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English Weddings
From fairy tales to reality
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Flower power
Flowers have always been a big feature at weddings. The groom is supposed to wear a flower that appears in the bridal bouquet in his button-hole. This stems from the Medieval tradition of a knight wearing his lady's colours, as a declaration of his love.
Also a flower girl leads the way of the couple to the Church, sprinkling petals of organ blossoms along the road. This signifies a happy route through life for the bride and bridegroom.
Dressing up
According to a popular Victorian rhyme, it is considered good luck for the bride to wear "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue" on her big day.
'Something blue' is thought lucky because "blue" represents fidelity and constancy. The custom began in ancient Israel where brides wore a blue ribbon in their hair to symbolise their fidelity.
'Something old' is symbolic of continuity. The old item is often a piece of lace or a grandmother's scarf or an old piece of jewelry. 'Something new' signifies hope for the future, and can be anything from a piece of clothing to the wedding band itself. 'Something borrowed' is symbolic of future happiness and is often provided by a happily married friend of the bride.
Green dresses are always avoided, as it is though to be unlucky. To say a girl 'had a green gown' also implied that she was of loose morals. Queen Victoria, who broke the tradition of royals marrying in silver, popularised white dresses which stands for purity and virginity.
Other traditions are that the bride should never make her own dress, that the final stitch should not be completed until she is departing for the Church and that she should never try on the entire outfit before the day or practise signing her new name until it is legally hers. Even the wedding linen is marked with the bride's maiden rather than married initials. The tradition of bridesmaids evolved from the custom of surrounding the bride with other richly dressed women, in order to confuse evil spirits.
The groom wears a suit with a white shirt. Only at large and formal weddings do they wear a tuxedo. Business suits are normal. The bridegroom has a best man, who also wears a business suit.
Preparation
Once it is decided that a couple will marry it has to be checked that the marriage will conform to the Bible laws and principles as well as to the law of land (monogamy). Then practical matters like the date and the type of wedding ceremony is considered. One week before the wedding day the bride has a "Hen's night" and the bridegroom has a "Stag party" similar to bachelor/bachelorette parties.
If the couple plans to marry in a church, banns announcing the proposed wedding are read aloud in the church three Sundays before the wedding. It is unlucky for the bride and bridegroom to be present at the calling of the banns.
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