Forgotten Wedding Traditions

[horse345]

How many forgotten wedding traditions can you think of??

Someone state a tradition that you think is "lost" or "forgotten" and whoever can say they did it or say a fact about that tradition (how it got started, etc) then gets to list their tradition.

Mine tradition would be the whole carrying over the threshold thing...does anyone do that anymore?? If you do--did you do it for your first night together/honeymoon or your house?

[garnet]

I don't know, but I do know that the bride stands at the grooms left because traditionally the groom wanted his sword arm free to defend his bride.

[MrsGrady08]

DH carried me over the thresh hold!! We didn't live together before so he did it when we came into our home. It wasn't something I had to do but as we were walking in, he told me to wait. He opened the door and said ok come here. It was fun and cute and Im glad we did it.:grinhappy:

[mitch]

Dunno. I've forgotten them all. :rofl:

As for the Carrying Over The Threshold bit. FH has done that everytime we move House. So i've been carried Four Times already LOL.

[gwenshack]

I told FH that he has to carry me over the threshold. Not so much for tradition sake, but cuz he's not so much a fan of picking me up...haha. :)

As for other traditions...well...I'm trying to quash as many as possible. I'm even junking the bouquet toss, which I would have done, but I realized there would only be like 2 single women and I'm not a big fan of putting my only 2 single friends on the spot like that!

[mitch]

I wonder how many Brides have a Little Boy dressed as a Chimney Sweep at their Wedding.
I've only seen One in My Lifetime.

A uniquely British, and somewhat unusual, superstition is having a chimney sweep present at the wedding for good luck; it is not unknown for some couples employ a sweep to attend their wedding. This apparently dates back to the time of King George III3 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3383633#footnote3). The king was riding his horse in a royal procession when a dog suddenly appeared and started biting his horse's legs, causing him to lose control of his rearing mount. A man rushed out from the crowd, regained control of the horse, and disappeared back into the crowd. Later, when the procession had ended, the King wanted to thank personally the man he believed had saved his life. All that he could discover about the mystery man was his occupation, that of a chimney sweep. The king decreed that from that day all chimney sweeps should be considered as lucky.

[scarymary48]

I get carried over random thresholds all the time. The thresholds of friends, relatives, houses open for inspection, resturants and shoe shops, I've been carried over them all. He thinks it's funny.

[Ohio888Bride]

My dad passed a long time ago, but my uncles recently told me that my "intended" did not ask their permission to marry me. I told them too bad, but my "intended" is my "already", so it's too late. :p

[Ohio888Bride]

How many forgotten wedding traditions can you think of??

I was just sitting here pondering and it got me thinking...what about the whole carrying over the threshold thing? Does anyone do that anymore?

DH and I thought about it, but forgot to have him carry me over the threshold at our cabin. We were too busy taking pix. When we got back to our real home, we entered via his side of the garage and it never crossed our minds. I wonder if he can carry me over the threshold today? LOL!

[mitch]

DH and I thought about it, but forgot to have him carry me over the threshold at our cabin. We were too busy taking pix. When we got back to our real home, we entered via his side of the garage and it never crossed our minds. I wonder if he can carry me over the threshold today? LOL!

Yeah Go for it!!!

My FH carries the Shopping. And that's good enough for Me :rofl:

[Ohio888Bride]

Mitch,

LOL! Every little bit helps, right? :bblol:

I just sent DH an IM asking if he'd carry me and he said yes. I wonder if I should put on my dress, etc.? LOL! Too bad DH's tux went back to the rental shop already.

All,

Here's a link that I found with forgotten wedding traditions www.weddingsgalore.com/traditions.html (http://www.weddingsgalore.com/traditions.html)

I like this one:

Age: The bride's age was computed from the day of their marriage, not from their day of birth in ancient Greece. I guess that would make me 14 days old! :grinhappy:

[mitch]

I like this one:

Age: The bride's age was computed from the day of their marriage, not from their day of birth in ancient Greece. I guess that would make me 14 days old! :grinhappy:

You don't look a Day over 10 :winktongue:

Oh wow, does that mean i'm not even born yet LOL.

[Ohio888Bride]

According to the ancient Greek tradition, you're still in the womb. :bblol:

We sure do start planning weddings early!

[bridal1]

Hmm, I think i have forgotten everything..!Lol...
I have small brain. :D

[Ohio888Bride]

I just realized that there are two threads with the same topic. Hmm... For a second, I thought the earlier posts today were deleted.

[horse345]

Yeah I don't know why it did that when I started this post...I thought I had only posted one?? But It might not have gone through and then later it did...haha not sure what I did! Sorry about that!

[Ohio888Bride]

Not a problem. I love this topic! Thanks for making it! :D

[kunkawasaki]

i think its good to discuss. But i never forgot my wedding traditions religion. I love it and i hope my wedding will be like that.

[WebLady]

I just realized that there are two threads with the same topic. Hmm... For a second, I thought the earlier posts today were deleted.

Yeah I don't know why it did that when I started this post...I thought I had only posted one?? But It might not have gone through and then later it did...haha not sure what I did! Sorry about that!
I merged the two threads and removed the double opening post ;)

We pretty much forgot all the typical traditions when we got married; I can't think of one that we did at all.

[WebLady]

I saw this one on Snoopes ...

Barring The Way

One familiar wedding custom is for guests to bar the way of the newly-married pair as they try to leave the church. A rope or chain is stretched across their path, and the bridegroom is made to pay a toll before being allowed to continue on with his bride. Money paid to clear the way is spent on drinks which must be used to toast the couple.

In much earlier times, the bride, groom, or both were made to jump over an obstacle immediately after the ceremony. Benches, chairs, and chains stretched across doorways, or even a locked churchyard gate could serve as the obstacle; what mattered was getting clear of it. (Sometimes it was permissible to lift the bride over the impediment, but the groom always had to do his own leaping.)

One explanation for barring is it represents in a concrete way the transition from single to married life by facing the newlyweds with an immediate and tangible threshold they must breach if they're to get on with their lives.
Source - snopes.com (http://www.snopes.com/weddings/customs/barring.asp)

I have never known anyone that did this. The closest thing I have ever seen was the saber arch thing some military weddings do where they stop the couple at the end and they have to kiss to pass ... then they smack the bride on the behind with a saber too!

I wonder if this is somehow where the jumping the broom thing evloved from.

[horse345]

You wouldn't catch me jumping over a bench or chairs in my wedding dress...that would leave me battered and bruised on the floor!

[EarlyBird]

i know its an italian tradition, but not sure if others do this. its something i wanted to do, for fun.. but we decided against it.

typically in order to see what kind of wife the women would be they would put things in the aisle to see what she did, it would mean what kind of wife they will be. for example, a crying child in the aisle, if the bride stopped and tried to help, she would be a good mother :)

i just love that little tradition

we ARE following the tradition (also might just be italian tradition but not sure) - i am wearing something green the night before the wedding around my groom.

[sandy03]

I don't know that it's a "forgotten" tradition, but I love the german wedding cup. Since we're not doing a traditional toast, I'm going to see if I can talk my FH into doing it at our reception. Even though neither of us have any obvious German ancestry, I'm from a German town and have always thought it was really neat.
Here is a link to the story and has a picture of the cup.http://www.german-toasting-glasses.com/bridal_cups/nuernberg_bridal_cup_story.html

[MrsKittyManes]

We're going to be using an Irish Oathing Stone in our wedding. The couple puts their hands together to hold a stone from Ireland while saying their vows to "set them in stone" then whenever they fight in their married life you're supposed to take out the stone to remember your vows to each other.

[mitch]

We're going to be using an Irish Oathing Stone in our wedding. The couple puts their hands together to hold a stone from Ireland while saying their vows to "set them in stone" then whenever they fight in their married life you're supposed to take out the stone to remember your vows to each other.

Or throw it at Your Spouse :rofl:

[Whitewater]

I'm not seeing a whole lot mentioned about this one anymore:

Back in the day (and I mean, WAY back) folks used to believe in herbs having spiritual or 'witchy' powers -- not just physical properties -- so much so that it was common for young maidens to try to use herbs to divine information about their weddings, everything from when it would happen to who would be their husbands. One such herb is yarrow -- there are still a couple existing little couplets and directions on how to use yarrow to divine your true love. One I know involves tossing yarrow stalks into the air and reading the pattern when they come down, another involves a mixture of herbs and honey which the girl is supposed to anoint herself with (yuck!) while saying an incantation.

But the specific tradition that I'm thinking of is giving a piece of your wedding cake to any unmarried woman who attended your wedding and have her sleep with it under her pillow that night. According to ancient tradition and lore, when she does that, she will dream of her future husband. I've never heard of this actually working.

Seems like, nowadays people give the cake away if they have too much of it lying around, but nobody remembers to dream over it :)

I personally have never put a slice of somebody else's wedding cake under my pillow, but I've never dreamed about any eligible men, either (though often Hugh Jackman troubles my dreams . . . :innocent: ) . Personally I'd be afraid that the cake would stain the pillowcase and sheets, but maybe they wrapped it in a towel or something back then. Today, of course, we can always put it in a plastic bag!


Whitewater

[Moon.Dust.]

I wonder how many Brides have a Little Boy dressed as a Chimney Sweep at their Wedding.
I've only seen One in My Lifetime.

A uniquely British, and somewhat unusual, superstition is having a chimney sweep present at the wedding for good luck; it is not unknown for some couples employ a sweep to attend their wedding. This apparently dates back to the time of King George III3 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3383633#footnote3). The king was riding his horse in a royal procession when a dog suddenly appeared and started biting his horse's legs, causing him to lose control of his rearing mount. A man rushed out from the crowd, regained control of the horse, and disappeared back into the crowd. Later, when the procession had ended, the King wanted to thank personally the man he believed had saved his life. All that he could discover about the mystery man was his occupation, that of a chimney sweep. The king decreed that from that day all chimney sweeps should be considered as lucky.
And now... I have the Marry Poppins song stuck in my head.

[Moon.Dust.]

We're going to be using an Irish Oathing Stone in our wedding. The couple puts their hands together to hold a stone from Ireland while saying their vows to "set them in stone" then whenever they fight in their married life you're supposed to take out the stone to remember your vows to each other.
I may steal this!

[ksherlin]

My grandmother told me that traditionally the bride had bridesmaids who all would wear white in order to confuse the evil spirits. It was supposed to bring good on the couple's marriage... I was going to have mine wear white with a red sash until I saw them with my white gown... They will be wearing red with white sashes now...lol

[DecknAshley68]

Weblady mentioned the jumping of the broom. From what I learned of that, it is an African tradition that is meant to sweep away the "dirt" of the previous life and begin the new life together clean. We had planned on the jumping of the broom--as I am divorced of my first marriage and thought that would be a way of "clearing the dirt" of my previous life in a symbolic way.

Another one I heard that I don't think anybody here would ever do--they used to take the wedding cake and break it over the Bride's head!! Sure, they get all dolled up, fancy dress, ready for the honeymoon, just to have cake smashed into their hair and all over their face and clothes. The men then---jeesh. Must be where the smashing cake in the face comes in? At least now, the Bride has just the same chance to do it too.

[melissa1031]

Here's a old tradition that i won't be using.

An Old English custom was while the bride and groom were in their bridal chamber, the wedding guests would sneak into the chamber picking up discarded stockings and throwing them at the couple. Whoever flung a stocking that hung on the bride or groom’s nose, would be the next to marry.