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Some love tradition and try to incorporate traditional phrases, ideas, crafts, and well...traditions in general, into everything they do...Some don't! Whichever stand you take, traditions do seem to stick around and with weddings this is especially true! ( : I was just reading over a few of the Facebook Wedding Sites I frequent and saw a few posts about Traditions this morning and saw one I never heard of and then it made me realize are there other's I don't know about? ( : Turns out most I knew, but how definitely threw me on a few! Let's see if you knew al these and if you know anymore...please add them to the bottom of this blog! ( :

HERE ARE SOME OF THE KNOWN AND NOT SO KNOWN WEDDING TRADITIONS!

Real Look Floral Design ! All My Heart Events

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue...

I am sure most of you know this tradition, since it has stood the test of time and I don't know many traditional brides, who don't follow this phrase to a tee in fears of jinxing their wedding to be. I know I did and all my friends did as well! We were not about to tempt fate! ( : Apparently, this good luck saying dates back to Victorian times! ( :

The old is the link to the bride's family and her past. Antique family jewelry is a good choice to cover this need. "Something New" is said to bring good fortune and success to the brides new married life (everyone needs that!) ( : The wedding gown can usually cover this item. Something borrowed helps the bride remember her friends and family always have her back and be covered by anything a friend or loved one chooses to lend to the bride! Finally, something blue reminds us to be faithful and loyal. Most brides choose the garter for this part, unless of course your bridal bouquet is blue, as one of my brides was, then you can choose to wear a San Francisco 49ers garter instead! How fun is that? ( :

A Wedding Serenade...A Time Honored Tradition for Italian Families in South Philly...

The first time I heard of this tradition, was this morning, on my friend Sar La's Facebook Wedding Page - Brides-to-be. One of her members, Adriana Beginis, was asking others about whether she should do a Serenade at her destination wedding location! She got my curiosity peaked...What was a Serenade? What is it...well, this is what I found out, compliments of Google, Adriana, and The Daily Bridal Diary...

Apparently, the groom and his men are supposed to come to the Bride's Mother's house, the night before the wedding, since that's where the bride's supposed to still reside until the wedding day, to serenade her with a love song and profess his want to marry to her parents. How cool is this? I want a do-over and want to get serenaded at my old mom and dad's house! I love this! ( : Thanks Adriana for opening u my eyes and mind to a new cool tradition, one I will pass on for other's to try! ( : Love it! ( :

The Bachelor Party...

Or as it used to be referred to, the Bachelor Dinner or Stag Party as also stood the test of time as something most grooms would not miss partaking in and most brides wish would go away, quickly! LOL! ) : Apparently, it's been around a while, though, ladies, since the time of Sparta in the 5th century...hmmm...that makes sense somehow! Known as the groom's "last taste of freedom", most grooms bridal party groomsmen take them out for a crazy, adventurous night, hopefully not too crazy, and sow the groom's wild oats one last time. Most are pretty rowdy and boisterous, but it is a tradition that will likely last for while! ( :

The Bachelorette Party...

On the flip side is one of the latest wedding traditions to hit the scene...the Bachelorette Party. Late to the table, but more awesome than ever and so necessary for the bride to let off some steam of her own! It is an awesome night out for girl's to have their fun and get down and party their way! It can range from renting a house on the beach and making a whole weekend of it, taking a trip to Las Vegas (because we all know what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, to everything in between! It is not an event to be missed, that's for sure! ( :

Wedding Bouquet ~ All My Heart Events

The Wedding Bouquet

The earth laughs in flowers; A flower is love looking for a word.,,

From the bouquets humble beginnings (herbs, garlic wreaths, yes garlic wreaths - yum, not... to wheat for fertility...too soon, or dill to inspire lust) the bouquet was definitely an important assessory and still is for every bride. Today's blooms range from fresh to silk, to latex, to even wood...yes, wood! ( : All My Heart Events is going to join the trend and start making Eco-Wood Flower Bouquets soon, as well as it's beautiful Real Look Silk and Latex Flower Designs, so make sure not to forget this wonderfully beautiful assessory for your special day and call All My Heart Events for all your Eventon meanings all their own. Desiring happiness (who isn't?)...don't forget to add some silk or eco-wood Orange blossoms for happiness and fertility (when you are ready for this) to your arrangements and/or bouquet! ( :

The Best Man "Many centuries ago, before the women's rights movement, men who wanted a wife, sometimes had to steal her from a nearby village, whether she or her family agreed! This was probably started by the Germanic Goths, no not the Goth around the corner from you, and it was difficult for the groom to do this alone, so he started to ask his best friend (or best man) to join him, because he sometimes had to a little fighting to get his new bride! ( : So, the future groom would be accompanied by another male to help him fulfill the dastardly deed! LOL! ( : I don't think this would go over well in today's world, do you, girls? Not at all! ) :

Wedding Flowers ~ All My Heart Events

Giving Away The Bride

This is a very ancient tradition, possibly 1000's of years old. Apparently, the daughter of a family was considered property at this time and the groom had to pay the father to marry his daughter! Hmmmm...another lovely tradition! I am sure glad we brides live in this day and age. We were not treated very nicely in the olden days. However, most brides are okay with this tradition today, not for the same reason, but as a way to show your parent and/or parents agree to your marriage and are giving you away to your new husband (not like the Best man tradition above where the groom stole the bride...a slight bit nicer! ( :

Shoes Tied on the Car Bumper

Well...there appears to be common theme here and the bride's are not getting the best end of all these tradition deals! ) : But, bridal shoes were apparently tied to the bumper (or carriage, in the olden days) to symbolize the dad giving the groom the brides shoes, so she could not run away from him! Personally, not having shoes would not have stopped me if I lived in this time period! LOL! ( : Thankfully, today, this tradition sometimes continues (shoes or cans), to keep bad juju away and evil spirits from getting the bride and groom! Kind of crazy, but I like this one! LOL! ( :

Carrying The Bride Over The Threshold

Boy, we brides sure did get the short end of the stick, didn't we? ) : It seems that a long time ago, brides were supposed to be afraid to give themselves to their husbands (thank goodness for women's lib! Geesh), so the husband carried her in the house, because she was either not going in and/or she was supposed to pretend she did not want to go in. I am guessing didn't want to go in by what I have read so far, but...just saying! ( :

Veils

The veil can be traced back to Roman times, were it was a symbol of purity, but also doubled as her bridal shroud, since it covered her from head to toe...pleasant...not! Well, they got their money's worth with their veils, though, didn't they?!! ( :

It was also used to purposely cover the brides face, until the groom had married her (I like this tradition, so for once the bride had the upper hand during the bridal ceremony and too bad for the groom, if she was less than attractive, it was too late! LOL! ( :

Wedding Bouquets ~ All My Heart Events

The White Wedding Dress

"In biblical days, blue (not white) represented purity, and the bride and groom would wear a blue band around the bottom of their wedding attire (hence "something blue"). The Greeks are often associated with white for the wedding dress - they used white robes to symbolize youth, joy and purity. Despite this, white wedding dresses have not always been the fashion. In the Middle Ages the white wedding dress was once again made popular by Anne of Brittany, in 1499 -- they were again supposed to symbolize virginity."

Today, white is still the most popular color for brides to wear, but there are quite a few pastel shades hitting the market, which are gaining popularity, you go brides...where what you like! ( : I am particularly to champagne colored gowns...they are sooo pretty. Some brides today even marry in stronger colors and shades! ( :

Diamond Engagement Rings

Back to buying the bride. Apparently, a ring was often given to the bride to "buy" her hand in marriage. Well, that still happens today, but we brides expect a much bigger payout and ring...make sure to look at our Pinterest pages, before purchasing this special wedding item. Most brides have been dreaming and planning for this day for a long, long time and will take a lot of offense, if the ring is not decent enough to share on Facebook! ( :

The Ring Finger

All wedding and engagement rings are worn on the fourth finger of the left hand. Apparently, there is a vein in this finger, which ancient Romans believed went directly to the heart. So, I guess it makes the love you feel on your wedding day keep flowing from your ring to your heart continuously! I like this one! ( :

The Bridal Garter

The garter from the bride comes from the ancient custom of witnesses at the marriage bed (to make sure the couple consummated the marriage); the witnesses would bring it forth as a sign of the witnessing. It became such a violation of privacy that eventually the bride would have the groom throw it to prove consummation. This is one of the oldest customs surviving wedding rituals.

Cake ~ The Kakery, Newington, CT

The Wedding Cake

This is hilarious...before the bouquet was thrown (All My Heart Events always throws this in for its brides for free, just saying! ( :), the wedding cake was thrown at the bride, instead of eaten for good luck! LOL! ( : Piles of cakes and breads were left on the side of the wedding event for the guests to throw during the ceremony! I am sure today's bakers would not like this tradition at all, I can assure you of that! LOL! ( : In fact, cakes did not start to get eaten until around 100 bc! It was thanks to a French Chef in the 1660's who was visiting a wedding in London and saw the cake piling/throwing ritual and transformed the pile of bread into the beautiful multi-layered cakes we see at wedding's today! Thank goodness! ( :

The Wine/Champagne Toast

Throughout time, wine was enjoyed for many events and many people considered drinking and toasting wine to mean a long life, vitality, love, plus wealth to those being toasted and prinking wine from a common cup, has been the intimate mark of deep sharing. "Entwined as the Vine. . . ." It can be celebrated intimately during the Ceremony between the bride & groom or it can be at the Reception or both! This is one tradition I expect to see stay and stay, because who doesn't love a glass of wine! ( :

Bridal Showers

This event has its roots in Holland. When a bride's father did not approve of the husband-to-be, he would not provide her with the necessary dowry. The bride's friends would therefore "shower" her with gifts, so she would have her dowry and thus marry the man of her choice. While dowries are long gone today, the practice of giving gifts to the bride-to-be remains.

Honeymoons

In ancient times, the Teutonic people began the practice of the honeymoon. Teutonic weddings were only held under the full moon. After the wedding, the bride and groom would drink honey wine for one full moon cycle (thirty days). This "moon" (i.e., "month") became known as the "honey moon." While the name survived, the purpose of the honeymoon changed. After the wedding, newlyweds would leave their family and friends to go and do what newlyweds are supposed to do. Today that purpose survives, only now a vacation is incorporated, usually to a romantic get-away locale.

Bridal Wreath ~ All My Heart Events

Bridal Wreath

An ivy wreath was used as the base brought to the bride and groom by the minister as a symbol of their undying love. Various friends and family members will add sprigs of various plants/flowers with their traditional or symbolic meanings related to marriage, building a wreath of flowers in the center of a circle ceremony, or on the altar before or beside the bride & groom. I like this one too and did not realize when I brides were purchasing wreaths for their sign-in tables, from me and All My Heart Events, they were actually following a time honored tradition. I think more brides should re-adopt this custom, and I actually really like the idea of adding certain flowers to the wreath to offer good luck and good health to the new bride and groom! Who wants to book this?!!! ( :

Last, But Not Least, Wedding Favors...

Do you know where the ideas for favors at the wedding came from? I don't think anyone has pinpointed where they came from for sure, however, they have become common tradition at most weddings you see now days. Here are a few traditions that you might find fun and interesting:

Jordan almonds, a favorite at most weddings, are centered on Middle Eastern weddings. Five pieces were given to each guest, to represent the five wedding wishes: fertility, health, wealth, happiness and longevity. The almond is candy coated representing the bitter and the sweet of marriage. Hmmm...very true, very true! ( :
Decorated eggs are a symbol of fertility for the couple with this Malaysian tradition...not sure I like this one.
Glass charms in the shape of an eye were given on the couples wedding day in this Greek tradition to protect them from bad luck. Nice, I like this one! Love the evil eye jewelry! ( :
"Bridal Sugar" is a Dutch favor tradition. It is given in sets of 5 cubes to represent: prosperity, virility, happiness, loyalty and of course love! Love sugar! ( :
In the Victorian Era, "party crackers" were very popular. Fun! ( : All good, except for maybe the egg! ( :

If you want to learn more about traditions for your wedding, or need to purchase Your Bridal Bouquet, Centerpieces, Wedding Wreath (yes, I have done these), Boutonniere's and Corsages...