WEDDING TRADITIONS

The A-Z of Wedding Traditions

A is for Aisle

The tradition of a father walking the bride down the aisle dates back to the time of arranged marriages where a father would literally ‘give away’ his daughter for land, livestock or similar, marking the exchange.

D is for Canon in D

The most popular piece of music for a bride to walk down the aisle to in the UK is Pachabel’s Canon in D. It was composed for Bach’s wedding in 1694 which the composer attended. He gifted it to the couple as a wedding present.

B is for Bridesmaids

Bridemaids were, in Roman times, dressed like the bride to confuse evil spirits or vengeful suitors who might try to disrupt the wedding or harm the bride-to-be. Today a bridesmaid’s role is to support the bride and plan her hen do.

C is for Confetti

Confetti at weddings originated in Italy about 1850 reaching the UK in 1895. Throwing rice or grain was a way to ensure fertility and wealth. In the early C20th, small pieces of paper became more popular than grain.

E is for Engagement

Engagement rings are worn on the fourth finger of the left hand because Romans believed that in this finger was a vein (vena amoris) which led directly to the heart. Diamond rings were introduced by the Venetians in the 15th century.

ere are so many fascinating, quirky and sometimes shocking facts and traditions surrounding weddings... we’re exploring a few here in an A-Z of wedding traditions!

F is for Flowers

In the Medieval era bridal bouquets used to have herbs instead of flowers, or garlic, which was thought to ward evil away. A bride would throw her bouquetto stop guests grabbing scraps of her dress for good luck.

H is for Honeymoon

The tradition of enjoying a honeymoon dates back to the middle ages, when a newly married couple would spend time alone and drink mead which is honey wine - during the first moon cycle of their marriage, promoting fertility.

I is for Interstellar

The first space wedding has already taken place! In 2003, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko married his fiancée Yekaterina. The bride spoke her vows from Houston, Texas to the International Space Station.

G is for Garter

The bride’s garter was thrown for the same reason as she would toss her bouquet... to prevent men from grabbing her dress to take a scrap for luck. If a man caught a garter it was said to give him luck for finding his own wife.

J is for Juno (June!)

Weddings in June aren’t just popular because of the warmer climate. The Roman goddess Juno - after whom the month is named - was the protector of women, so marrying and having children in ‘her’ month was favoured.

K is for Knot

Tying the knot is a colloquialism for marriage today, but its more likely origin is disputed. It’s either a reference to the traditional Celtic hand-tying ceremony or the Roman act of tying the bride’s girdle into a knot.

M is for Money

Some estimates put the average cost of a wedding in the UK at over £27,000, but this figure is skewed by multi-day Indian weddings and those based in London. In fact, the average cost of a wedding is about £12,000.

P is for Proposals

The most popular date for proposals is Christmas Eve, on which 24% of all proposals take place. New Year’s Eve is the next most popular date, followed by brides’ birthdays. Most couples take two years to plan their weddings.

R is for Ring

Though dual-ring ceremonies were common in the Greek Orthodox church from the 1300s, the custom of both bride and groom exchanging rings is a relatively new one here, dating from early 20th century to the post-war era.

U is for UK

In the UK, around 301,000 weddings take place each year, most (54%) on a Saturday. The UK wedding industry is worth £3.6bn, and most brides are 31 when they marry, two years younger on average than their groom.

N is for Name Change

Brides changing their name to their groom’s surname is tradition, but not a legal requirement. Around 75% of brides do it; 20% choose not to, whilst 5% of brides choose to double barrel their name instead.

S is for Speeches

The tradition of speeches at weddings dates back to 600BC when a Greek host would pour wine from a common pitcher and drop burnt bread (‘toast’) into it. The host - usually the bride’s father - would eat it to prove it hadn’t been poisoned.

L is for Long Veil

Veils were traditionally a symbol of a bride’s virginity, with the lifting of a veil a symbolic consummation of the marriage. The world’s longest veil was worn in 2016 by Vivian Shun-Wen Cheng of Taiwan. It was 3.77 miles long!

O is for Old, New...

We all know about the ‘old, new, borrowed, blue’ rhyme. Its origin is in promoting fertility. In the 1800s a bride would wear the (used!) undergarments of her most fertile friend to boost her own childbearing prospects!

Q is for Queen Vic

Queen Victoria was responsible for popularising the white wedding dress, which was about symbolising wealth, rather than virginity. She also had a wedding cake that weighed over 300 lbs and was over three metres wide!

T is for Thinking...

...Out Loud, by Ed Sheeran! In recent years the song has become the most popular first dance, usurping the previous most popular first dance song which was At Last by US jazz singer Etta James.

V is for Las Vegas

Over 7% of UK couples decide to marry abroad each year. Las Vegas is the most popular international destination for weddings, hosting 100,000 each year. Hawaii is the next most popular place, hosting 25,000 weddings a year!

W is for White

The most popular colour theme for couples remains white, accounting for 74% of all colour schemes. Blue & pink, equally, are the next most popular colours. The most popular wedding theme is ‘rustic.’

X is for Expensive!

The most expensive wedding was that of Sheik Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum’s son to Princess Salama in Dubai. The 1981 event cost a cool £34m. The most expensive wedding dress ever cost £8.2m and had 150ct of diamonds!

Y is for Yellow

Yellow wedding dresses are considered unlucky... as is marrying in May! Spiders and hungry cats at your wedding, and the Tudor custom of guests throwing shoes at the bride and groom are all considered lucky!

Z is for Zzzz...

Whilst couples traditionally consummated their marriage on their wedding night, 40% of UK couples just fall asleep instead. They cite not being ‘in the mood,’ having too much drink or just being too exhausted! n