The Bouquet
The bride's bouquet has become a staple necessity in weddings. Regardless of the size, style, color scheme, or culture of the wedding, there is inevitably always a bouquet flowers. In fact, the bouquet is something even I find so important, that I always advise my clients to skip the "DIY" when determining the purchase of their floral arrangement. Unless you're goin' way back to barn yard, old American wedding, play it safe and SPEND THE MONEY on a bouquet. Trust me, it'll be worth it.
While it’s obvious that the flowers are a symbol of fertility, most may not know the meaning even behind that. If you really want to be traditional with this concept, you may want to consider carrying garlic and dill down the aisle! That's right, until modern times, brides did carry garlic and dill. The practice probably originated from the time of the Plague, when people clutched the herbs over their noses and mouths in a desperate effort to survive (HSW).
Survivors of great tragedy can affix tremendous protective powers to anything that has provided comfort, and the herbs made it into the ceremony marking renewal. Over time, brides added better-smelling flora to the arrangement, and a whole dictionary of meaning arose to define each type of blossom.
The Garter
Throwing garters is considered to be the oldest surviving wedding tradition. In the Dark Ages it was customary for friends, relatives and guests to accompany the bridal couple to the marriage bed. This was first done to safely see the married couple settled in their wedding bed and once established, the crowd respectfully left the newly weds to their own company.
The wedding garter toss became a game of sorts. The bridal party
would toss the garter at the grooms nose and the person who successfully
landed the garter on his nose would be the next to marry.The custom became rowdier and bawdier until the guests were eager to help the bride out of her wedding clothes. The wedding guests would try to grab the bride's garter for good luck. It is thought to forestall such impropriety, the bride's garter was given to the mob as a distraction. Soon this became an established custom.
Throwing the garter to the groom's men is what remains of the custom. In Northern England the old custom was for male guests to rush the bride at the altar when the ceremony was finished and remove her garter from her leg. In the panic this usually meant the bride was knocked over and trampled on.
Gradually brides made garters easier to detach and finally to avoid threat of injury they tossed their garters away at the end of the ceremony. Garters were imbued with fertility and the bride's garter signified consummation, fulfillment, and progeny and was always fiercely sought after. Untying the bride's garter had a deeply symbolic act. In the past the lucky guest to receive the bride's garter would wear it proudly on his hat, before giving it to the girl of his choice for luck (ECC).
The Best Man
In ancient times, it was customary and preferable for a man to marry a woman from
within his own community. However, when women came into short supply
“locally,” men who wished to marry had to seek out a bride from
another village. In these circumstances, men captured women to make them their
brides. Since the likelihood of cooperation from non local villagers never certain and abduction is often a
multi-person operation, the future groom would be accompanied by his strongest and most trusted friend to
help him fight resistance from the woman's family and other civilians. Our
custom of the best man is a throwback to this two-man, strong-armed
tactic. The future groom wanted not just any man but he wanted the best
man he knew to come along for assistance.This friend, therefore, was considered the best man among his friends. In Anglo-Saxon England, the best man remained at the groom’s side throughout the marriage ceremony, alert well-armed and with his hand on his sword.
Bridesmaids
The bridal party is a tradition that has been established for many
centuries. For a long time the purpose of the bridal party was to fool
evil spirits. The bride's friends dressed similarly to her (most times, wearing the exact same white dress as the bride!) in order to
confuse any virulent presences that might be lurking about. Today
bridesmaids are there to support the bride in the stressful times during
the wedding. Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue
Oh, this is my favorite! This catchy phrase is often used in every modern, American wedding--but why? The answers are quiet easy and in fact, still very meaningful to today's vows. The original poem can be broken down as such:
Something Old- symbolic of continuity, represents the bride's link to her family and the past. Much like today, the bride may choose to wear a piece of family jewelry or her mother or grandmother's wedding gown.
Something Borrowed- usually comes from a happily married friend of the bride and is thought to lend some of her good fortune and joy to the new bride.
Something Blue- a symbol of love, fidelity, and purity of the bride. In ancient times blue was the color of purity and often both the bride
and the groom wore a band of blue cloth around the bottom of their
wedding attire. (Before the 16th century, brides actually wore blue wedding dresses!)
And a Sixpence in Your Shoe- to wish the bride wealth in her future life.
Sources: How Stuff Works, Wedding Vendors, Celebrations Studio, Info Please, Eye Catching Creations, Alex Labry
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