10 Surprising Truths To Wedding Traditions | Calgary Wedding Photographer

February 28, 2019

10 Surprising Truths To Wedding Traditions | Calgary Wedding Photographer

Everyone has heard of the old wedding traditions like something old, something new, something borrowed something blue, or your new hubby carrying you over the threshold. But do you know the ancient reason behind these traditions that have become part of almost every wedding I have been to? Today I am sharing 10 surprising truths to wedding traditions.

Why you wear your wedding band on your ring finger? Back in the day it was originally thought that there was a vein that ran from your ring finer directly to you heart. So by wearing your wedding and engagement ring on the fourth finger on your left hand it was an outward way of showing your heart belonged to someone. I say the bigger the bling the bigger the commitment.
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue – This is an old English rhyme that people said/did on your wedding day to bless their marriage. Something old represents community, something new stands for optimism for the future, something borrowed was for happiness and something blue represents purity, love and fidelity.
Ever wonder why people call marriage “tying the Knot”? In may cultures around the world especially Celtic, Hindu and Egyptian weddings, during the ceremony the bride and grooms hands are literally tied together to show the commitment they have for one other. Or they could be doing it to ensure you don’t have a run away bride!
Why is it traditional to wear a white dress? It is actually all thanks to Queen Victoria who wore the first white wedding dress in 1840 that we now typically wear white. Before then its was much more common to wear color as it was typically just your best dress.
Why are veils traditional attire for a bride? Ancient Greeks and Romans believed that veils worn covering the face of the bride, called “blushers”, protected the bride before the wedding ceremony from evil spirits.
Why do bridesmaid typically match? This tradition dates all the way back to Roman times when it was thought that evil spirits would attend the wedding to curse the new marriage of the bride and groom. By the bridesmaids wearing a similar dress and style it was thought that this would confuse the spirits and make it much harder to curse.
Why to do you cut the cake and smash it into each others faces? This may seem like a silly thing these days, especially if you have spent hours on hair and makeup, but back in ancient Rome, guests would brake a loaf of bread over the brides head to help with fertility!
Why are June weddings so popular? The popularity of June weddings has more to do with ancient times then with weather surprisingly. The Roman Goddess Juno is the ruler of marriage and childbirth so it was thought that if you got married in June your marriage and child bearing process would be blessed. And see I just thought it was pretty much the first month here in Calgary that it was likely not to snow!
Why is it traditional to be carried over the threshold? People back in the day were very supersticial so anything that could be done to ward of spirits they would do. It was thought that were were evil spirits lurking below so to show bravery and courage the man would carry his bride over the threshold of their house and the spirits would then be scared of him and no longer bother them. I figured it was because her wedding shoes may have been on point look wise they probably were the comfiest of attire.
Last but not least why do you go on a Honeymoon? Back in ancient times couples would go into “hiding” after their wedding (wink wink) and a family member would come to their house every night to bring them honey wine for one full month (or one moon cycle) thus the name honeymoon. So if you really wanted to follow tradition this gives you a great excuse to plan your honeymoon for at least a month!

So now you know! You can choose to keep these traditions as part of your big day or skip them all together. Whatever you choose your day will be perfect!