11 — Traditions
The strange, ancient, and surprisingly practical reasons behind the things we still do at weddings — from Roman crumbs to medieval swords, told by a Newcastle wedding photographer who watches them happen.
Highland ScotlandIn some versions of the custom, a man in disguise was deliberately included among the decoy brides purely to heighten the groom's confusion and the crowd's laughter.
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Ancient Rome & Medieval EuropeIn early Anglo-Saxon marriage law, the aisle escort doubled as a public legal witness to the dowry handover — essentially a live contract signing disguised as a romantic gesture.
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Medieval PeriodThe phrase "baker's dozen" may have originated from medieval bakers adding an extra bun to wedding stacks to avoid accusations of short-changing customers.
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Victorian EnglandThe rhyme's often-forgotten final line — a silver sixpence in her shoe — was meant to ensure the couple's future wealth, and some families still tuck a coin into the bride's shoe today.
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Post-war ItalyIn some Italian villages the groom's tie is cut into dozens of tiny strips so that nearly every guest can buy a piece and toast to the couple's future wealth.
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Ancient Rome & Medieval EuropeThe word 'threshold' comes from the Old English 'þerscold' — the board at the door that held the threshed grain inside the house. A bride who tripped on it was said to have offended the household spirits, so she was carried over the very thing the word is named for.
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Ancient RomeThe word 'nuptials' comes from the Latin 'nubere' — which literally means 'to veil.' The Roman bride was said to be 'veiled for marriage,' and the veil was so central to the ceremony that the word for wedding became the word for the act of veiling.
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Celtic BritainThe phrase 'tying the knot' comes from handfasting — an ancient Celtic ritual where a couple's bound hands sealed a trial marriage lasting a year and a day, after which they could choose to stay together or walk away, no fault, no shame.
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Ancient RomeThe wedding kiss began as a legal seal — in ancient Rome, a kiss was the binding signature that finalised a contract, and the marriage kiss was the moment the union became law. No kiss, no marriage.
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Medieval EuropeThe garter toss began as medieval guests storming the bridal chamber to steal the bride's garter as proof the marriage had been consummated — grooms started throwing it themselves to draw the crowd away from the bride.
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Ancient Greece & RomeThe first wedding bouquets were bundles of garlic, dill and rosemary — carried to repel evil spirits, not to smell sweet. Flowers didn't take over the bouquet until the Victorians turned them into a coded language.
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Ancient EgyptThe first wedding rings were braided from papyrus and hemp in ancient Egypt, worn on a 'vein of love' the Romans believed ran directly from the ring finger to the heart — a vein that never existed, on a finger we still use.
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Early Medieval EuropeThe best man originally stood to the groom's right, sword drawn, to defend against the bride's family if they tried to take her back by force.
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Medieval FranceThe bouquet toss began as a decoy — brides threw their flowers to distract guests from literally tearing the bride's dress to pieces for good luck.
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Ancient RomeBridesmaids originally dressed identically to the bride — not to complement her, but to confuse evil spirits who couldn't tell which woman was the actual bride.
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Ancient RomeIn ancient Rome, the groom broke barley bread over the bride's head and guests ate the crumbs for luck — the original wedding cake was a fertility ritual you ate off the floor.
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