White wedding dress, something borrowed, something blue? What does it all mean?Read on and see why being 36 years in the special occasion, couture fashion business we at Andrea’s Fashions have learned a thing or two about the history of weddings…
WEDDING FACTS…
Before Queen Victoria started the Western world’s white wedding dress trend in 1840 women wore their “best dress” when they got married.
In Asia, wearing robes with embroidered cranes symbolizes fidelity for the length of a marriage.
Ancient Greeks and Romans thought the veil protected the bride from evil spirits. Brides have worn veils ever since.
On her wedding day, Grace Kelly wore a dress with a bodice made from beautiful 125-year-old lace.
In Japan, white was always the color of choice for bridal ensembles — long before Queen Victoria popularized it in the Western world.
Most expensive wedding ever? Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia’s wedding cost was a mere $78 million. 1000 guests enjoyed wedding festivities over five days. A close second is the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton which cost an estimated $70 million and change.
In Korea, brides wear bright hues of red and yellow on their wedding day.
“Something old” symbolizes continuity with the past.
In earlier days in Denmark, brides and grooms traditionally cross-dressed to confuse evil spirits.
The “something blue” symbolizes purity, fidelity, and love.
FOOD FAMILY & FOLKLORE
In Egypt, the bride’s family traditionally does all the cooking for a whole week after the wedding to allow the couple to relax and enjoy their new marriage.
In South Africa, the parents of the bride and groom traditionally carried fire from their hearths to light a new fire in the newlyweds’ hearth.
The tradition of a wedding cake comes from ancient Rome where guests broke a loaf of bread over a bride’s head for fertility’s sake.
Traditional tiered wedding cakes emerged from a game where the bride and groom attempted to kiss over an ever-higher cake without knocking it over.
Queen Victoria’s wedding cake weighed 300 pounds.
Legend says single women will dream of their future husbands if they sleep with a slice of groom’s cake under their pillows.
An old wives’ tale: If the younger of two sisters marries first, the older sister must dance barefoot at the wedding or risk never having a husband herself.
BE THE WEDDING KNOW-IT-ALL…
In Celtic, Hindu and Egyptian weddings the hands of a bride and groom are literally tied together to demonstrate the couple’s commitment and their new bond as a married couple. This is where the phrase “Tying the Knot” comes from.
The custom of proposing on one knee dates back to the days of knighthood and chivalry when it was customary for a knight to dip his knee in a show of servitude to his mistress. The knight would kneel before a tournament and wait for “his” lady to toss him her ribbon or colors, as an indication of her favor
The word “bride” comes from old English for the name for “cook,” while the word groom comes from “male child.”
The Roman goddess Juno rules over marriage, the hearth, and childbirth, hence the popularity of June weddings.
The bride stands to the groom’s left during a Christian ceremony, because in bygone days the groom needed his right hand free to fight off other suitors.
On average, 1.5 million couples marry each day in the United States.
Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve are the two busiest days to get hitched in Las Vegas
The Catholic tradition of “posting the banns” to announce a marriage originated as a way to ensure the bride and groom were not related
Stag / Bachelor parties were first held by ancient Spartan soldiers who said goodbye to their single days with a wild party.
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