Much of the superstition that has evolved around weddings over the centuries started off as ways to ensure good luck, prosperity, happiness and fertility to the newlyweds. Another important aspect was to confuse or drive away any evil spirits who wanted to spoil the day.
THE PROPOSAL
On the wedding day, while on the way to the bride’s family, superstition has it that the groom’s representatives had to avoid blind men, monks and pregnant women; although goats and pigeons were considered lucky. For the bride, practicing writing her new name was and still is thought of as being very unlucky, and taking on a surname that started with the same letter as her own denoted unhappiness to come.
THE DAY
Although many a wedding take place on a Saturday now, superstition says it was once considered to be the worst day of the week. Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays were best day, bringing you health, wealth and happiness.
THE MONTH
Superstition is that May was considered a particularly bad month for marriage, going back to pagan times when the Feast of Beltane was celebrated with orgies and therefore an unsuitable time to marry. The Romans held the Feast of the Dead and their festival to the Goddess of Chastity in May, but in June the celebrations were for Juno, the Goddess of love and marriage, making this a much better month for your wedding day.
THE DRESS
It was unlucky for the bride-to-be to make her own dress, or wear the complete outfit before her wedding day. Due to this wedding superstition a stitch was often left unsewn until the wedding day. It was also unlucky for the groom to see her in her dress until the ceremony.Wearing a veil on the day was thought to hide the bride-to-be from evil spirits, and having bridesmaids dressed similarly to the bride was for the same reason.
THE CHURCH
On the way to the church, superstition dictates it was lucky for the bride-to-be to see herself in the mirror once before she left, but not to look in a mirror again after leaving the house. Seeing a chimney sweep was very lucky, and sweeps can still be hired today to bestow good luck on the couple. Lambs, black cats and rainbows were all good omens, pigs, crowing cocks monks and nuns were all bad.
SHOES
A wedding superstition of Tudor times, shoes were thrown at the couple, and if they were struck it brought good luck. Nowadays, shoes are often tied to the back of the couple’s car. It used to be customary for the groom to tap his new wife on the head with his shoe, to assert his superiority over her.
SOMETHING BLUE
Everybody knows the “something old, something new, something borrowed something blue” rhyme, which is a Victorian superstition. The” something blue” was traditionally a blue ribbon
