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You may not know this, but there are a ton of different wedding traditions, as well as wedding customs that have been passed down through the ages. Some of these are still used today, and some of them are not. Today we are going to cover some of the most well known wedding traditions, as well as some of the ones that never really panned out. In the end, you will see that wedding customs are so much more than just general rules that you have to follow. These wedding traditions show a history that we should be proud of. Of course, after reading some of these, you will see that some of the traditions that did not make it are things that we may be less proud of.

The bridal gown is one of the wedding traditions that is still use. This first came about from the Greeks. They believed that white embodied purity, innocence, and joyfulness. Thus, a bride was suppose to where white to show that she was a virgin. Now, the white grown is still used, but mostly just to symbolize the celebration of the wedding itself. The bridal veil, however, is something that came about for a completely different reason. The bridal veil was something that was made so that the groom could not back out of a wedding when he saw the bride. This was very popular during the age where people arranged marriages. The groom would be told who he was going to marry. Sometimes the woman would not be as attractive as they would wish. The veil kept the groom from seeing their face until after they said “I do.”

The Cake is another wedding custom that is well known today. The shape of most wedding cakes today are inspired by a building that was in London. That is where the first wedding cakes, in London anyway, got their typical look. However, in Rome, the cake had a different part to play in the wedding. In fact, the wedding cake was broken over the brides head, and the guest would eat the crumbs that fell to the ground. This was suppose to be a token of good luck. Although most people do not still use these wedding customs, it's still nice to know where they came from.

Flowers, are other wedding traditions that are well known. In fact, in medieval Germany, the brides would where rosemary to help guard themselves against pregnancy if they did not want children. The Garter, is something that got started in two different cultures. However, this custom is a lot different today. Back in the day, guests would sneak into the bridal chamber and pick up her discarded stockings. Then they would find the bride and groom and throw them at the them. Whoever made it land on the bride or grooms nose would be the next to get married. Today that is replaced by the throwing of the flowers.

Some things have been done away with, however. For example, back in the day, the bride's age was not from the day she was born but from the day that she got married. Not only that, but back in 1775, if a bride wore make up to a ceremony, then the wedding was not legal. The idea behind this was that the groom would not know what he was really marring. He would be “trapped” by an illusion.