Wedding Facts
Ten Surprising Wedding Facts This may come as a blow to the traditionalists... But the first wedding dresses were actually blue - and the cake was savoury! Read on for our top 10 surprising wedding facts…
1. WHITE WEDDING DRESSES WEREN’T
“marriage by capture” the groom needed his right hand free to fight off other suitors.
2. IN ANCIENT TIMES, BRIDES CARRIED
7. THE PHRASE “TYING THE KNOT” comes from an old Irish custom called hand fasting, which involved tying the bride and groom’s hands together at the ceremony to symbolize their commitment.
DE RIGUEUR until Queen Victoria wore one to marry Albert of Saxe-Coburg in 1840. BUNCHES OF AROMATIC HERBS, like garlic, dill, and rosemary, to ward off evil spirits; this tradition continued into the 1800s. (Guests, it’s said, might also nibble on the herbs for fresh breath.) Queen Victoria, who carried a bouquet of snowdrops, also gets credit for starting the modern floral trend.
3. THROWING THE BOUQUET WASN’T
ALWAYS FOR THE SINGLE LADIES—it started because guests used to tear off pieces of the bride’s dress in an attempt to take some of her luck home. The tossed flowers were intended to distract the crowd so she could get away unscathed.
4. EARLY BRIDESMAIDS WERE DRESSED
EXACTLY LIKE THE BRIDE TO CONFUSE EVIL SPIRITS, who might otherwise target the happy couple. It wasn’t until the trend-setting Victorian era that bridesmaids began wearing white dresses with short veils, setting them a bit apart from the bride.
5. THE HONEYMOON COMES FROM A NORSE TRADITION, wherein newlyweds would go into hiding for a month, drinking a cup of honey wine every day. 6. THE BRIDE STANDS TO THE GROOM’S LEFT AT THE ALTAR because in the old days of 1 | WEDDINGS & SERVICES
8. IN ROMAN TIMES, WEDDING CAKES WERE ACTUALLY BREAD, and they were broken over the head of the bride by the groom to symbolize fertility. Today’s tradition of smearing cake on each other’s faces is a little sweeter. 9. THE EGYPTIANS THE FIRST TO
EXCHANGE WEDDING RINGS. By medieval times, it was believed that a vein ran from the fourth finger of the left hand to the heart, so this became the trendy place to show off your rock.
10. BUT ENGAGEMENT RINGS DIDN’T TAKE OFF UNTIL THE MIDDLE AGES. In 1215, Pope Innocent III declared that there should be a longer waiting period between betrothal and marriage, spiking the ring’s popularity. Diamonds came even later! Though the first recorded exchange of a diamond engagement ring was in 1477, when Archduke Maximilian of Austria proposed to Mary of Burgundy, they weren’t the standard until 1947, when Frances Gerety, who never herself married, coined “A Diamond Is Forever” for De Beers.