The Origins of Traditional English Wedding Customs

Traditional customs that date back often as far as Roman times, are an integral part of our everyday lives.  More often than not the origins of these customs have been completely forgotten, and yet we still observe them without a second thought.  A classic example of this is the wedding. 

Most of us recognise the words and phrases associated with weddings such as – usher, bridesmaid, lifting of the bride’s veil, ‘something old something new’ and the honeymoon, yet few of us are aware of where these wedding customs come from.

So what are their true origins?

 The first step along the road to wedlock is for the couple to become engaged.  Incidentally, (‘wed’ is Anglo-Saxon in origin and meant ‘to assign property to the father of the bride as payment’, whereas ‘lock’ simply means a pledge.  Placing a ring on the finger of the bride-to-be is a public statement that she intends to be married and that she is ‘spoken for’.

The word ‘bride’ is also centuries old and originates from an ‘Old English’ word that simply meant ‘cook’.

The next stage in the process of marriage is the wedding itself.It is customary in modern Christian wedding ceremonies for bridesmaids and ushers to be in attendance, but their role in today’s society has changed completely.  During Roman times, from where it seems many of our customs and superstitions originate, it was a requirement at all wedding ceremonies that five young men and five young women, all dressed in identical clothing to the bride and groom, were present.  The Romans believed that by doing this it would confuse the Devil, thereby making it impossible for him to identify the real bride and groom, thus preventing him from placing a curse or evil spell on the newly married couple at the start of their life together.

 In all wedding ceremonies where the bride is wearing a veil, it is never lifted off the face until the priest pronounces them “man and wife”.  There is some confusion as to why this should be; believing that to lift the veil before those words are spoken will bring bad luck upon the marriage.  The truth, however, has no relation to luck – be it good or bad. The lifting of the bride’s veil is actually a public statement.  It shows that the responsibility for the woman has now passed from the father of the bride to the new husband.