Wedding Traditions New & Old: Part Two

__By Tiffany Amber Stockton__

In May, a few wedding traditions received the spotlight focus. May and June remain the most popular months of the year for weddings, and along with them, the anniversaries celebrating that special day, so let's look at some more traditions and how they got started.

WEDDING TRADITION ORIGINS: PART TWO

I often find it fascinating to see which traditions make it into modern-day wedding ceremonies. It's also fun learning about other customs or family honors included in the planning or actual event in some way. A key area where you might find this lies with the wedding party itself.

For ancient Romans, having a bridal party meant adhering to Roman law. It required 10 male witnesses to vouch for a couple, while a bride’s female companions would prepare and escort her to the ceremony.

In many cultures, bridesmaids acted as incognito bodyguards for a bride. They would dress or style their hair in similar fashion to the bride to prevent kidnappers and thieves from making off with a bride’s dowry or the bride herself.

As for groomsmen? Beyond helping the groom get ready, some of their historical roles included safeguarding the bride, preventing others from intervening in the wedding, or even kidnapping an unwilling or unwitting woman and forcibly bringing her to the groom. Yes, that did happen!

Once the bride stood with the groom, they would speak their vows and exchange rings. Of course, a groom receiving and wearing a ring didn't step into the socially acceptable ring until around the time of WWII. A brief attempt to popularize the men's engagement ring occurred in the 1920's, but cultural norms about masculinity and marriage struck down that ad campaign rather quickly.

Women, on the other hand, have worn engagement and wedding rings for centuries. They served as a gesture of betrothal or visible sign that a woman had entered into a marriage contract. Post-Depression, many couples could afford the cost of two rings, and they represented a romantic link between married couples separated during the war. Today, both bride and groom give and receive a ring.

Following the ceremony, attendees most commonly celebrate by showering newlywed couples with rice. Tossing grains has its roots in many cultures, with the kinds used differing by region. Ancient Romans thought wheat the best signifier of fertility, with rice taking up that role throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. Lentils, oats, peas, and other grains are popular alternatives throughout the world. Oh, and that theory about a bird's stomach exploding from expanding rice after consumption? Yeah. It's an urban legend. :)

Finally, we come to the cake. The earliest known wedding cakes baked by ancient Romans were made of wheat or barley, while cakes in Medieval England consisted of stacked spiced buns. Hmm, can you imagine how that tasted? Certainly not the decadent and sweet flavors seen today, and likely not ideal for smashing. *winks* However, infinitely healthier!

The multi-tiered wedding cake didn't appear until the early 1900s. Wedding etiquette of the time suggested happy couples who quickly started a family could save money by using their remaining wedding cake as a christening cake. The popularity of home refrigerators and freezers in the 1930s and '40s helped this tradition along. Queen Elizabeth II (then Princess Elizabeth) followed that advice and served a tier of her wedding cake at Prince Charles’s christening in 1948.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* What fond memories or memorable moments do you have from your wedding? If you haven't had one yet, what would you *like* to see happen?

* Did you save a tier from your wedding cake and freeze/preserve it in some way? If you did, how did it taste when eaten the second time around?

* So many people today are dismissing marriage and its sacred covenant. They're even reducing the intimacy shared to nothing more than self-serving physical pleasure. What can we do to help restore the sanctity of marriage?

** This note is for our email readers. Please do not reply via email with any comments. View the blog online and scroll down to the comments section.

Come back on the 9th of each month for my next foray into historical tidbits to share.

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BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood, when she was accused of having a very active imagination and cited with talking entirely too much. Today, she has honed those skills to become an award-winning, best-selling author and speaker who is also a professional copywriter/copyeditor. She loves to share life-changing products and ideas with others to help improve their lives in a variety of ways.

She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children, one dog, and three cats in southeastern Kentucky. In the 20+ years she's been a professional writer, she has sold twenty-six (26) books so far and is represented by Tamela Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on Facebook and GoodReads.

Wedding Traditions

By Amy Lillard

I’m a romance author. I should be all about the weddings. But I’m not. They’re beautiful and memorable, but I’m more of a happily ever after girl. Yes, my own wedding was so romantic—in the courthouse in Arkansas on a Monday afternoon. Twenty-five years later, I have no regrets over my lack of a three hundred person guest list, pristine white dress, and extensive photo album. 

But there are those out there every day who long for the doves released at sunset, the white stretch limo, and twenty dollar a place setting at the country club.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not casting stones. Everyone should have the wedding (or not) of their dreams. But have you ever wondered where these traditions came from?

My current work in progress—The Wildflower Bride— is a follow-up to my latest release, The Gingerbread Bride. And yes, it includes a wedding. In 1871. And so my research began. Which traditions are new? Which are old? Why do brides throw the bouquet? Why do they carry a bouquet? Well, here’s what I found out.

The White Wedding Dress:

In 1840, Queen Victoria married and wore white which started the tradition of the bride wearing white. The white dress was never intended to judge whether or not the bride was a virgin - that was the role of the veil.

After Prince Albert died in 1861, a great many brides wore black dresses and a white veil. This was something of a nod to the queen since she started the white wedding dress and then wore nothing but black after his death.

A white wedding dress showed a measure of the family’s wealth. A dress of such a delicate material and pristine color couldn’t hold up to stains or work. To have a dress for one occasion was opulence at its finest.

Many nineteenth century brides had only one best dress and they were generally

married in that dress. It was not uncommon for brides to be married in black or other dark colors, as this best dress could also double as suitable funeral attire.

The Wedding Party:
The tradition of bridesmaid dresses and the groom standing to the right of the bride evolved during the time of bridal dowries and bridal capture. A bride with a handsome dowry was sometimes kidnapped on her way to the wedding. She would be forcibly married to her captor, then raped to consummate the marriage. Her father would then have to pay the captor the dowry. The bridesmaid was dressed in the exact same clothes as the bride so as to confuse any potential captors.

When it became more difficult to steal the bride on the way to the wedding, a band of men would storm the church and use force to capture the bride during the ceremony. The groom stood on the right of the bride so he could wear a sword on his hip - if someone tried to steal the bride, he could draw his sword and not cut off the bride's head as he defended her.

June Weddings and Throwing the Bouquet:

June has been the most popular choice for weddings for centuries. Why? Because during the 1400 and 1500s, people only bathed thoroughly once each year. In May. As such, the overall population smelled relatively fresh in June, making it a good time to hold a special event like a wedding. Body odor was further masked by brides picking flowers and forming a bouquet on the way to the wedding.

In 1870, the bouquet was thrown and the couple would go on a honeymoon.

The Honeymoon:

In the 1860s, the younger brother of Napoleon, Jerome, came to America and found his bride in Baltimore. He took her to Niagara Falls after their ceremony which caused it to become a popular honeymoon spot.

The Wedding Shower:

This is the only tradition with a romantic history. In Holland during the 1500 or 1600s, a wealthy man's daughter fell in love with a poor man. The father refused to allow the couple to get married and said if they eloped he would not give the man the daughter's dowry. Without the dowry, the couple had no way of setting up a home together and could not marry. The townsfolk loved this couple so much they showered the couple with gifts and money in order for them to marry.

The Wedding Cake:

Wedding cakes date back centuries, but the white cakes that we are accustomed to seeing were very expensive up until the 17th century. Only the wealthy families could afford to have a very pure white frosting and this showed the wealth and the social status of the family. When Queen Victoria used white icing on her cake it gained a new title, royal icing.

The modern wedding cake as we know it now originated at the wedding of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, in 1882.

A Couple of Interesting Facts:

In 1880, wedding photos became the rage, though it was usually just the bride who was photographed.

Kissing the bride was also put on hold during the Victorian age. It was considered uncomely PDA.

Although I bypassed a lot of traditions, I had a wedding bouquet, something borrowed, and something blue. There was no music, a small cake, and a couple of bottles of champagne. Was there a particular wedding tradition that you observed or didn’t observe at your own wedding?

HOW PEOPLE MARRIED DURING WORLD WAR II

ANNE GREENE here:

 

The war years of 1941 to 1945 were filled with romance amid pain and suffering. During World War II many women arranged wartime weddings within a few days to accommodate a boyfriend coming home on a 24 hour leave, before being sent to combat. Frequently there was no time to get a special dress and often women could not afford the clothing coupons needed for a wedding dress.

Nevertheless happy weddings took place, with family members donating small amounts of staples like sugar, flour and eggs so that the war bride could bake a wedding cake.

Women borrowed hats, raided gardens for flowers and loaned wedding dresses. Bridesmaids reused dresses worn to other weddings. This sometimes gave a mix and match look to bridal group photographs. Most brides wore clothes so that every item could be used again in a different venue. Friends and family rallied around loaning a hat, a bit of lace, or a dress.

A bride often wore her hair high on top of her head in a waved roll. Abundant hair was helpful, but lack of it did not stop women from adopting the style. Ever resourceful, they used old stockings rolled up to create foundations to be covered by their own hair. This style became popular since it offered the glamour lacking in other areas of wartime life. The look is film star glam.

Army, Navy and Air Corps personnel usually wore their uniforms when they wed. In my book, ANGEL WITH STEEL WINGS, two ladies wed wearing their Women Airforce Service Pilots uniform. 

In 1944, an American B-29 pilot was returning with his crew from a bombing raid over Japan, when the plane’s engine caught fire. The pilot used his parachute to jump from the burning aircraft. Later the chute helped him survive by providing shelter until he was rescued. After returning home from war, he proposed to his girlfriend. She used the life-saving parachute as material for her wedding dress. She modeled her dress on one which appeared in the movie Gone With The Wind. The bride used the original parachute strings to create the train in the back. I can think of no other wedding dress that would be as meaningful as one that saved the life of the groom.

In my World War II historical romance, ANGEL WITH STEEL WINGS, you will find two romantic war time weddings.

Do you have a story about a World War II wedding from your grandmother or mother? Would you leave a comment and share?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANNE GREENE delights in writing about wounded heroes and gutsy heroines. Her second novel, a Scottish historical, Masquerade Marriage, won three prestigious book awards. The sequel Marriage By Arrangement finalled in a number of contests. A Texas Christmas Mystery also won several awards. Look for Anne's soon to be released WWII historical romance, Angel With Steel Wings. Anne’s highest hope is that her stories transport the reader to awesome new worlds and touch hearts to seek a deeper spiritual relationship with the Lord Jesus. Anne makes her home in McKinney, Texas. She loves to talk with her readers. Buy Anne’s books at http://www.Amazon.com. Talk with Anne on twitter at @TheAnneGreene. View Anne’s books, travel pictures and art work at http://www.AnneGreeneAuthor.com.

Learn more about Anne as well as get tips on writing award-winning books at http://www.anneswritingupdates.blogspot.com.