The act of marriage dates all the way back to the early days of humankind. Since it is currently 2017… wedding traditions have accumulated massively. Ranging from culture and religion, everyone’s wedding tradition varies. Not only are there large numbers of wedding traditions, but much like Halloween, weddings have their fair share of superstitions as well! Here is a list of 30 wedding traditions and superstitions that we have picked up while capturing many, many weddings!
30 Wedding Secrets & Traditions
- 7,000 couples marry each day in the United States, approximately…
- If you find a spider in your wedding dress, have no fear, because the English believe it means good luck!
- The busiest marriage and elopement days in Las Vegas are Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve.
- Worried about rain on your wedding day? No worries! According to Hindu tradition, it is actually considered good luck!
- 100 years ago, when hygiene was not at its finest, brides carried bouquets to cover up body odor and smell nice for a change.
- The white wedding dress trend began in 1840. Started by trendsetter herself, Queen Victoria—before then, brides just wore their best dress.
- In Japan, the color of choice for bridal ensembles was always white—long before Queen Victoria popularized it in the Western world.
- According to the English tradition, Wednesday is the “best day” to marry.
- The Chinese consider dates that include the numbers 8 and 9 to be fortunate—getting married on these days will apparently bring you long-lasting wealth!
- Princess Mary is the youngest person to receive an engagement ring. The daughter of Henry VIII was two-years-old…
- In the United States, seventeen tons of gold are made into wedding rings each year.
- The groom traditionally carries the bride across the threshold because he is bravely protecting his bride from evil spirits lurking below.
- According to English folklore, Saturday is the unluckiest wedding day. Irnoically—it’s actually the most popular day of the week to marry!
- Instead of rice, the Czech throw peas at newlyweds!
- Ever wonder why engagement and wedding rings are on the fourth finger of the left hand? Well, it was once said that a vein in that finger led directly to the heart.
- Ancient Greeks and Romans believed the veil protected the bride from evil spirits. Ever since then, brides have worn veils.
- To symbolize continuity with the past, brides carry or wear “something old” on their wedding day.
- Most expensive wedding ever? The marriage of Sheik Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum’s son to Princess Salama in Dubai in May 1981, costing $44 million!
- Luckiest month to get married? Answer: the sixth month. June is a lucky month for weddings because it’s named after Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage.
- A pearl engagement ring is holds luck because its shape resembles a tear.
- During Christian ceremonies, the bride stands to the groom’s left. Why? Because in bygone days the groom needed his right hand free to fight off other suitors.
- In Egypt, so the newlyweds can relax, the bride’s family traditionally does all the cooking for a week.
- The wedding cake tradition comes from ancient Rome. This is where revelers broke a loaf of bread over a bride’s head for fertility’s sake!
- Tiered cakes emerged from a game where the bride and groom attempted to kiss over the tall cake without knocking it over.
- Queen Victoria’s wedding cake weighed a 300 pounds! WOAH.
- Traditionally, in South Africa, the parents of the bride and groom carried fire from their hearths to light a new fire in the newlyweds’ hearth.
- According to an old wives’ tale… If the younger of two sisters marry first, the older sister must dance barefoot at the wedding or risk never landing a husband!
- The bride flinging the bouquet over her head to all the single ladies, bridesmaids, and guests alike is a sign of good fortune…but only for the one who catches it!
- In the Catholic tradition, giving away the bride was a contract between families and the transfer of wealth and property.
- Ancient Spartan soldiers held Stag parties to say goodbye to their bachelor days with a rowdy party. Can you guess it? A Stag party is a Bachelor party.
