By Candy Friedman
The Younique Boutique

You've heard about those wedding superstitions and traditions. You'll probably abide by at least one of them for your own wedding. But where did they come from and why do we practice them?

Something old, something new. Where did that come from?

There's even a poem that goes:

Something old, something new
Something borrowed, something blue
And a silver sixpence in your shoe

The rhyme originated in Victorian times, although some of customs referred are much older. The something old" represents the couple's friends who will hopefully remain close during the marriage. Traditionally this was an old garter which was given to the bride by a happily married woman in hopes that her happiness would be passed on to the new bride.

"Something new" symbolizes the newlyweds' happy and prosperous future. The "something borrowed" is often a valuable item of the family given to the bride. The bride must return the item to ensure good luck. The custom of the bride wearing "something blue" originated in ancient Israel where the bride wore a blue ribbon in her hair to represent fidelity. The placing of a silver sixpence in the bride's shoe was to ensure wealth in the couples married life. Today some brides substitute a penny in their shoe since there aren't too many silver sixpences floating around in the US.

Why are wedding dresses supposed to be white? Most brides today marry in white because it symbolizes maidenhood and purity. (Yeah, right!)

This tradition started by the nobility in sixteenth century Europe. The tradition was given a boost by Queen Victoria who chose to marry in white instead of silver, which was the traditional color of royal brides. Before the white dress brides wore their best dress. The color was a matter of preference. The following is a traditional rhyme offering advice on dress color:

Married in White, you have chosen right,
Married in Blue, your love will always be true,
Married in Pearl, you will live in a whirl,
Married in Brown, you will live in town,
Married in Red, you will wish yourself dead,
Married in Yellow, ashamed of your fellow,
Married in Green, ashamed to be seen,
Married in Pink, your spirit will sink,
Married in Grey, you will go far away,
Married in Black, you will wish yourself back.

Advice on which month to marry in is given by the following rhyme:

Married when the year is new, he'll be loving, kind and true.
When February birds do mate, You wed nor dread your fate.
If you wed when March winds blow, joy and sorrow both you'll know.
Marry in April when you can, Joy for Maiden and for Man.
Marry in the month of May, and you'll surely rue the day.
Marry when June roses grow, over land and sea you'll go.
Those who in July do wed, must labour for their daily bred.
Whoever wed in August be, many a change is sure to see
Marry in September's shrine, your living will be rich and fine.
If in October you do marry, love will come but riches tarry.
If you wed in bleak November, only joys will come, remember.
When December snows fall fast, marry and true love will last.
Marry in May and you'll live to rue the day.

May is considered an unlucky month to marry for a number of reasons. In Pagan times the start of summer was when the festival of Beltane was celebrated with outdoor orgies. This was therefore thought to be an unsuitable time to start married life. In Roman times the Feast of the Dead and the festival of the goddess of chastity both occurred in May. The advice was taken more seriously in Victorian times than it is today. In most churches the end of April was a busy time for weddings as couples wanted to avoid being married in May. Queen Victoria is thought to have forbidden her children from marrying in May.

The wedding dress also has a few traditions. It is thought unlucky for the bride to make her own wedding dress. It is also unlucky for the groom to see the bride in her wedding dress before she arrives at the ceremony. The bride should not wear her entire outfit before the wedding day. Some brides leave a final stitch on the dress undone until it is time to leave for the ceremony when the outfit is completed.

Traditionally, brides have been thought to be particularly vulnerable to evil spirits and many of the customs and traditions associated with weddings are to provide protection. The veil was originally worn by Roman brides since it was thought that it would disguise the bride and therefore outwit evil spirits.

The veil became popular in Britain in the eighteen hundreds. It is associated with modesty and chastity. In some Eastern ceremonies the bride is veiled and the groom is not allowed to see the bride's face until after the wedding ceremony. In some Jewish weddings there is a ritual where the groom ensures that the bride is his intended before placing the veil over her face. Bridesmaids were dressed in a similar way to the bride for the same reason as the origin of veil. The bridesmaids were thought to act as decoys to confuse evil spirits and thus protect the bride.