Old wives' tales and your wedding - what you need to know

Whatever plans you have for your big day there will be helpful friends and relatives who weigh in with advice on what you should and shouldn’t do.  Some of their suggestions may be really practical and helpful.  Others, however, will probably stem from ancient traditions that have become established over many generations and now have precious little relevance today.  Of these, many are based on nothing more than superstition – weird and wacky ideas from the time when people believed in dragons, witchcraft and evil spirits.  In this post we explore a few of these – partly for fun and partly to help you navigate your way through the minefield of wedding customs, folklore and hocus pocus.

Not seeing each other before the ceremony

This dates back to the time of arranged marriages and was intended to reduce the chance of a bride or groom deciding to do a runner once they’d caught sight of their intended.  Although arranged marriages are no longer as common most brides still prefer to keep their bridal-look a secret from the groom until the ceremony – so this idea does still serve a purpose.

Photo by Andy Holmes on Unsplash

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

Where the heck did this come from?! It all goes back to the traditional rhyme that originated in Victorian England - the ditty that promoted the idea that, for good luck and a happy marriage, a bride must have on her wedding day "Something old, something new / Something borrowed, something blue / And a sixpence in her shoe."

The 'something old' symbolises the bride’s past, her family and her values, and could be represented by a piece of jewellery or a similar token.  The 'something new' might be a gift from the groom or her family, and represents a new chapter in the bride’s life full of good fortune and happiness.  'Something borrowed' might be a bridal accessory lent by a happily married friend or family member to ensure the bride's marriage is just as happy as theirs. 'Something blue' represents the values of purity, faithfulness and modesty and could come in the form of a blue ribbon or brooch. Lastly, a sixpence in the bride's shoe, or even sewn into her dress, was supposed to promise lasting wealth for the couple.

Catching the bouquet or garter

The general idea is that the bride tosses her bouquet or garter over her shoulder to the unmarried women in the company and the one who catches it will be the next to wed.

This has its roots in a medieval superstition that it was good luck to get a piece of the bride's wedding dress.  This quaint belief sometimes resulted in a free for all scramble and a severely tattered dress. So, to distract guests as the happy couple made their way to the marriage chamber, the groom would toss the bride’s garter into the following crowd.

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Carrying the bride over the threshold

This stems from an ancient Roman superstition, that persisted through medieval times, that evil spirits might curse a bride through the soles of her feet.   The groom was therefore advised to carry her to and through the doors of their new home to protect her, and their marriage, from misfortune.

Right foot forward

This one is a bit like the old children’s superstition, ‘Step on a crack, break your grandmother’s back.’  This belief has it that the bride must step into the wedding ceremony venue with her right foot first for good luck.

Photo by Chalo Garcia on Unsplash

Superstitions that are associated with good luck

·         Wednesday is allegedly the luckiest day on which to wed and Saturday is the unluckiest - something it’s worth remembering as you can’t currently get a wedding venue on a Saturday for love nor money!   An old rhyme from English folklore rules: "Monday for health, Tuesday for wealth, Wednesday best of all, Thursday for losses, Friday for crosses, Saturday for no luck at all."

·         Sprinkling the bride with wheat or rice was believed to bring fruitfulness.

·         Tossing coins over the heads of the bride and groom ensured good fortune.  Throwing shoes over their heads is also supposed to bring good fortune.

·         If a cat sneezes on the eve of the wedding that is a sign of good luck.

Superstitions that are associated with bad luck

·         Getting married in a church where there is an open grave leads to bad luck.

·         Wearing a green dress is suppose to bring misfortune.

·         It is bad luck for the bride to look at herself in the mirror after she's dressed in her bridal wear.  However, if you do this by mistake the wearing/carrying of another accessory will break the bad spell.

·         Marrying someone whose surname begins with the same letter as yours is thought to bring bad luck: "to change the name and not the letter / is to change for the worse and not the better" goes an old rhyme.

·         A bridesmaid who stumbles walking to the altar will never be wed according to old lore - so watch your step or end up an old maid!

·         A sapphire in your wedding ring will bring happiness.  Pearls, due to their tear-drop appearance, will bring sorrow.

·         According to an old wives’ tale, if the younger sister marries before her older sibling the latter must dance barefoot at the wedding or she will never marry.

·         Giving a couple a knife or a set of knives for their wedding gift is bad luck, as it signifies a broken relationship.

Anything else you need to know?

You probably have some more, rather more practical, questions about the practicalities of planning your wedding – the team at Clevedon are only too happy to answer them, so just ask away!