Wedding Attire

Bridal gowns are less ornate that the traditional Western style dress. Anything fancy would require a special trip to a major city and be very expensive.

Brides rarely kept their gowns for their daughters; they either sold them or had the fabric used to make their first child's Christening gown. Wear "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, and a lucky sixpence in your shoe," as in the old English rhyme.

Lisa Schultz told us of her family's tradition: "All of the brides on my mother's side of the family have carried over their arms horseshoes for good luck. The horseshoes, rather than being actual metal plates, are crocheted and a long ribbon is attached in a loop from end to end. The horseshoe is worn upside down over the arm of the bride during the wedding to bring luck to the marriage."

Today, it is the custom to have many young bridesmaids instead of adult attendants. The bride pays for her attendant's outfits.

The bridegroom rarely wears a tuxedo - only at a very large, formal wedding. Business suits are normal. The bridegroom has a best man, who also wears a business suit.

The mother of the bride and the mother of the bridegroom never confer on outfit colors, nor do they take into consideration the bridesmaid colors.

Wedding Lore

Traditionally, the safest season to marry was between the harvest and Christmas, when food was plentiful. An old English rhyme says "Marry in September's shine, your living will be rich and fine."

Folklore has it that prior to the wedding, the bride must not allow her married name to be used before the wedding takes place, or it might never happen.

It is customary for the bride to be given a decorative horseshoe, which she carries on her wrist. These days the horseshoes are rarely real, but instead light-weight versions manufactured specifically for weddings. The horseshoe is given for good luck.

In the seventeenth century, wheat was cast at the head of the bride when she came from church. Now days its customary to throw colorful paper confetti or rice at the bride and groom as they leave the church after the ceremony.

In the north of England, one of the oldest inhabitants of the neighborhood would be standing on the threshold of the bride's new home. She would toss a plateful of short-bread over her head, so that it falls outside. Guests scramble for a piece of this short-bread as it is considered very fortunate to get a piece.

In Gloucestershire, in the early eighteenth century, a large cake was broken over the heads of the couple. In Aberdeenshire, barley is thrown over the bridal pair as they enter the feasting-place.

In Wales, the bride was always carefully lifted over the threshold on her return from the marriage ceremony because "it was considered very unlucky for a bride to place her feet on or near the threshold" and "trouble was in store for the maiden who preferred walking into the house".


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