Wedding Traditions: Father Giving His Daughter Away

There are several theories behind the tradition of Dad walking his daughter down the aisle to her Groom.

One such theory is that the coloured veils that the girls used to wear were so thick they couldn’t always see where they were going so Dad used to have to walk alongside to guide them.

However, hundreds of years ago daughters were considered to be the property of their Father and if a man wished to marry her he had to pay a price to the girl’s family.

It used to be that once the Father approved of the union then he would be transferring ‘ownership’ of his daughter to her new husband.

Nowadays the Priest or Celebrant asks who is giving the bride away to be married, effectively asking if he is giving his approval for the marriage, and its usually the Father who replies and hands over his daughter’s hand in marriage. 

Some women are not able to go by this tradition, sometimes due to the Father no longer being around, and choose to walk down the aisle alongside another member of their family such as their mother or a sibling or even walk down by themselves.

by Jacqui Dunster

Sources:   http://uk.answers.yahoo.com;  brideandgroom.com;  

Jennie DellaMonica, Yahoo! Contributor Network, Mar 2, 2007

Wedding Tips: Top 10 "Bridal Prep" Tips

These are the Top 10 tips we find ourselves reminding our brides about regarding that most crucial part of your wedding day BRIDAL PREPARATION:

1. If you change the location of your Bridal Prep, don't forget to tell your photographer

2. Hang up your veil so it doesn't crease

3. Get the train of your dress out of the bottom of the dress cover and lay it over a chair so the train doesn't crease but put a pillow between the train and the chair so the chair doesn't mark it.

4. If you have real flowers, keep your flowers somewhere cool

5. If you have real flowers, take them out of their water 30 minutes before you need them and wrap their stems in kitchen roll so the stems don't drip and stain the dresses

6. Eat, drink and go the loo before getting into your dress.

7. Get Mum, Dad and all your bridesmaids dressed before you get into your dress because the "getting into the dress" shots will look so much better

8. Make sure somebody has your key and locks up for you once you've left for the ceremony

9. Don't forget to organise transport for your Dad for after the ceremony

10. Get some soft drinks left in your wedding car. After you've done your ceremony and photographs you may well be very thirsty.

Wedding Traditions: Wedding Rings

To many ancient cultures, including the Egyptians, Eternity can be represented with a circle - it has no beginning or end - just a hole in the middle which was considered to be a gateway.

It was believed that to present a ring to a woman was to declare immortal and never-ending love.

The Romans adopted this idea but with their own variation - the ring would be offered as a symbol of ownership not love.  Their rings were eventually made of iron (symbolising strength and permanence) and known as “Anulus Pronubus” and they would declare a woman as theirs by giving one of these rings. 

Allegedly, in the prehistoric age, before the ceremony, the groom would wrap grass around his bride’s wrists and ankles in order to stop her soul escaping.  Once they were married he would then tie this grass to one of her fingers.

But it doesn’t really matter which of the many explanations you choose to believe - the exchanging of rings is probably one of the oldest traditions of marriage.

Christians didn’t use rings in their marriage ceremonies until around 860 AD.  These rings were usually engraved with two linked hands, doves or lyres but by 13th Century the Church decided that they needed to be much simpler in design and so they became plain bands of metal.

Wedding rings have been worn on different fingers and thumbs and even different hands throughout various stages in our history but most religions have eventually settled on the third finger of the left hand.  Some believe this is because the majority of the world is right-handed and the ring is less likely to be damaged if worn on the left hand and also, apart from the little fingers, the third finger is not used very often.

The Romans, who were believed to be the first to engrave their rings, had other ideas about the wearing of the wedding ring.  They allegedly believed that there was a vein which ran from the third finger which was connected directly to the heart and they called it the ‘Vena Amoris’ or ‘Vein of Love’.  Scientists have since shown this to be totally untrue but people still like to believe in this myth as the reason behind why we wear the wedding ring on the third finger.

A more plausible theory however is the ritual that the Christians go through to placing the ring on the third finger.  The priest would hold the ring and touch the thumb, index finger and middle finger whilst reciting “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” and then the ring finger whilst he uttered “Amen” thereby sealing the marriage.

In many European countries though the ring is worn on the third finger of the right hand and in line with Jewish traditions the ring is placed on the bride’s index finger by her groom.

by Jacqui Dunster

Sources:  Wedding Shoppe Blogger: Meghan J, December 22, 2009; www.todayifoundout.com

Wedding Traditions: Cutting the Cake

The ceremony of cutting the cake is seen as the first task that the newly married couple do together and back in Roman times a bride used to have a wheat cake crumbled over her head to be sure of safeguarding her fertility. 

Having cut the cake it is tradition that the groom feeds the bride a piece of the cake and the bride then feeds the groom a piece, signifying the commitment between them to provide for each other, but as this part of the day is sometimes carried out after the meal the last thing they want is more to eat. 

As a sign of respect the bride traditionally should present a piece of the cake to the groom’s parents and the groom should present a piece to the bride’s parents thus acknowledging each other’s family.

To cut the cake the bride should take hold of the knife and the groom should place his hand over hers as they slice into the bottom layer - symbolizing a long lasting relationship.


Sources:  Danielle Cadet; Landmark Catering

Wedding Tips: Pre-Wedding Shoots

Having a pre-wedding shoot with your wedding photographer is a great idea for so many reasons. You get to know how your photographers work, what it's like to be in front of their camera, you get to know them personally and you get to share the latest details of your day with them. Every photographer works a little differently but I think it's pretty universal that if you can arrange to have a pre-shoot with your photographer, the photographs on your day will go a little easier, you'll have more confidence and look better in your wedding day pictures.

For the rest of this blog, I'll explain the sorts of things we try to do in pre-shoots with our own couples.

In the picture above I'm setting up a shot with Jeanette and Russ, explaining what I'm after and how to stand to look at their best. We have a great deal of fun when we're doing these shoots and it's a relief to many couples that being photographed by a professional photographer can actually be an enjoyable experience.

Here's one of the shots from that set. 

Most people look at their best when they are happy, relaxed and engaged. We point out to you how you stand and look when you are...because, sadly, many people tense up when a big camera is brought up to the photographer's eye.

Pre-shoots are great for people's confidence. When we put you in the right light and have you happy, relaxed and engaged...you will look fantastic...you'll see how good you look on the back of the camera and that will then improve your confidence and guess what...that makes you look even better.

We'll show you how to stand as a couple. It's surprising how close you have to get to actually look like a couple. When you do get this close, this can give rise to some other posing problems which we point out to you. None of which you have to remember because we will be looking out for it all on the day but having practiced a little beforehand it does make the whole process of taking wedding portraits quicker, easier and with more success.

Pre-wedding shoots also give the photographers a chance to learn a little about you too.

We learn what you look like in different lighting, in black and white or in colour.

We learn what you look like from different angles and with different expressions.

We learn the best strategies for how the two of you can be posed together taking into consideration your relative heights and preferences.

Wedding pre-shoots are also a great way of discovering what you're comfortable with or if you have any particular sensitivities...like only being shot from a preferred side.

It's also an ideal opportunity to find out if you have any plans for your dress or hair that might mean it would always be best if we shot you from a certain side or stood you with your groom to your left or right.

And the wonderful side effect of all this is that you get to have some professionally shot portraits of you, your groom and the two of you as a couple.

Different photographers may do it differently but we are always delighted if you want to use any of your pre-shoot photographs for any of your wedding stationery. If you think you might want to though, do mention it to your photographer before the shoot to make sure they can schedule at least one set with that in mind.

Wedding pre-shoots are great fun, a huge confidence boost and often calm couples' nerves regarding photography on the day.

All our wedding packages include a pre-shoot because it makes the photography on the day so much easier and with so much better results.

Our advice is to buy a wedding photography package that includes a pre-wedding shoot or book a photographer who is happy to let you buy an engagement shoot from them.

Wedding photography is fun and you will look fantastic so don't be nervous and get your pre-wedding shoot booked up.

Wedding Traditions: The Bouquet

As well as the bride carrying a bouquet, which is considered a symbol of happiness, brides and their grooms used to wear wreaths and garlands made of herbs.

Some herbs and plants had meanings to their being part of a wreath or bouquet:

• Sage - Wisdom
• Dill - Lust
• Orange Blossom - Happiness and Fertility
• Ivy - Fidelity
• Lillies - Purity

The Celtics used ivy, thistle and heather for their traditional bouquets and the Ancients used to believe that some herbs had the power to ward off evil spirits - the most powerful being garlic - so these were used in their bouquets and not flowers.

Sheaves of wheat, which symbolize growth and fertlity, would be carried by the bride’s Flower Girls.

Sources:  BridalWhimsy.com for Brideandgroom.com

Wedding Traditions: Throwing Confetti

Throwing Confetti at weddings originally started with the throwing of seeds and then developed on to rice and nowadays biodegradable paper or flower petals.

The reason behind the throwing of the confetti was as a blessing for the fruitfulness of the marriage and to remind the happy couple that their primary purpose in marriage was to create a family.

by Jacqui Dunster

Source: About.com