I wonder at some of the wedding traditions in vogue today and I sought to find out their origins and their significance. Why does the bride have to wear a veil before meeting the groom at the altar? How about the bouquet; what is the significance and how much of the bouquet catching really works? Then again is the issue of the wedding rings and the engagement rings; what do they represent? Having witnessed these practices over and again through the years, is their true significance waning?
Myth has it that the veil worn by the bride as part of their wedding dresses used to act as a shield against enchantments and evil machinations hence these veils shields and hides the bride from evil spirits. For the Romans, these veils were flame colored and they were believed to scare away these evil spirits. Others believed that for the “˜arranged’ marriages between rich families, the veil shielded the bride’s looks from the groom till they are at the altar. While at the altar and seeing the bride for the first time, he would be saved the embarrassment at least for the time being. The size of the veil- length, quality and weight also stood for the status of the bride and in those days, brides from royal homes wore the longest veils. It is lot different today as veils being part of wedding dresses has no further significance.
The bouquets had a different significance too. In the past, brides would carry garlic and dill down the aisle. The reason for this is not very clear but during the plague, people would in a bid to survive, clutch herbs over their mouths and noses. As time when on, rather than carry those herbs, brides would rather bear nicely scented flora as part of their wedding dresses.
Today’s brides do not wear the same dresses as their bridesmaids but this was not always the practice. In the past, the bride and the bridesmaids dressed alike. The idea was to have as many lookalikes to the bride as possible hence to confuse any evil spirits hovering around. Others too believe that en route to the groom’s village, the bride and her similarly dressed bridesmaids would confuse thieves and spurred suitors. In today’s weddings, the brides would dress differently while the chief bridesmaid would also dress differently. The rest of the bridesmaids would appear in a uniform.
How about the rings; Engagement and wedding rings? Well marriages represent some form of binding between the couple. In the past, some form of bonds were fastened to the wrists or some the legs of the couple. This signifies that they are bound to each other as long as they lived. In the 12th Century however, it was decreed that brides would receive rings when they wed in churches. These have evolved into the different forms it takes today and the different types of rings given out today.
