I’ve never been the girl to have a Pinterest board ready with my future ring, my wedding dress and every other aspect of matrimony but hey, if you are that girl, no judgment. I admire all the hard work that went into finding the perfect color palette for your future big day.
Now, although, I’m not a Pinterest girl — I am the girl that daydreams about that special moment. I’m human, it happens.
The other day, I was talking to one of my girlfriends about her actual wedding (i.e. not a daydream) and realized a really weird thing. Where do all these wedding traditions actually come from?
I watch movie after movie (rom-com, of course, what else?), read every Nicholas Sparks book (well, almost every… after a while the same plot starts to get to me) and I’ve never really questioned where all of these traditions originated.
So, I went all out Nancy Drew on this one and decided to enlighten you on some (weird, like seriously strange) facts about wedding traditions.
For example, ever wondered where bridesmaids are from? Yeah, I did too. Turns out, bridesmaids were the original evil spirit repellant. Just in case the devil decided to show up to the party, the bride would be covered. All of her friends would be dressed identically, confusing the hell (ha-ha) out of el diablo. Want to be a good friend? Volunteer yourself as tribute.
Now, if you’re looking for the hero of the wedding- look no further than the best man. Back in the olden days, the best man was the go-to guy to help steal the groom’s future bride. Believed to have originated in the 16th century, the best man really did mean the best man (for the job). Nothing is as romantic as saying “I do” while a dude stands next to the groom with a big sword to make sure no one tries to take the bride back.
I think the tradition that really set me back was the garter. It’s always a fun part of the wedding when the bride playfully throws her garter out, its all cute and seductive but in a very PG-13 kind of way. It’s not so much PG-13 when you find out the history behind it.
Apparently, so far back as the Dark Ages, it was deemed good luck to go home with a piece of the bride’s clothing. The practice of “fingering the stocking” was also an extension of the garter. I’ll spare you the details here but as proof that the deed had been done, wedding guests wanted to inspect the bride’s stocking to confirm baby makin’ habits.
I think it’s safe to say that we’re happy this tradition has evolved into just throwing a piece of your stocking to your beloved husband.
As I continue to daydream about this special day in my future (because, again, I’m human), I’ll laugh when I think of having bridesmaids, think how cute it is to have a best man but I think I’ve decided that I might just steer clear of the whole garter thing.
