The fascinating history behind 15 wedding traditions

Slipping off the bride’s garter – a traditional piece of clothing used to hold up stockings before elastic was common – and tossing it to someone single for good luck is one of the oldest recorded wedding traditions. In the Dark Ages, it was considered good luck and “helpful” to the new couple for guests to tear the bride’s clothing off and keep a piece after the wedding. Later, it was also seen as proof that the marriage had been consummated.

Thankfully, the tradition evolved to be less invasive. Now the garter toss is often part of the wedding reception, and a garter is purchased specifically for that purpose, sometimes becoming a family heirloom.

This tradition – first recorded in England in the 1700s but likely started earlier – also comes from the idea that it was lucky to have a piece of the bride’s clothing. Single women would rush to the bride after the ceremony to touch her and tear off a bit of her dress. To avoid having her dress ruined, the bride would toss the bouquet as a diversion and then run! These days, it’s more about the bride having a fun and special moment with her single friends before embarking on married life.

Getting ready to toss your own bouquet? Wedding planning can be one giant stress event, but a wedding registry will help make at least one aspect so much easier.

“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a sixpence in your shoe.” The old English rhyme is traditionally used as a guide to what the bride should have before getting married: one item each to remind her of her past, focus her on her future, help her cherish her loved ones, and –

Wait, why the blue? The colour is said to represent purity, love and fidelity and is also meant to ward off the Evil Eye, a curse that could make the bride infertile. The sixpence was an old English coin meant to symbolise financial prosperity for the couple.

If you’ve ever been to a Jewish wedding, you’ve seen quite a few wedding traditions: There’s the chuppah, a canopy under which the bride and groom stand. And there’s the recitation of the seven blessings. But if you’ve heard of one tradition (or seen it on film), it’s the shattering of the glass.

To end a Jewish wedding ceremony, the groom (or sometimes the couple) will stomp on a fabric-wrapped glass. The act symbolises the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem – a solemn reminder of the suffering of the Jewish people. But there are other interpretations of this wedding tradition. According to the book The Jewish Wedding Now, it can also be a reminder of how fragile relationships are and a vow to keep the marriage unbreakable.

This tradition comes from darker, more violent times, when potential brides were seen as property to be kidnapped, stolen, or even killed by rivals. There are records of people in both ancient Rome and China having an entourage of women in dresses that match the colour of the bride to be used as decoys.

Similarly, groomsmen were the groom’s bodyguards. (The “best man” was usually the best sword fighter!) Romans formalised the tradition, making it a law that a couple had to have at least 10 witnesses wearing matching colours to certify the marriage. Queen Victoria again set the modern trend when she had 12 bridesmaids wearing matching white gowns.

Also among the wedding traditions that stood the test of time: the speeches given by the best man and maid of honour. If you’re filling that role for a bride or groom this year, save some of these funny marriage quotes that might actually be true for your speech.

What’s a wedding without a grand confection as the centrepiece? Serving wedding food may have begun with the Roman tradition of crumbling a wheat biscuit over the bride’s head to symbolise fertility. The traditional wedding cake also had a strange beginning. For starters, it used to be a pie, and it contained oysters, lamb testicles, sweetbreads, rooster comb, and pine kernels, according to a 1685 recipe.

But tasty food and celebrations have always gone together, and each culture has developed special wedding foods. In the West, it’s usually a layered, frosted cake. The French often serve croquembouche, a tower of filled cream puffs. The Chinese have “marry girl cake,” a sponge cake made with duck egg, lotus seed, or yellow-green bean paste. Korean brides serve tteok, a colourful rice cake. And in Slavic weddings, the cake takes a backseat to the korovai, a multilayered bread with intricate designs that’s displayed prominently at the church and served at the wedding.

Next, here’s the reason why the British royals save the top of their wedding cake.

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Source: RD.com