The most important part of any wedding...the CAKE!!

If I don't eat wedding cake at your wedding or if the wedding cake is gross...I am no longer your friend and I want my gift back...period! But while I have my own reasons for loving wedding cake (I'm just weird like that)...there was actually a purpose for having a cake at a wedding in ancient times when this AWESOME tradition began.
Originally the cake was THROWN at the bride and not eaten. Now while I'm on the fence about whether or not I'd actually be happy with having cake thrown at me...this was apparently a fertility tradition. When the cake hit the bride all the single ladies all the single ladies all the single ladies all the single ladies (sorry) would run to gather up crumbs of it to ensure that they would one day too have cake thrown them (at their own weddings). Some ceremonies only used wheat (another sign of "fruitfulness").
History goes on to say that Roman bakers (well respected citizens, apparently) decided to change the tradition of throwing the cake to eating it. I, for one am certainly glad they did...otherwise I'd have no real reason to attend weddings.

And there you have it...the history of the wedding cake.

The garter toss...

It's only my favorite part of the wedding because it means that it's almost OVER...but do you know how the garter toss started? Well back in the old days couples needed to consummate their marriage right after the ceremony...complete with on-lookers...nice, right? More like weird. So, someone got the bright idea that instead of having a crowd in the honeymoon suite, seriously perverted guests could instead stand outside the door...much better, right? No, not really. Anyway, the groom would remove a piece of the bride's underwear (the garter was the easiest, usually) and throw it outside the door to prove to everyone that the "deed" was being done. Feel free to vomit now. Knowing this, it seems a little out of place at modern wedding receptions, now, doesn't it? Or is it just me? One more crazy tradition to mark off the list!

Bridal showers

Who had the first bridal shower? Why is so much money spent on buying things off a list that the couple generated in a local department store? (Usually stuff you know that they will NEVER use). Well here's how the tradition of the bridal shower began.
The Shower started as an alternative to the dowry. Years ago, as the story goes, there lived a young Dutch girl who loved a young Dutch miller. Because the miller gave to the poor so often, he could never save money for himself. This, of course, did not please his future bride's father. He refused to give her a dowry. Fortunately for the couple, many villagers approved of the union. To make up the girl's dowry, each villager brought some treasured possession of his own until a chest had been filled with all household goods that a bride should bring to her new home. They 'showered' the maiden until even her father was won over. From that day to this, it has been the custom for the bride's friends and family to present her with gifts for her new life.

The Victorian age has it's own origin and version of the bridal shower, where it was customs for presents to be put inside a parasol, which when opened would "shower" the bride-to-be with gifts.





*References:
http://bridal-showers.net/

About this blog...

I'm at the age when most of my friends are either in serious relationships, married, newly married, or engaged. This means that I've had to endure wedding planning or just attending the wedding in general. It has all caused me to think about traditions that people follow when planning their wedding. Where do some of these crazy ideas come from, anyway? Like the title of the blog: tossing the bouquet...who started that? Why is it done? Ever wonder why the color blue is apart of the tradition of luck? Or the garter? What's that all about? Well if you have ever asked these questions like I have then you're in luck, I'm curious enough to do the research and blog about it so you don't have to. :)