From the white dress to the cans dangling from the back bumper, you don't have to be a professional wedding planner to be aware there are countless traditions, rituals and superstitions that dictate wedding-day activities. As an experienced wedding photographer, I've seen (and chuckled over) more of these oddities than I could begin to mention. And yet many of the traditions and superstitions documented in today's wedding photographs go without any special notice. I'd like to highlight a few of them in today's blog:

Just about everyone knows it's considered bad luck for the bride to see the groom before she comes down the aisle, but did you know that today's most popular day for weddings -- Saturday -- was once considered among the least lucky days to get married?  Apparently at one time, Wednesday was considered the very best day to get married.  Today, of course, Saturday is the day most everyone has off work, so I guess with modern brides, practicality wins out over superstition.

Have you ever wondered why the groom traditionally stands on the bride's right side?  The custom began long ago when grooms sometimes needed to have their sword hands ready to fight off their brides' other suitors!  

The symbolism and superstitions surrounding the wedding dress alone are enough to fill a book.  Maybe you've been told it would be bad luck to make your own dress.  That would be the case, even if you sew for a living!  Very superstitious brides know you shouldn't try on your finished dress before the wedding.  Then, when you do finally put it on, superstition dictates that you don't look at yourself in the mirror before you walk down the aisle.  And, whatever you do, don't rip your dress once it's on--superstition has it that a ripped wedding dress foretells a disastrous end to the marriage. 

As for the tradition of the pure white bridal gown, I almost hesitate to point out, for fear of offending mothers and mothers-in-law alike, that the color has less to do with symbolizing purity than it does demonstrating wealth. The woman who started the white dress craze was afterall, none other than Queen Victoria.  Historians note that since at that time only wealthy people could afford clothing made of white fabric, the white wedding dress quickly became the "in" way to show off. Not to mention the fact the white wedding dress was meant to be worn only once--a luxury not many working class brides could afford.  In times gone by, some smart brides would buy a simple white dress for the wedding, then later dye it to a darker, more practical color.

When it comes to planning the rest of the wedding-day attire, what guidance could be more familiar to a bride-to-be than the time-honored poem "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue"?  Lately the traditional "blue" has often been represented by a lacy blue garter, tucked safely out of sight until the groom removes it at the reception.  I've been surprised to learn that for years, many people considered the luckiest "borrowed" item to be a veil, especially if it was borrowed from a happily married woman, say the bride's mother or grandmother (below).  Ideally, it would have been borrowed from a woman with many children, assuming the newlyweds wanted a big family.

For the very superstitious, the veil is still the one thing the bride MOST want s to avoid trying on before the wedding.  If you must see what it looks like on, and you don't want to take any chances, ask someone else to model it for you.  And since we're on the subject of the bridal veil, you may have wondered about the original reason for the custom.  I'm told early brides believe d they should keep their faces covered, to fool any evil spirits that might be lurking nearby.

Speaking of evil spirits, you can trace the custom of tying cans to the  going-away vehicle back to superstition. Some newlyweds of "yesteryear" thought the clanking noises on the road would scare any demons away! 

Much of the symbolism and tradition of the wedding event involves the issue of fertility. Back in "the day", couples were considered especially blessed if they had a house full of children--which explains the popularity of marriage ceremony customs like guests tossing rice and flower girl dropping rose petals as she precedes the bride down the aisle.  If you don't have

a flower girl, you can still give a nod to the tradition, by rolling out the aisle runner and scattering petals along the edges before the guests arrive. 

Many other wedding traditions are linked to the symbolism of marital unity and fidelity--one of the more familiar is the unity candle.  The same is true of the wedding rings, since the officiant rarely misses an opportunity to point out how the circular shape and the enduring nature of the gold symbolize both the eternity and purity of the marriage commitment. But less familiar is the superstition that governs a dropped ring.  Whichever one of you fumbles the ring during the ceremony, well, it doesn't bode well for you.  And if the ring should roll away from the altar, your life will be shortened even more.  So, you'd better hang on to that ring! 

Another interesting belief is that weddings are doomed if they're held when the minute hand of the clock is on its way down.  So a very superstitious bride might make sure the ceremony starts at, say, 1030 or 445, when the minute  hand is on its way back up.

There are many other incidental customs and superstitions governing different  aspects of weddings and marriage.  One of my personal favorites is a little known tradition I learned quite by accident.  While waiting for guests to start down a receiving line, I witnessed a bride and her maid of honor with their heads together and whispering,  The bride sneaked her friend a dollar bill and received a safety pin in return. Later, I had to ask what the exchange was all about and with a giggle, the bride confessed she was honoring the superstition that the household finances would be controlled by whichever newlywed became the first to make a purchase after saying "I do" (I immediately became  convinced my own wife had engaged in such a transaction on OUR wedding day!)

I'd like to know of any strange wedding rituals and superstitions you may have encountered in your wedding planning.  Maybe you even have one or two you intend to incorporate in your own wedding.  Take a minute to comment with  your stories and ideas--I'll include them when I blog about customs and traditions again, soon!

Next blog:  My answer to the reader's question about wedding photojournalism. How do you make the right decision on the type of photography you want for your wedding?  And in the meantime, check out wedding images and photography ideas on my website http://www.dougforner.com