Finding the origins of wedding traditions
Elizabeth Kang
Issue date: 8/24/09 Section: Opinion
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It means the end of carefree summer days and the start of another long and busy Fall semester.
I, on the other hand, have come to appreciate September. With September comes the end of August, a promise to the end of wedding season.
Formerly, June had always been the most popular wedding month, hence the "June bride."
Recently, however, that has changed. According to the Blisstree Web site, for the past three years, August has taken the title from June and become the leading month to say "I do."
Prior to August, I had always been a happy spectator at weddings. I'll go so far to say that I might even have had fun at them, what with the free-flowing champagne and that love-in-the-air aura.
Of course, the reasons why girls usually have to drag their guys by their shirt collars remain valid: the "Cha Cha Slide," the always awkward cake smashing and the assigned seat next to crazy Uncle Jimmy.
In late August, for the first time, I was a bridesmaid in a wedding. Despite all of the embarrassing shenanigans the bride put me through - wedding party disco dance with afro wigs - I considered it an honor and checked my usually reserved demeanor at the door.
After all of the speeches, dancing and cake cutting was over, I wondered what all the pomp and circumstance meant.
Oftentimes, couples try to do small things to make their wedding unique, but some parts always remain the same. Take a white dress and add a garter toss, a best man speech and the "YMCA," and it seems you'll have the perfect recipe for a modern wedding.
But where do all of these ingredients come from?
Many people, myself included, are under the impression that a bride used to wear white to symbolize her purity, or virgin status, and the tradition continues today even if the meaning is, ahem, obsolete.
But according to the Aisle Dash Web site, wearing a white dress didn't symbolize purity: It symbolized wealth. In 1840, white wedding dresses were entirely uncommon, but women began wearing them after Queen Victoria of England married in a white dress.
Back then, only very wealthy women could afford to wear a dress they could never wear again. According to the Web site, "cleaning a white dress was not so easy in 1840."
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