The Victorian Wedding

It was said that a bride should always wear:

Something  Old,
Something  new,
Something  borrowed,
Something  blue,
And a sixpence in the shoe.

Wearing "Something old" was always provided by a woman who was happily married. Many believed by doing this the happiness of the former owner would be a transferred to the new bride. “Something new” was obviously the new gown or the shoes worn by the bride. “Something borrowed” was always an object made of gold which would guarantee wealth and fortune for the new couple. “Something Blue” was a symbol of the heavens and true love.  “Sixpence” needed to be placed in the heel of the left shoe of the bride. This was also to insure wealth and prosperity for the happy couple.

Marry on Monday for health,
Tuesday for wealth,
Wednesday the best day of all,
Thursday for crosses,
Friday for losses, and
Saturday for no luck at all.

Even the day of the week one chose to be married on was important during Victorian times. Although Saturdays traditionally have been a popular today, during the Victorian Era it was not a lucky day at all.

White--chosen right
Blue--love will be true
Yellow--ashamed of her fellow
Red--wish herself dead
Black--wish herself back
Grey--travel far away
Pink--of you he'll always think
Green-ashamed to be seen

 Most wedding gowns today are traditionally white which, is a symbol of purity and this dates back all the way to the Greeks. However this wasn’t the tradition through the Regency period. During this time period colors were worn for wedding dresses and white dresses were worn at coming out balls. Wearing white didn’t become fashionable until Victorian times and is a tradition that has continued today for the most part.

The wearing of the veil is actually Eastern in tradition and was introduced to Europe thorough knights returning from the Crusades. Women in Eastern countries wore veils to protect them from the evil eye. Whereas the veils of today only cover the face, in Eastern custom the veil covers the entire body and is only removed after the ceremony. The veil was a sign to the groom that the bride came to him pure and innocent.

The tradition of a man lifting the wedding veil from his brides face was part of an ancient wedding ritual which symbolized the groom taking possession of the wife either as her lover or as a form of property.