Wedding Day Superstitions

Wedding Day Superstitions

There are so many superstitions that surround weddings that we thought it would be a good time to highlight some of them.  Some are modern, some are old, and some are just plain nuts.  But we all love having fun with the concepts of superstitions and what might be behind them, so here you go.

Here’s one that most of us didn’t know.  In some societies, it’s unlucky to get married in the first 30 minutes of the hour.  The superstition is that your wedding will get off to a bad start because the minute hand on the hour is going down, and instead, your luck will improve if the minute hand is going up.  There’s one most of us have violated.

The reason most weddings have a lot of noise associated with them is because it’s always been believed that evil spirits don’t like loud noises.  That’s why in many societies participants are given bells or noise makers, and why the wedding couples in America will have cans and things tied to their cars.  In many countries, horns and fireworks are also used.

Do you like spiders?  I don’t, but it seems that if a bride sees a spider while wearing her wedding dress, or even finds a spider in her wedding dress, that’s considered as being born under a lucky sign (once the bride stops screaming, that is).

Do you know the reason flower petals are spread out before the bride enters?  It’s not to welcome the happy couple; it’s a blessing that the couple will have lots of babies.  You might want to think twice about this one if you’re not looking to have children too soon.

Mirrors are both the friend and enemy of the bride.  All brides look at themselves in mirrors to make sure they look good, but in some cultures, once the bride is finished dressing, she’s only allowed one last look.  It can be long or short, but that one last look means the bride is looking forward to getting married, which is considered good luck.  If she looks again, it means she has doubts, which means the marriage will be in trouble.

In many cultures, the hands of the bride and groom are tied together to symbolize the bond between the couple that’s supposed to last forever.

Finally, good luck is actually the reason couples wear gold rings, along with diamond rings.  Most cultures believed that shiny and valuable materials would bring good luck while holding off evil spirits, who didn’t like the light.  If the materials were weak or shoddy, spirits could break them and thus bring bad luck, which is why they had to be made sturdier.  Also, pearls will enhance the bride’s good luck, but in some cultures, brides are required to wear only one pearl instead of a full necklace.

See Also:
Popular Wedding Traditions & Superstitions
How to Deal with Wedding Superstitions
The Facts Behind Wedding Superstitions