WEDDING SUPERSTITIONS

Most wedding superstitions and traditions are amusing, and they can provide a certain amount of excitement to a wedding.

Hopefully, you will find some of this information to be useful in planning your wedding.

Listed below are a few wedding superstitions and traditions from around the world:

• If you find a small spider in your wedding gown, it represents money.
• It is tempting fate for the bride to see herself in a mirror by candlelight.
• It is bad luck for a bride to participate in the wedding rehearsal. She should use a stand-in
• It is bad luck to be late for your own wedding.
• If the bride carries a lump of sugar in her glove, she'll have a sweet married life.
• For good luck, the bride must shed tears just before the groom kisses her. If she does cry, she will never shed another tear about her marriage.

  Carrying a handkerchief that has been passed down through the generations is a great tradition.

  Also, some brides carry a handkerchief that they will later turn into a christening bonnet for their first child, which the child can later turn back into a handkerchief to carry at their wedding.

• The ceremonial kiss that closes the marriage ceremony is considered symbolic of an exchange of spirits as each new spouse breathes a part of the soul into the other.
• The groom must not see the bride until just before the ceremony. It is believed that bad luck can come their way if they lay eyes on each other. Apparently, they have glimpsed the future before it happened.
• Carrying the bride over the threshold is a precaution against the demons that haunt doorways. If the bride were to trip entering her new home, it would be an unfavorable omen.
• Every ribbon you break when opening wedding presents is said to represent the birth of a child.
• The chime of bells is thought to keep evil spirits away, restore harmony, and remind a couple of their wedding vows.

  For a unique idea arrange to have the church bells ring at the moment you kiss and are pronounced man and wife or hand out tiny bells to your guests to ring during the close of the wedding ceremony.

• It is bad luck to give a sharp object as a wedding gift.
• Some believe the wedding toast began in France where bread was placed in the bottom of two drinking glasses for the newlyweds.

  They would then drink as fast as they could to be the first person to get to the toast. The winner would rule the household.

• It is said that the first partner who buys a new item after the wedding will be the dominant one in the relationship.

  So, many brides ensure that they will make the first purchase by buying something small from a bridesmaid right after the ceremony.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN WEDDING CUSTOMS

• An African-American and Irish wedding superstition is broom jumping. Typically, the family places the broom on the ground, and the bride and groom jump over it together. The broom can later be used as a decoration in the couple's new home.

CELTIC WEDDING TRADITIONS

• There is a Celtic tradition where the couple puts their hands on a stone during their vows to “set them in stone”.

CHINESE WEDDING CUSTOMS

• A Chinese wedding superstition is to light firecrackers after the ceremony to chase any evil spirits away from the couple.
• As the traditional colors of happiness, love and wealth, red and gold are used throughout a Chinese ceremony from the invitations to the wedding dress. Also, any gifts of money to the newlyweds are presented in red envelopes.
• Red beads are sometimes tossed at newlyweds to bring them good luck.

• In some Eastern European ceremonies, the bride and groom will circle the altar three times, which represent their first steps together as husband and wife.

ENGLISH WEDDING TRADITIONS

• In England, brides would carry marigolds dipped in rosewater and would eat them later because it was thought to be an aphrodisiac.
• Another English tradition is for the bride to carry a horseshoe decorated with ribbons on one bent arm.

GREEK WEDDING CUSTOMS

• A Greek bride may carry sugar on her wedding day to ensure she has a sweet life. She may also carry ivy, as a symbol of endless love.

HAWAIIAN WEDDING CUSTOMS

• In Hawaii, the bride and groom will exchange leis. The family may also exchange leis with the couple. The leis represents the love and respect you have for the person you are giving it to.

IRISH WEDDING CUSTOMS

• It is an Irish tradition is to save a bottle of champagne from the reception to 'wet the baby's head' at the christening.
• An Irish bride has English lavender in her bouquet to bring luck and fulfill her wishes.
• Irish brides often braid their hair to bring good luck and to help them retain their female power.

ITALIAN WEDDING CUSTOMS

• An Italian custom is for the couple to break a glass during the reception. The number of pieces of shattered glass symbolize the years the happy couple will share together.
• The groom carries a piece of iron in his pocket on his wedding day to ward off evil spirits.

• A Korean wedding superstition is to incorporate ducks or geese into their wedding ceremony. Both ducks and geese mate for life and represent faithfulness.

SCOTTISH WEDDING CUSTOMS

• In Scotland one popular wedding superstition was for the bride to walk with the sun to bring her good luck. She would walk from east to west on the south side of the church and then continue walking around the church three times.

SPANISH WEDDING CUSTOMS

• A Spanish groom will give his bride thirteen coins in memory of Christ and the twelve apostles. The bride carries these in a small bag during the wedding ceremony as a symbol that the groom promises to support and care for her.

SWEDISH WEDDING CUSTOMS

• A Swedish bride will wear three bands on her wedding finger, one is an engagement ring, one the wedding ring and the third is a ring for motherhood.

WELSH WEDDING CUSTOMS

• In Welsh a bride gives her bridesmaids a cutting of myrtle-a symbol of love. The bridesmaid plants her myrtle and if it blooms, she will soon marry.

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