Wedding Customs and Etiquette – Before the Wedding

These days, etiquette is nothing like as strictly adhered-to as it used to be and there is quite a bit of scope for you to make the proceedings your own. However, for reference, below is an outline of the main rituals of a traditional wedding and reception. You can decide whether you want to do what is traditional, miss something out or adapt it to suit yourselves and your style.

Before the wedding

On the morning of the wedding, the bride prepares herself, with the help of her bridesmaid(s). The groom has never seen the dress she is going to wear and bride and groom certainly do not meet on their wedding day before the moment that the ceremony begins.

The bride wears something old (to represent her family and her life up to now), something new (to represent the start of a new life), something borrowed (to represent the bride‘s ties to her family, friends and community), something blue (to represent faithfulness). She has a silver sixpence in her shoe, to represent future prosperity, and she also wears a garter, which at the end of the day she throws out to the crowd. The origin of the garter-throwing is unclear but it is thought to be because a bride is particularly lucky on her wedding day and people used to tear at her gown to take some luck for themselves. She throws the garter to stop them taking a piece of her dress.