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The Surprising History of Wedding Traditions part 1

the history of wedding traditions

The Surprising History of Wedding Traditions Part 1

Im really excited about this new series! This two part series has been on my mind for a few years, and I figured no better time like the present to start it! Ever since entering into the wedding industry in 2009 I’ve had an interest in learning about all of the wedding traditions that I see at almost every single wedding. I love educating our couples on these traditions and make them think “So thats why we’re doing that”.

Did you know that you don’t have to include any wedding traditions at your wedding? You skip or modify anything you don’t feel good about doing!

Anyway, here are the most common wedding traditions:

  • Wearing a white dress
  • Having a wedding party (or more commonly referred to as a bridal party but thats a dumb term)
  • Wearing a veil
  • Carrying a bouquet
  • Father giving away the bride
  • Wedding cakes
  • Tossing the garter & bouquet
  • Honeymoon

You’ll find that modern weddings are actually a mesh of wedding traditions from all different time periods and cultures! (-:

Im going to state that the Break Tradition sections are just my own opinions and ways that I think you can put a fun spin on them. You don’t have to do them if we’re shooting your wedding!

Why do brides wear white on their wedding day?

This one is more common knowledge than most, I think, and I found out the story behind this when I was a kid. Back in the day (and I mean waaaay back), wealthy brides to be would commission new dresses but they were very rarely white.

White, even TODAY, gets dirty VERY fast and back then most people did the laundry very infrequently so of course they dont want to wear a color thats going to show how dirty it is – it is THE number 1 thing we hear brides/maids of honor/moms say “Oh dont let the dress drag, it’ll get dirty!”

Moving on!

Less fortunate brides would just wear their Sunday best, so what ever color their nicest already owned dress was. Wedding gowns came in all sorts of patterns and colors because of this. It wasn’t until 1840 that white became THE wedding dress color. In fact, the actual date is February 10, 1840. We have Queen Victoria of England to thank for that!

Why do brides wear white on their wedding day?
Tara’s bridal portraits at Drayton Hall & Queen Victoria on her wedding day

Surprisingly, she didn’t wear white to symbolize her purity as many believe. She just liked white! Back when she was wed, blue was actually the color that represented purity (thats where Something Blue comes into play). So today, you wear a white wedding gown because it was a queens favorite gown color and, like today, she set a trend(Im looking at you Kate Middleton & Meghan Markle!) that hasn’t faded in 176 years.

Break tradition – now, don’t get me wrong, I think white wedding dresses can be beautiful, albeit…a little boring since they’re SO common. I even love vintage wedding gowns! But if you’re looking to break this tradition, be bold and wear a colorful wedding dress! Or a dress decked out with pearls or puffy sleeves or big big bows! Be bold in your choice.

**Edited May 2018 to add: I wore a pink & purple floral embroidered gown on my wedding day!**

Where did the wedding party come from?

Well, this one had a couple of answers, but it depends on the area as well as the time period. I’ll talk about the ones I found the most interesting – ancient Rome & the capture era. In ancient Rome, the bride’s party was dressed alike (meaning, your bridesmaids matched you – commence the gasping!) so as to confuse any evil spirits who might be trying to target the bride and groom.

By having everyone dressed the same, the evil spirit wouldn’t know who the real target was. I also read that it was used to confuse real people from trying to kidnap the bride or groom before the ceremony, which leads me to….

During the capture era, “grooms” would actually kidnap their intended brides! The role of best man has evolved from the job of the grooms best fighter helping him stave off the brides angry family. Also, the reason why the bride stands on the left of the groom at the alter is so that he could quickly draw his sword to defend himself during the ceremony.

Break tradition – Im gonna get heat for this, I just know it, but don’t have a wedding party! Include just your dogs. Thats all I got for this one! We’ve photographed I think 3 weddings so far with no bridal parties and it didn’t ruin their day at all. Their friends still hung out with them in the morning and we snapped a few pics of them together at cocktail hour.

**Edited May 2018 to add: Our dogs were our “bridal party” (-; Zelda even got to wear a floral wreath! **

Psssst…did you know that the Maid of Honors primary job used to be assembling all of the wedding decor and putting it up by herself?

Why does a bride wear a veil? And a bonus!

I love when a bride wears a wedding veil, theres just something romantic about it! The tradition behind the veil is anything BUT romantic – Im talkin’ about arranged marriages y’all. Once upon a time women were considered property and could be given to whomever her father (the owner) wished.

Ew.

Ladies, can you image that today?

In a lot of cases, the couple had never met before. Remember, this is the days before Instagram & Facebook. People used to send PAINTED PORTRAITS of each other to their intended – not always but sometimes – and come on…people have been “photoshopping” themselves for centuries, so what you saw in that painting wasn’t what always met you at the alter.

The bride would wear a veil to hide her face until the ceremony was over juuuust in case the groom didn’t like how she looked and back out of the arrangement before it was officially legal.

Does this sound like another tradition? The groom backing out due to an unseemly bride (rude) was also prevented by not allowing the two to see each other before the ceremony. Thats it. Thats why your mother tells you its bad luck – because your man might think you’re too unsightly to marry.

Break tradition – A lot of brides ditch the veil all together, but others wear flower crowns, headbands, and cute combs in their hair as a modern replacement! Of course, my favorite way to break tradition is to have a First Look! Hopefully, your partner knows what you look like and WANTS to marry you willingly, right? (-;

Oh, a little Victorian veil history – during the Victorian times, the length of your veil was a sign of your wealth! The longer your veil, the wealthier you were.

Why does a bride wear a veil?

Have brides always carried wedding bouquets?

In a sense, yes! Just not always of flowers.

Garlic, dill & rosemary were a popular choice during ancient and medieval eras as they were thought to ward off evil spirits as well as the plague (hint – it didn’t work). It wasn’t really until the Victorian era that floral bouquets became the norm. They didn’t choose peonies and roses just because they were pretty or in season though.

Flowers had to be thought of very carefully because of the Language of Flowers. The Victorian era was such an odd time – use the wrong flowers and you’d be sending the wrong message!

Why do brides carry bouquets?

Break tradition – Well, I guess you could break modern tradition by going back to old tradition (garlic & rosemary).

Next time we’ll cover the rest of the traditions that you didn’t know why you were doing them (-;
Which tradition was your favorite to learn about?

Read The Surprising History of Wedding Traditions part 2

Katie + Jay of Catherine Ann Photography are Charleston SC Based Wedding & Elopement Photographers specializing in candid & fun wedding photos that feel like you!  

Ready to book your wedding with us? Get in touch here! 

charleston | new york | Europe

Vibrant, documentary-style wedding photography for fun, fashionable couples hosting an intentional, laid-back wedding with the people that matter most

Est. 2009

Luxury wedding photographer providing vibrant, documentary images for fun, fashionable party people in the U.S & Europe! Charleston based.

 

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