8 Surprising Facts About Wedding Traditions

When it comes to your big day, you’d want to get things just right. From wearing the perfect white wedding dress and finding the most suitable bridesmaids to getting something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, the traditions and wedding customs brought down through generations serve as your guidance.

But have you ever wondered why it is that brides have to wear a wedding veil or that you have to carry a bridal bouquet? Here at Gift Something Hong Kong, we are delighted to bring you eight surprising fun facts about these wedding practices, traditions and more!

Fact 1: Why does the bride need to wear white?

Brides don a white wedding dress because the colour represents purity, something that is much desired from women in the past. The colour white is a symbol of a woman’s chastity and it was also closely associated with Vesta. The temple priestesses, who served this virgin goddess of hearth, home and family, all dressed in white.

Fact 2: What is “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue”?

This wedding phrase stems from an Old English rhyme. It lists out four objects a bride should gather on her wedding day for good luck. Each item represents something different; “something old” refers to the bride and groom’s past, “something new” symbolizes their happy married future together, “something borrowed” is an item that belongs to someone who is happily married, and “something blue” committed love and fidelity.

Fact 3: Why are there bridesmaids and groomsmen?

The idea was derived back in ancient Roman times. There was a law that stated ten witnesses were required to be present at weddings, specifying five bridesmaids and five groomsmen. They all dressed up like the bride and groom, acting as decoys for the newlyweds as it was believed to confuse any evil spirits or jealous wedding guests and to prevent them from harming the new couple.

Fact 4: Why do we have a tiered wedding cake?

The notion of having a wedding cake originated in medieval England. The newlyweds engaged in a fun challenge; they had to try and kiss each other over a pile of highly stacked spiced buns, scones, and cookies. If they were able to successfully plant a kiss on each other without toppling the food over, it was believed that they would secure a prosperous future.

Also, back in the olden days, the top tier of the cake would be saved for a year, just in time for the celebration of the couple’s baby’s christening, as it was expected that a baby would be born to them a year after their wedding day.

Fact 5: Why do brides wear a wedding veil?

This tradition also dates back to ancient Rome. On the day of the wedding, the bride would walk down the aisle with a veil covering her face. It was a method used to disguise herself from evil spirits that may be lurking around, plotting to wreck havoc on her wedding day.

Fact 6: Where does the phrase “tying the knot” come from?

It was common practice in many cultures for the newlyweds’ hands to be joined and even tied together as a symbol of their commitment to each other. It was also representative of their new bond and relationship as a married couple. The Celts had a special ritual during the wedding ceremony, called handfasting, whereas it was called hastmelap at Hindu weddings.

Fact 7: Why do brides carry a bridal bouquet?

It was common practice in ancient Greece and Rome for the bride to carry bouquets of aromatic herbs for the purpose to ward off evil spirits. This progressed to the bride carrying her favourite flower variety when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840. She carried a bouquet of snowdrops, her favourite flowers.

Fact 8: Why is the wedding ring worn on the ring finger?

The ancient Romans believed that the fourth finger on the left hand was directly connected to the heart by a vein called “the vein of love.” Due to this believed connection, this finger was considered the ideal spot to wear the wedding ring.