Wedding traditions are just like any other traditions. The first time you go to your fiancé’s house for their family thanksgiving celebration, although the traditional turkey is there maybe the gravy is made differently. Maybe they have mashed potatoes rather than baked potatoes. Every family has their own version of traditions that are passed down through the years. Weddings are just like that.

Everyone getting married uses traditions they have seen at the weddings they have been to, weddings they have participated in, or those important to their parents. Seeing as how weddings and the accompanying traditions are as different as the couples getting married, we wanted to share some of the meanings behind each of them. This way you can choose the ones that are right for you!

So it’s time to pick your bridesmaids and groomsmen. Who will be a good fit? Will they be able to be there through every appointment? Can they be available to share your ideas and dreams? Will they be willing to take on such a big role in your special day? Although the bridal party is typically all of your best friends and possibly closest siblings there to have fun with you and help to share the day with you, back in Roman times the meaning was entirely different.

In those times the groomsmen had the responsibility to surround the bride and make sure no other man from another village could come and steal the bride away from her husband. Talk about having your friend’s back! The bridesmaids were to make sure that they dressed up in attire similar to the bride in order to confuse any evil spirits and keep them from putting an evil spell on her. The friends of the bride and groom did this to make sure the bride and groom made it through their wedding day and lived happily ever after.

So why is the wedding ring worn on the fourth finger of the left hand? Traditionally it has always been said that the exchange of a ring is a symbol of everlasting love. Seeing as how every bride and groom exchange rings and place them on the other’s left hand fourth finger, no one ever questions it. Like your Mother in Law’s gravy, no one asks and everyone just eats it. The reasoning behind the specific placement of the wedding ring is very simple. They traditionally believed that the finger was a direct connection to the heart seeing as how the vein in that finger links directly to your heart.

Surprise!!! Bridal showers today are a great way to celebrate before a wedding, by showering the couple with gifts to help them start their new life together. These gifts often include items like a brand-new toaster oven, a coffee maker, gift cards, and even money for their honeymoon.

The tradition of a bridal shower actually originates from Holland. When a bride’s father did not approve of the husband-to-be, he also refused to provide her with the necessary dowry for her to be married. For this reason the bride’s friends would throw her a party showering her with the dowry that the father of the bride would not provide. Seeing as how the dowry was essentially the money and property given with a bride in marriage to protect her in the case of divorce or the death of her husband, those items given to the bride by friends as described above would not have been the traditional bridal shower gifts we see today. The tradition has transformed a great deal over the years.

This is the memorable tradition of the father giving away his lovely daughter on her wedding day. We have all shed a tear while watching a father kiss his daughter for the last time before she becomes a married woman. Giving away the bride now is something very special to the bride on her big day! For a bride to know her father gives his blessing shows her that she has the support of her family as she starts her new journey.

However, in the ancient times the reason for giving away the bride didn’t have the same meaning. At that time girls were actually seen as the property of their fathers until they were given in marriage to another man’s household. When the time came to hand over his lovely daughter it was an actual approved arrangement of ownership. Where is the love?