We’ve heard some strange and silly superstitions to include in your Wedding Day, but after much searching, we’ve found eight wonderful ones that, regardless of whether you’re actually superstitious, you’ll want to include in your Big Day.
Carrying “something old” on your wedding day supposedly pays homage to the Bride’s relationship with her family, while the “something new” is a token of the couple’s new union and promising future. Your special “something blue” will paint a colour story of fidelity and love, while tradition dictates that “something borrowed” should come from someone who is happily Married and willing to share their good fortune with the new Bride. Most people don’t realise the Victorian rhyme actually ends with “…and a silver sixpence in her shoe.” So throw one in for good luck, Fairies!
Middle Eastern and Indian brides sporting intricate henna designs on their hands and feet also serve more than a decorative purpose, warding off the evil eye and preserving the Bride’s fertility.
Rain on your Wedding day obviously isn’t ideal (because frizzy hair and eyebrows running down your face is unattractive); however in some cultures like that of Hindu people, a downpour is actually a symbol of fertility and cleansing.
A range of talismans are said to bring the happy couple good fortune on their Wedding day. The Greeks advocate tucking a sugar cube into your glove or clutch on the Wedding day, to ‘sweeten’ the union. Irish and Scottish brides believe in carrying small horseshoes with the same purpose and Egyptians Brides receive a small pinch the morning of for good luck.
Doing so apparently means the wedding won’t happen. Case in point: please refer to every sixth grade notebook with your name and your crush’s surname shamelessly emblazoned on the cover. Yeah, enough said.
Enjoying the top tier of the Wedding cake on the couple’s first anniversary is considered sentimental nowadays. But historically, this tradition was purely functional. Society dictated that Marriage was ideally followed by children. And ASAP. So 19th century bakers easily sold their clients three tired cakes based on the social precedent of the bottom tier for cutting, middle tier for guests’ consumption and the top tier for the christening of their firstborn child.
Moroccan women traditionally enjoyed bathing themselves in milk before the Wedding day. Combined with argan oils, the bath was intended to be a purifying ritual.
When it comes to florals, roses are the obvious choice with all their connotations of undying love. But for all of you Fairies whose Pinterest boards are overflowing with peonies… You may want to reconsider. Peonies actually symbolize shame (*dramatic sob*).
Main image from Stephanie and Christian’s Wedding. Photography by Irina Berestovskaya.
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