Posted by Gino Fillipone From the first recorded wedding, around 2350 B.C.E., in Mesopotamia, to current wedding ceremonies all over the world, there are many different marriage traditions that have stood the test of time. Though many traditions come and go, there are some classic customs that have been around longer than you think (and we still see in many wedding ceremonies today)! As a wedding planner, one of my favorite things is seeing which styles and traditions stay and go. It is fun to see how a bride and groom incorporate old traditions and new ones into their special day. The exchanging of rings dates back to the rule of the Egyptian Empire. It is said that Egyptians wove grass into circular bands and exchanged them at weddings as a symbol of never ending love. During the reign of the Roman Empire, the Romans believed that wedding rings symbolized eternal love and that the vein from the ring finger ran directly to the heart. Throughout the last four to five thousand years, rings have been made out of everything from bone, leather and ivory, to iron and gold, and worn on all different fingers on both the left and right hands.

Today, the wedding ring industry circulates billions of dollars from manufacturers to jewelers every year and the circular wedding ring is still a representation of eternal love and devotion. Currently, the most popular materials for wedding rings are gold, silver and platinum. Though many people believe that the wedding ring should be worn on the left ring finger, many European and Eastern European countries wear their wedding rings on the right ring finger. And in Jewish tradition,  the wedding ring is placed on the index finger instead of the ring finger. The wedding bouquet has been a staple part of the wedding ceremony stating back to ancient Greece and Rome. Back then, the bouquet was a symbol of fertility and consisted of herbs, orange blossoms and even bunches of garlic. The aromatic scents were thought to ward off evil spirits that wanted to harm the bride on her special day. Now, the custom of carrying a bridal bouquet is mostly just done out of historical tradition.

At today’s weddings the tossing of the bridal bouquet implies that whoever catches it will be the next to wed. This tradition started in England and was said to be a way that the bride could pass her good fortune to others. Back in the day, people would rip pieces of the bride’s gown off for a keepsake of her good luck. In order to end this tradition, brides began to throw their bouquets to the crowd to keep their guests at bay. The tradition of brides wearing white dresses on their wedding day may seem like an age-old tradition or a societal trend, but it is actually more modern than you may think. A white wedding dress was made popular in the 1800s by Queen Victoria. In the past, brides wore dark rich colors to symbolize their wealth. Velvet, silks and furs were worn by the nobility, basically material of a wedding dress reflected one’s social standing. In the 19th century, wearing white symbolized purity and virginity. After Queen Victoria wore white to her wedding in 1840, it has been the trend and norm to do the same.

Today, wearing a white dress on your wedding day is most popular in Western cultures; whereas, Non-Western cultures prefer to wear bright colors, fabrics and patterns that have historical and cultural significance. Though it is not as common for a bride to wear a veil at a wedding ceremony today, wearing a veil over the hair and face was a symbol of virginity and a crucial part of any wedding ceremony before the twentieth century. Historians have found that the bridal veil dates back to ancient Rome and the Romans believed it was a way of protecting the bride from evil spirits on her special day. Toilet Bowl Paint InsideMore speculatory beliefs state that the veil was a way of keeping the groom from backing out of an arranged marriage if he did not like what he saw.Patio Furniture Stores West Palm Beach Now, the lifting of the veil was a symbol of “giving away” a bride and the pivotal point of a wedding when the bride’s beauty is unveiled (pun intended). T Shirt Classified Ads

At most twenty-first century weddings the face veil is removed or a veil is not worn. The use of a wedding veil seems to come and go with fashion and celebrity trends.The requested URL /classes/winter04/cs240A/notes/temporal/Teemings%20-%20Issue%206%20-%20A%20History%20of%20Anglo-Saxon%20Wedding%20Customs%20by%20Arden%20Ranger.htm was not found on this server.The largest wedding attendance was a Jewish wedding in Jerusalem in 1993 where 30,000 people attended. The most expensive wedding was the one held in a purpose-built stadium in Dubai for a Shiek's son. The wedding cost over £22 million. The longest wedding dress train was found in Germany, it measured over 515 feet. Tuck a sugar cube into your glove -- according to Greek culture, the sugar will sweeten your union. Rain on your wedding day is actually considered good luck, according to Hindu tradition! For good luck, Egyptian women pinch the bride on her wedding day. Peas are thrown at Czech newlyweds instead of rice.

A Swedish bride puts a silver coin from her father and a gold coin from her mother in each shoe to ensure that she'll never do without. A Finnish bride traditionally went door-to-door collecting gifts in a pillowcase, accompanied by an older married man who represented long marriage. Moroccan women take a milk bath to purify themselves before their wedding ceremony. In Holland, a pine tree can be planted outside the newlyweds' home as a symbol of fertility and luck. Engagement and wedding rings are worn on the fourth finger of the left hand because it was once thought that a vein in that finger led directly to the heart. Diamonds set in gold or silver became popular as betrothal rings among wealthy Venetians toward the end of the fifteenth century. Snake rings dotted with ruby eyes were popular wedding bands in Victorian England - the coils winding into a circle symbolized eternity. Queen Victoria started the Western world's white wedding dress trend in 1840 - before then, brides simply wore their best dress.