9 Crazy Wedding Facts You Probably Did Not Know

One of the great things about weddings is that they are truly mired in tradition.  But, did you ever wonder where some of these wedding traditions originated?  If so, you’re going to love this post.  I stumbled onto an article today from my friends at OneWed.com that covers this very subject.  The link to the full article is below; what follows is a quick snapshot of some of the more interesting factoids from the article.

I think my favorite factoid is how wedding bands came to be.  The seeds of this tradition were planted nearly 1,000 years ago!  Back in the 1100’s, Pope Innocent III mandated a waiting period between the mutual promise to marry and the actual wedding ceremony.  This eventually resulted in grooms-to-be offering two separate rings: 1 for the engagement promise, and another one for the wedding itself.  Up until this point, only 1 ring was traditionally given.

Thus, we can thank Pope Innocent III for giving all current and future brides the opportunity to receive an engagement ring and a wedding band.  And for diamond engagement rings specifically, we can thank King Maximilian (Germany), who gave the first ever known diamond engagement ring to his fiancé in 1477.

Another interesting tidbit is how white wedding veils came to be.  The tradition of wearing white veils originated in the Victorian era.  They were thought to help fend off evil spirits as well to help promote youthful vigor.  Prior to this point, brides wore all kinds of colored veils, including red and blue!  Another interesting fact about veils – brides in the Roman era hid herbs such as garlic underneath in an effort to aid in fertility and scare off all those nasty spirits! (This concept also eventually led to the tradition of the bridal bouquet).

Other crazy facts from the article include: where the saying, “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” came from; why flower girls throw petals; where the phrase, “tie the knot” came from; why the Royals love wedding cake; and a whole bunch more.  To check out the full article please click here.  Enjoy!