Wedding ceremonies have come a long way. Although different people have unique wedding cultures, there’s no doubt that some of these cultures run through all regions. But are they all true, or valid? Did you know that some practices are actually myths?

Nevertheless, a few of these practices have some interesting histories behind them, which have proven to be important over the years. For instance, the reason we have wedding cakes at all is that in ancient Rome, merrymakers broke a loaf of bread over a bride’s head for fertility’s sake. Even though we all do not know this story, we cannot have a wedding without a cake!

Therefore in this piece, we would be outlining some facts, traditions and superstitions about weddings. Hopefully, we’d all learn something new.

Our beautiful bride, Maureen, right before she walked down the aisle.

WEDDING HISTORY: MYTHS & TRADITIONS

Let’s get right to it! Here are five wedding histories you probably never knew:

1. The History of Bridesmaids

Believe it or not, it was all because of evil spirits…and men! Roman History has it that bridesmaids had to dress up similar to the bride to drive off evil spirits and confuse the exes of the bride. This way no one would know which woman in the group was getting married. It also served as some form of protection from harmful people and thieves. The main duty of bridesmaids was to shield the bride while walking to the groom’s village.

Today you only have to look pretty, put on a smile and get lit! 😁

2. The History of the Best Man

Another interesting folklore is the origin of the best man. They have just one job — keep the bride at the wedding!

Apparently, brides back then had the habit of running away on the wedding day. So a best man’s former duty was to make sure the bride didn’t escape during the ceremony. On some occasions, they were asked to kidnap the brides — especially if her parents did not approve of the marriage. In light of this, best men were picked according to their physical strength and ability to fight; regardless of their relationship to the groom.

Wild!

3. The Best Wedding Day

According to ancient English tradition, the best day to get married was a Wednesday. They also believed Mondays were for wealth and Tuesdays for health. Thursdays were considered for losses, Fridays for crosses. And Saturday was the unluckiest wedding day!

Joke’s on them now, huh? 😁

4. The Entire Bridal Outfit

White wasn’t always the colour for brides, a queen dared to change the trend. In the mid-1800s, brides actually wore red gowns.

However, when Queen Victoria was to marry Prince Albert, she went against traditions to don a white, lacy dress. At the time, white represented wealth as opposed to purity. It later evolved to become the traditional colour for virgin brides.

Now it’s white or nothing, mostly.

Not to forget the myth about pearl rings. A pearl engagement ring was said to be bad luck because its shape echoes that of a tear. Probably, for this reason, pearl rings are no longer in vogue because who wants to test bad luck, right?

5. The History of the Veil

Of course, it was no bride’s idea to her face before walking down the aisle. It all started again because of evil spirits. Brides were made to put on veils to protect them from evil, jealous spirits, while also preserving their modesty.

On the other hand, veils were also ploys by fathers to conceal the true image of their ‘not-so-pretty’ daughters. A father would get away with this by hiding the identity of his daughter until the unveiling at the ceremony.

Yikes!

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