Wedding Superstition

Posted on the May 29th, 2013 under Friends by Laurence Pharoah

All brides need to make similar decisions no matter what culture they come from. What gown they will wear, what shoes, how they would like their hair done, what the bridesmaids will wear and who should sit next to who. There are also many cultural practices and quirks that many brides and their families will follow or recall when the occasion comes to mind.

There are many customs, traditions, mores, and practices that surround the ancient ritual of Marriage. Preparing a bride takes more than fitting a flowing wedding gown or bedecking her in veils or even ensuring that she is not too tiddly to make it down the aisle (although that is of paramount importance). There are traditions that families follow for years, often without even knowing the origin or meaning behind these age-old ways.

Many superstitions have a dual edge and may be good or bad depending on the culture or the interpretation that is known and good and bad luck ascribed to the exact same event or practice.

Pearls, tears and raindrops

Many Brides will wear pearls.

Many brides will wear pearls on their wedding day. Pearls will often match an ecru gown and may have been the something old or something borrowed item that many brides have. But Pearls are synonymous with tears in many myths. One such superstition says that the pearls symbolise the tears as yet unshed and wearing them to a wedding will cause those tears to fall during the marriage. The opposite myth says that the pearls will take the place of the real tears and thus have them unshed giving the bride a tear free wedding and blissful marriage.

Yet Tears are often shed at a wedding and they too can have dual meaning. If a bride sheds tears during the ceremony it could be that she is shedding all the tears that she will shed and leave none left to cry for the marriage making her happy for the duration. Other cultures associate the brides tears with the fertility of the land and her tears foretell prosperity for the community. Other still say if a bride weeps too much she will be unhappy for the entire marriage.

So too if raindrops fall during the ceremony there are a couple of different superstitions that may apply. In the good version of this superstition rain may have the same significance as rain on the fields that abundance, prosperity and children will blossom from this match. In the negative version of the superstition the raindrops symbolise the many tears that the bride will shed during her unhappy match.

There are many other examples of the double edge superstitions that portend both good and bad luck depending on your interpretation. Personally I keep hearing the Words of Stevie Wonder – “When you believe in things that you don’t understand then you suffer, superstition ain’t the way.” As long as you have caring friends and family surrounding you and your partner is loving and as excited about creating a lifelong partnership then come rain, hail or shine you will be blessed.