There are few things more meaningful than a wedding. From “something borrowed, something blue” to the throwing of the bouquet, our wedding ceremonies are steeped in tradition and customs. We have family generational wedding traditions, societal traditions and cultural traditions – but the origins of most are nearly unknown in our contemporary world. As we enter the Everett summer wedding season, the wedding experts at Flora D’Amore thought you may be interested in the meaning behind some of our most beloved traditions.
Although contemporary proposals are often flashy and posted on the internet; in ages past the groom was barely involved in asking for his bride’s hand. Many marriages were arranged; but for those who made their own selection, they would send a family member to do the asking. In medieval culture, simply leaving a hawthorn branch on her doorstep was enough of an effort. And if the bride’s father rejected the suitor and withheld his daughter’s dowry, her friends would provide a replacement dowry of gifts and money – resulting in our modern wedding showers.
The white wedding gown is one of the most iconic symbols of the celebration, but it is actually one of the most recent additions to the wedding ceremony. In the 1840’s, Queen Victoria chose to wear white for her special day; a rejection of the royal tradition of wearing silver. Up until she made that controversial choice, women wore their “Sunday best” to be married; but once the popular queen set the stage, the white dress slowly became the customary choice. In Victorian times, the choice of flowers was not a matter of color, style or preference – instead, flowers were chosen for their inherent meaning. Roses, orange blossoms and snowdrops were known to be the most auspicious for a wedding bouquet, while peonies were considered shameful.
These days, we don’t consider it bad luck to marry someone whose surname starts with the same letter as ours; our good luck to marry someone who has the same birthday. But we do still love to infuse our wedding celebrations with flowers – from bridal bouquets to cake decorations and everything in between, flowers make a wedding memorable. Call the experts at Flora D’Amore by Stadium Flowers to help create the floral ambiance of your special day. After all, it is our tradition to design gorgeous weddings.