Wedding Traditions and Customs

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

The wedding custom which relates to the saying “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a silver sixpence in your shoe” is one which has been around for years. In keeping with this saying, the bride is supposed to collect all of these items for her wedding day and somehow incorporate them into her attire, accessories, etc. The purpose behind doing so is different for each part of the phrase.

Something old represents the future closeness of the couple and their friends. As for the something new portion, this relates to the couple’s happy future. Something borrowed deals with family ties and borrowing a family heirloom of sorts whereas something blue represents fidelity. Lastly, the silver sixpence in the shoe is to represent wealth in the married couple’s future life together. Compared with many other wedding customs, this one is a widely known custom.

Bride Wearing White on her Wedding Day

The wearing of a white dress by the bride on her wedding day is a custom that has only been around since about the 16th century. At that time, it was mainly the wealthy women coming from the best families who wore white to their wedding as opposed to the usual silver gown. This came to represent maidenhood and today women who wear white to their wedding look at that color in relation to purity.

Luck and the Wedding Dress

There are other customs which relate to a bride-to-be’s wedding dress. The groom is not supposed to see the bride in her wedding dress until she walks down the aisle as it is thought to be bad luck. In addition, the bride should not make her own wedding dress nor should she wear the complete ensemble until she is ready to leave for the church on her wedding day. Should a bride do so, it is thought to bring on bad luck.

Truth or Folklore

Whether these customs mentioned above have any truth to them is up to personal interpretation. They are customs and superstitions which have been handed down from generation to generation. They can be as true or as unbelievable as the individual feels them to be. Customs which were applied religiously in the past may have faded in the background in today’s world. It is still interesting to consider the various customs which have permeated throughout the centuries and consider whether there might be any truth to customs of this kind.