Wedding Lore

Traditionally, the safest season to marry was between the harvest and Christmas, when food was plentiful. An old English rhyme says “Marry in September’s shine, your living will be rich and fine.”

Folklore has it that prior to the wedding, the bride must not allow her married name to be used before the wedding takes place, or it might never happen.

It is customary for the bride to be given a decorative horseshoe, which she carries on her wrist. These days the horseshoes are rarely real, but instead light-weight versions manufactured specifically for weddings. The horseshoe is given for good luck.

In the seventeenth century, wheat was cast at the head of the bride when she came from church. Now days its customary to throw colorful paper confetti or rice at the bride and groom as they leave the church after the ceremony.