First Dance stems from 'society balls' whereby it would be considered extremely rude to dance before the most important person attending had 'opened the ball'. As such the Bride and Grooms first dance 'opens the Ball' and begins the afternoon/evenings dancing. As nobody should dance before the happy couple, the First Dance is usually held at the beginning of the night time entertainment. However if there is expected to be dancing during the wedding breakfast, the First Dance should be before the meal.
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Wedding Traditions
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