20 Amazing facts you did not know about weddings
1. ‘’You may now kiss the bride”, comes from the Roman era. In those days, a kiss was a legal bond which sealed contracts. A groom and bride often never kissed before their wedding day. To seal this union therefore a wedding kiss was required. Kissing your bride is therefore not romantic or religious but a requirement by law.
2. 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.
3. Ancient Greeks and Romans thought the veil protected the bride from evil spirits. Brides have worn veils ever since.
4. Queen Victoria started the white wedding dress trend in 1840. Before then, brides simply wore their best dress.
5. The world’s biggest cake weighed over 6.8 tonnes.
6. The word ‘’honeymoon’’ comes from the old English words ‘’hony’’ which refers to the sweetness of the beginning of a new marriage and ‘’moone’’ relating to how long that sweetness lasts following the waning moon in the lunar cycle.
7. In Cuba, every man who dances with the bride must pin money to her dress to help pay for the wedding and honeymoon.
8. The longest recorded marriage lasted 91 years and 12 days.
9. For hundreds of years wedding rings were worn on the right and not the left. It was believed the left hand was unhappy and unreliable.
10. In ancient China, eyebrows are considered highly attractive causing the practice of shaving the bride’s eyebrows so that other men don’t become infatuated.
11. In France, instead of a fruit-filled wedding cake being the star dessert, at most weddings, you’ll be served a pastry such as a croquembouch.
12. There was a belief in the middle ages that the first unmarried person of the opposite sex you met on the morning of Valentine’s Day would become your spouse.
13. In older civilizations, which were adopted by UK wedding traditions, the marriage ceremony consisted of hand fasting, literally binding the couple’s hands together with a rope. This is where we get the term ‘’Tie the Knot’’
14. In Egypt, brides were pinched for good luck by all their guests.
15. In the middle ages, bridal bouquets used to have herbs instead of flowers, such as thyme, lavender and even garlic, which was thought to ward off evil.
16. Tiered wedding cakes used to be available only for the wealthy, so most people would add a decorative vase to add height. That’s likely why we use cake stands nowadays
17. Before church marriages were a thing, couples often sought sacred places in nature to wed, such as a hilltop or cliff, where the earth supposedly meets heaven.
18. In eastern cultures of Asia especially India and China, white wedding dresses are uncommon because white is the colour of mourning.
19. Ancient Egyptians had trial marriages to check the fertility of women. If she gets pregnant during this period which usually lasted a year, the trial would end and the couple would get married.
20. In Chinese culture, lilies are believed to bring sons to a family; as a result, these flowers are often given to women on their wedding day or on birthdays.
Let us know in the comments below which fact you found most amusing.
