I've been on the hunt lately for old wives tales that pertain to weddings, don't ask why, I couldn't tell you. I can almost say it's been somewhat of an obsession for me. Perhaps it's because reading some of these things makes me shake my head and laugh or because I do slightly believe in some of it. I've never been super superstitious but it is fun nonetheless to read and to share with the bride and grooms to be. Makes you wonder how some of these ever came about. Some folks are entirely too imaginative!
One saying for the day of the week you are married goes like this:
Monday for health,
Tuesday for wealth,
Wednesday best of all,
Thursday for losses,
Friday for crosses, and
Saturday no luck at all!
The next tidbit relates to what month you are married:
Married when the year is new and he'll be loving, kind and true.
When February birds do mate, you wed nor dread your fate.
If you wed when March winds blow, joy and sorrow both you'll know.
Marry in April when you can, joy for maiden and for man.
Marry in the month of May and your surely rue the day.
Marry while June roses grow, over land and sea you'll go.
Those who in July do wed, must labor for their daily bread.
Whoever wed in August be, many a change is sure to see.
Marry in September's shrine, you'll be living rich and fine.
If in October you do marry, love will come but riches will tarry.
If you wed in bleak November, only joys will come remember.
When December snows fall fast, marry and true love will last.
Then there is the issue of colors:
Married in white, you have chosen right.
Married in grey, you'll go far away.
Married in black, you'll wish yourself back.
Married in red, you'll wish yourself dead. (NOT a fan of this one)
Married in green, ashamed to be seen.
Married in blue, you'll always be true.
Married in pearl, you'll live in a whirl.
Married in yellow, ashamed of your fellow.
Married in brown, you'll live out of town.
Married in pink, your spirit will sink.
Here are some random things that denote good or bad luck on your wedding day:
Bad Luck:
For the groom to see the bride before the wedding.
If the groom drops the wedding band during the ceremony.
To practice writing your new married name before the wedding.
To wear your complete outfit before the ceremony (many brides often leave one stitch out of their dress to ward off this superstition)
Good Luck:
To see a black cat on your wedding day.
For it to rain.
Seeing a rainbow.
Meeting a chimney sweep (not likely in this day in age).
To see a police man.
Superstitions - Things we can do to help:
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a sixpence in her shoe!
For good luck, the first gift the bride opens should be the first gift she uses.
The new bride must enter the home through the front door and must not trip or fall (why we get carried over the threshold).
It is said that looking in the mirror just before you leave your home for the ceremony is good luck. However, any peek in the mirror after that before the ceremony will bring bad luck.
And lastly, some random factoids to expand our mind for the day:
It is believed that at your shower the person who gave you the 3rd gift you opened will be the next to become pregnant.
If a girl sleeps with a piece of the wedding cake under her pillow she will dream of her future husband.
You always hear of ladies wanting to be a "June Bride". This actually dates back to the 1400's because May is when people took their annual bath. So then in June, everyone would smell fresh. In Roman times, May was a bad month to get married because that is when the Feast of the Dead occurrs.
Brides used to wear silver. It was Queen Victoria who defied this tradition and wore white. All of her subjects wanted to be in fashion and copied the Queen resulting in a new tradition of white wedding gowns.
The veil now represents purity. But in the days of old it was to trick the evil spirits from seeing the bride.
Having bridesmaids all dressed alike was to trick the evil spirits into not knowing which one was the bride. When this tradition was in it's prime, the bridesmaids would wear white along with the bride to trick those pesky spirits.
Again with the evil spirits - tying cans to the back of the newlywed's car came from tying items on the back of horse carriages to make noise to scare away the evil spirits.
Superstition says that the first person to buy an item after the marriage will be the dominant one in the relationship. And as a result of this, many brides arrange to purchase something from one of their bridesmaids immediately following the ceremony.
I love this last fact! Shows how smart the brides can be since the groom didn't come up with it!
Well that is all I have for today. I hope this gives you some wedding conversation starters. Now when your husband to be complains that all you care about is flowers and dresses you can tell him that you care about your future very much and you need those colored flowers to ensure your future happiness :) Do you like how I can justify just about anything?
