Wedding Traditions & History

A wedding veil adds elegance, charm, and a hint of old fashioned mystery to a wedding. In the modern age, brides have a choice of lengths, fabrics, and even whether they want to forgo the tradition at all. Older couples...

White was (and in some cultures still is) considered the traditional colour of mourning. It was not until Queen Victoria’s wedding in 1840 to her Prince Albert that the idea of a white dress came to mind. She chose a...

Toasts have long been a part of many types of celebrations. At weddings they are a means of wishing the new couple health and happiness in their union. The actual idea for the wedding toast dates back to the 16th...

Any piece of music can be used as the bride makes her way down the aisle. The “Bridal Chorus” from the opera “Lohengrin” by Richard Wagner is the tune most people are familiar with. It is rather a strange placement for...

Ah yes, the wedding cake. That heavenly dessert tower formed with feather light cake layers coated with decadent fillings and lavished with butter cream frosting. Add the exquisitely crafted swirls, flowers and the...

Once crafted of garlic, herbs and spices with the intent to scare off evil spirits, wedding bouquets are now a traditional symbol and treasured remembrance of a bride’s day in the spotlight. More and more brides are...

Much of what we see or do at a wedding can be traced back to traditions handed down over the centuries. The Unity Candle is a fairly new addition to the traditional wedding ceremony. It is thought to have been in use...

A circle is a symbol of continuity and of infinity. We wear tiny circles around our fingers—our wedding rings—when we marry. In Hawaii, the circle appears in many of its traditions, some of which have to do with...

What little girl wouldn’t want to get dressed up in a beautiful dress and be the centre of attention as she walks down the aisle scattering rose petals for the bride to walk upon, If you have more than one little girl...

Just outside of Galway, on the west coast of Ireland, the fishing village of Claddagh lays claim to the ring that bears its name. First produced in the early 17th Century, there are tales that the designs date back to...

We, humans, are a romantic bunch. Perhaps that is why we place so much emphasis on the wedding day. The word, “wed,” comes from an ancient Greek word for “pledge.” In marrying, we are promising to tie one life to...

Ever wonder why it is considered bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before the wedding day, There may be two different explanations behind the tradition, neither of which have anything to do with romance...

As with most significant Scottish events, the unmistakably rich peal of the bagpipes is part of a Scottish wedding ceremony. But before we get to the music and the food and the partying, there are certain formalities...

The association of “old shoes” with weddings may have begun with the ancient Hebrews, Egyptians and Assyrians. When striking a bargain, in this case a marriage, sandals were traded as a symbol of the change of authority...

A Pakistani wedding is a four day celebration. It is believed, in a traditional wedding, that the party is just as important as the ceremony. The first day starts with the respective families dressing in yellow to begin...

The tradition of having a best man started with the Germanic Goths. At that time it was preferable for men and women from the same community to marry. Once in a while the supply of women was scarce and it became...

The ancient but familiar verse “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue” has become the basis for some of the Western world’s most well-known wedding traditions. If the instructions of the...

Military traditions can be added to any religious or civil marriage ceremony. There are no set rules or procedures. It is up to the couple to decide how much military participation they are comfortable with as part of...

A couple in Mexico has the good fortune to have sponsors to help them through the preparations for the wedding and to assist if needed after they are married. Godparents are the usual sponsors and they help both...

Even within the Jewish community customs for weddings can vary. Traditional or Orthodox marriage celebrations can last for a week. They begin with the couple agreeing on a written marriage contract, called a “ketubah”...

The multi-faceted Irish can be deeply religious, supremely superstitious and hearty partiers, all at the same time. They also believe in courting as much luck as possible. Fortunate is the couple that ties the knot on...