In a ritual that originated in Great Britain during pagan times, the bride and groom bind their hands together with a ribbon, symbolizing the joining of their lives. Today, many couples do this immediately before or after the exchange of rings.
Handfasting vows!!
February 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Toasting the Bride and Groom
December 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Toasting comes from an ancient French custom of placing bread in the bottom of the glass – a good toaster drained the drink to get the “toast.” According to legend, when a bride and groom drink their wedding toast, whoever finishes first will rule the family.
A very lovely English toast goes like this:
Love, be true to her,
Life, be dear to her,
Health, stay close to her,
Joy, draw near to her,
Fortune, find what you can do for her,
Search your treasure house through for her
Follow her footsteps the wide world over
And keep her husband always her lover.
Proposals weren’t always done on bended knee.
December 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment
When I go on blended knee
Chivalrous gentlemen sent a pair of gloves to their true loves. If the woman wore the gloves to church on Sunday, it signaled her acceptance of proposal.
The term “spooning” was coined by lovesick men of Wales. A suitor carved a spoon of wood and presented it to his beloved. If she wore it around her neck on a ribbon, she returned his love and they were engaged.
Etiquette and Thank You Notes
November 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Thank You Notes are very important
Here are some tips to make sending your thank yous a breeze:
- Send thank-you notes to acknowledge everything from place settings to gifts of time or talent. Remember: A separate, handwritten note must be sent for each wedding present or act of kindness.
- Start sending wedding thank-yous as soon as gifts arrive, even if it is before your wedding (but make sure to use your maiden name).
- Gifts that you receive on your big day should be followed up with a thank-you note no later than one month after you return from your honeymoon (now you can use your new last name).
- To ease the process, keep track of wedding gifts and thank-you cards on the same list of names and addresses used for your invitations.
- Personalize the thank-you cards by ordering them with your monogram or with a picture from your big day on the front.
Cutting of the wedding cake represents..
May 25, 2010 By 2 Comments
Wedding cakes are a predominantly Western tradition in marriage ceremonies. It is the tradition that, a newly married couple stand together, hand on hand, and cut the cake together. This is because cutting the cake is a symbol of unity and togetherness. Cutting the wedding cake together is also another essential marker of the couple’s commitment to one another on their special day. This is basically the reason why wedding cakes are still so popular in modern culture.
Creating a new traditon with an old tradition
February 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The heirloom bridal handkerchief, the beginning of a new tradition…Your something blue will be your daughter’s something old.
Since before Victorian times, brides have carried beautiful handkerchiefs on their wedding Day. Whether to catch the tears of joy or to honor the age old sentiment that tears cried before a wedding mean there will be none after, this keepsake heirloom will be a joy to hand down to future generations.
Protect your “heirloom Hankie,” for one day it will become, a bonnet for the precious head, of your daughter or your son. Yes, a bonnet for the baby,from the hankie your carried as a bride. For though it was just a hankie, it’s bond to be a treasured, kept within your family. And then… when your baby reaches your age, on the day their vows are told, the bride will tote it lovingly, as her cherished something old.
Who is Cupid anyway?
February 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment
He’s a 3,000 year-old baby with wings, he shoots love-tipped arrows into unsuspecting people, and his name is Cupid: The God of Love.
Cupid, in Roman mythology, the god of love. He was the son of Venus. His father sometimes was named as Mars, at other times as Jupiter or Mercury. Cupid is the Roman equivalent of the Greek god of love, Eros. He usually is pictured as a winged and naked infant, armed with a bow and arrows, and blind or blindfolded. A person whose heart was pierced by Cupid’s arrow was supposed to fall in love with someone.
Back in the 18th Century, Invitations…..
February 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Envelopes
In the 18th century the invitation would be placed in a handmade envelope and sealed with hot wax imprinted with the family crest. Servants were then made to deliver the letters as there was no postal service. Now because this task was completed on horseback in all weathers, there became a need for an ‘outer envelope’. This not only protected the invitation, but was used to write directions for the servants. For example “Travel one day north to Newcastle. There, cross the stone bridge and proceed past three farms until you see the stone entrance marked ‘Williamson’. Remove this covering, and give the invitation to the doorman. Wait there for a response and make a note of same”.
Valentine’s Day in June?
February 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
In Brazil, the “Day of Enamored” or “Boyfriends’/Girlfriends” Day” is celebrated on June 12th, when couples exchange gifts, chocolates, cards and flower bouquets. This day was chosen probably because it is the day before the Festa junina’s Saint Anthony’s Day, know there as the marriage saint, when traditionally many single women perform popular rituals, called simpatias, in order to find a good husband or boyfriend.
The February 14th Valentine’s Day is not celebrated at all, mainly for cultural and commercial reasons, since it usually falls too little before or after Carnival, a major floating holiday in Brazil-long regarded as a holiday of sex and debauchery by many in the country – that can fall anywhere from early February to early March.
Valentine’s Day is about more than “Love”
January 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment
In Mexico, Guatemala and in El Salvador, Valentine’s Day is known ad “Dia del Amor y la Amistad” (Day of Love and Friendship). Although it is similar to the United States’ version in may ways, it is also common to see people do “acts of appreciation” for their friends.
Maybe we here in the US should add that tradition to ours. What do you think?
