In the early days of Egypt, the ring was linked with the supernatural, for it was a never-ending band linked with eternal love. For the Romans in later years, the ring's acceptance by a young lady was a binding, legal agreement and the girl was no longer free. Today we accept the ring as part of a religious ceremony when we marry in church.
Times and traditions changed, and in modern times men now wear wedding rings to show his love and commitment as well.
The ring's metal is not of importance, it could even be wood. The Roman's chose iron for it's metaphoric strength. Gold and silver did not become popular until the 3rd Century because of its beauty lasts while iron rusts.
Not everyone chose to wear rings. The Puritans gave their brides wedding thimbles since they viewed rings as too ostentatious. Later they would often cut off the bottoms, forming rings. Hey! A girl loves her bling, haha.
Those who chose to wear rings, wore them on the left or right hand. The majority chose the left hand, European women often wore them on their right, and some Scandinavian women wore three rings one each for:
engagement
marriage
motherhood.
Jewish brides have the ring placed on their index finger, since that is the finger with which they point to the Torah as they read.
Why the third finger of the left hand (a thumb is not a finger)?
Many theories collide over the subject, but the most accepted would be the Ancient Egyptians. They believed that a vein traveled from that finger directly to the heart. Hence, the saying, "Wear your wedding ring closet to thy heart."
In medieval England, a bridegroom would slide the ring part way up his bride's thumb, index and middle finger, saying "In the name of the father, the son, and the holy ghost" as he passed each one. He then put the ring on the next available finger - the third finger of the left hand. This practice was finally formalized in the 1500's when Henry VIII's son authored The Book of Common Prayer, which gives English modern Protestant wedding vows and decrees on which finger our wedding rings should go.
Men did not wear rings until the middle of the 20th century, for it was mostly women who wore wedding rings, perhaps a reminder of the days when women were regarded as property, or perhaps a harmless custom akin to women wearing engagement rings that their husbands do not.
WWII broke out, and many a young man faced leaving his young bride for a lengthy time, so men began wearing wedding bands as a symbol of their marriages and a reminder of their wives.
Wedding flowers were a bunch of sentiments the bride hoped her mariage would meet. Each flower has a meaning, so they were chosen by meaning, not by beauty of color.
History of flower girls/boys (boys are a more modern addition) is difficult to find, but they were often used symbolically for the bride's childhood, and future children.
Why Wedding Cake?Like most any other ritual handed down from the ages, a wedding wouldn’t be complete without fertility symbols, like the wedding cake. Ancient Romans would bake a cake made of wheat or barley and break it over the bride’s head as a symbol of her fertility. (Whether this meant cracking the cake above the bride’s head or actually bonking her on the noggin with it is rather unclear. We’re not sure we want to know…) Over time, it became traditional to stack several cakes atop one another, as tall as possible. The bride and groom would then be charged to kiss over this tower without knocking it over. If they were successful, a lifetime of good fortune was certain for the new couple. Finally, during the reign of King Charles II of England, it became customary for cake to be a palatable palace iced with sugar.
Bestmen and Groomsmen cam from an old Scotish tradition, anf their duty was to help kidnap the bride.
Bridesmaids and Maid of Honor were often servants dressed like the bride to confuse any would-be kidnappers.
I had to toss in honeymoons! Following the abduction, the groom would put himself and his bride into hiding, calling it a honeymoon, so that by the time the bride’s family found them, the bride would already be pregnant.
What are the full histories of wedding rings,flowers,flower girls /boys/cakes,bestman/maid?
Good day,
Well its not pretty story.. brides got married in June because people only bathed about 1 time a year and that was in may.. they carried flowers to mask body Oder's...go on line and type in wedding history and you well get it all...
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