10 British Wedding Traditions Explained | The Diamond Store Magazine | CHURINGA RINGS

10 British Wedding Traditions Explained

Let’s talk about good old British wedding traditions. Giving away the bride, the tossing of the bouquet, and ‘something old, new, borrowed and blue’. What do these superstitions reallymean? Where do they come from? Here’s an explanation of 10 fascinating Britishwedding traditions.

1. The white dress

Historically, brides used to wear the best clothes they had, and they could be any colour – even black. It wasn’t until Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in an ivory-white gown in1840 that white became a fashionable wedding dress colour. Old Queen Vic was quite the trendsetter!

British Wedding Traditions ExplainedBritish Wedding Traditions Explained

2. Giving away the bride

For many fathers and daughters this tradition is apoignant, beautiful moment during the wedding ceremony. But youmight be a little shocked when youhear its true meaning. It dates back to the Middle Ages, when daughters wereconsidered their father’s property and quite literallysold to the groom.

3. “Old, new, borrowed, blue”

This funtraditionis based onan old rhyme by an unknownEnglish poet:“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver sixpence in her shoe.”The old representsthe past,new stands forthe future. Borrowedrefers to thehappiness given to the bride by thenew husband. Bluecolour was believed to ward off evil. Nowadays, the finalline about the sixpenceis often not quoted. But as you may have guessed, it refers to wealth.

4. The wedding rings

The custom of wedding rings goesback to OldEgypt, where theircircular shapewas considered to symbolise eternity. Ancient Egyptians wore wedding rings onthe left finger of the left hand. That’s where they believedthe ‘vena amoris’ (the vein of love) began, leading all the way to the heart.

British Wedding Traditions ExplainedBritish Wedding Traditions Explained

5. Throwing rice

This joyfulwedding customhas its roots in ancient Rome. Throwing grains of wheat or oats at newlyweds was thoughtto bring them fertility andwealth.These days, manypeopleprefer confetti, because it’s available in many colours and doesn’t hurt when its thrown at you.

6. The wedding cake

Pies, buns and cakes have playeda part inBritish weddings for centuries. Duringmedieval times,the groom had to trytokiss the bride over a pileof sweet bread rolls. Bythe 1800’s the tradition had evolved: relatives would leave a pie hiddenunderneath the bride’s pillow. The modern UK custom, where the couple cuts a slice out of a wedding cake, is a littleless messy!

7. The first dance

In the grand old days of royal balls, thefirst dance was normallythe ‘opening number’ that kickedoff theparty. It was customary for a male guest of honor to invite thelady of the houseto join him in the first dance. Thistradition subsequentlybecamea wedding custom. The host, usually the bride’s father, woulddance with herfirst, followed bythe groom.

8. The bouquet toss

During the more barbaric times of15th century Britain, there was a peculiartradition at the end of the wedding day. The guests would have totry and tear offbits ofthe bride’s dress, flowers or hair. People believed that grabbing a piece of the bride’s outfitwould pass some of her good luck on to them. However, the guests could get veryrowdy, so a tradition evolved where the bride would simplytossher flowers at the mob and run for her life.

British Wedding Traditions ExplainedBritish Wedding Traditions Explained

9. The honeymoon

Surprisingly, the romanticidea of a honeymoon is attributed to the most feisty and war-loving of all people, the Vikings. Newlywed Viking couples weresent to live ina cave for one month. Every day, during 30 moons, a family member would visit them and bring themhoneyed wine. That’s where thename ‘honeymoon’ comes from.

10. Carrying the bride over the threshold

This back-breaking weddingcustom cameto Britain from Germany. In the days of the Germanic tribes, the groom had to hoist thebride over his shoulder and carry her into his hut. Why? It made her look less enthusiastic aboutthe wedding night, and was therefore regarded as a guarantee ofher chastity.

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