With St. Patrick's Day just a few days away, luck is in the air, and if you are currently planning a wedding, for you, love is in the air. Today's blog topic combines those two things to bring you a few traditions/superstitions that people have said bring good luck to a couple's wedding day. Whether you agree with them or not, it's fun to learn about, and the chance for a little extra luck never hurts!
Pinching
Since you might get pinched on St. Patrick's Day if you don't wear green, this particular tradition seemed like the perfect one to begin with. It's not Ireland, but rather Egypt where women believe that it is good luck to pinch the bride on her wedding day. It is unclear whether this luck is for the pincher or the pinch-ee, but it sure doesn't sound too lucky for the bride in the moment! Hopefully, they keep the pinches light and playful.
Rain
This is something that everyone prays doesn't happen on their wedding day, especially if an outdoor ceremony is planned. If Mother Nature decides to let it rain on your special day, look on the bright side (behind those clouds.) According to many cultures, rain on your wedding day is actually a good omen. It brings with it fertility for the bride and groom and cleanses away everything they don't want to bring with them into the marriage.
Wedding Ring Stones
Diamonds are well-known for symbolizing forever. Many don't realize that an aquamarine jewel in a wedding ring represents marital harmony for a long, happy marriage, plus it takes care of the bride's "something blue." Pearls should be avoided because they are not considered lucky since their shape resembles that of a tear.
Garters
This one actually brings the good luck to one of your wedding guests. A long time ago, people used to wait outside a newlywed couple's home for proof that the marriage had been consummated. Many times the groom would throw something personal out to appease them, often the bride's garter. The garter soon became a symbol of good luck, and guests began making a game out of seeing who could get it off of her while she was still wearing it! Today, the groom is the only one allowed to get under the bride's skirt, but the man that catches the thrown garter is the next lucky man to get married.
Knives
It is considered unlucky to give newlyweds a knife as a wedding gift. Since it is very likely that there may be some knives listed on your gift registry, there is luckily a way to counteract those bad vibes. Give the gift-giver a penny, or send one to them in their thank you note so that technically you have purchased the knife rather than received it as a gift.
Sugar Cubes
Greek culture believes that if you want your marriage to be sweet, the bride should carry a sugar cube in some way during the wedding. The most common way to do this in the past was to place the sugar cube in one of her gloves during the ceremony. Not a lot of bride's wear gloves today, but somehow inserting the sugar cube into the bouquet could work.
Horseshoes
Horseshoes have long been seen as a symbol of good luck in everyday life. For your wedding day, if the bride carries a horseshoe with ribbons tied on it during the ceremony, it collects all the good luck from the day. After the wedding, the horseshoe can then be placed above the doorway of the couple's new home.
Human Shoes
We discovered a couple of traditions involving shoes that people wear too. It is a Swedish custom for the bride to place coins from her parents inside her wedding shoes to symbolize that she will "never do without" during the marriage. Mom gives a gold coin for the right shoe and Dad provides a silver coin for the left.
Back in Medieval times, people believed that they were bestowing good luck on the newlyweds when men threw shoes at them! Today we have a much less violent version of that where shoes are tied to the back of the getaway car instead.
Pine Trees
In Holland, good luck and fertility are wished upon the bride and groom when a pine tree is planted outside of their new home. You can watch your love grow along with the tree.
Wedding Bells
Bells ringing on your wedding day bring a harmonious family life with every chime. In Ireland, many brides choose to attach small bells to their bouquet.
You don't have to be superstitious to include these traditions in your wedding day. If you like the idea of any of them, do it just for fun. WhereBridesGo.com wishes you and your future spouse all the good luck in the world, but as long as you are together keeping each other happy, you probably aren't going to need it!
~ The WhereBridesGo.com Team
Post by Deanna Powell, Certified Bridal Consultant