Wedding History
Way back in time, people lived in tribes and clans. Men and women were commonly married to increase the size, and therefore,
strength of the clan. Marriages were frequently arranged between leaders of clans for strategic reasons. Not a very romantic
beginning !
Ancient Egyptians created the idea of an engagement period. This allowed the man and woman to get acquainted and make
sure they were compatible. Both families accepted the marriage contract, making the marriage a legal entity. This agreement
included the rights and expectations of the bride and groom.
Ancient Greek civilization has given us many things. One of these is the bachelor party. Around the 5th century, Greek
men would celebrate with the groom before the wedding. This celebration was a time to toast the groom and to mourn the loss
of his bachelorhood.
Roman times saw the first engagement parties which were arranged to publicly announce the betrothal of the bride and groom.
The groom oftentimes gave the bride jewelry while the bride gave her husband-to-be a special token from her childhood. Wedding
ceremonies were required to have at least 10 male citizens present to act as witnesses. The ceremony continued with the couple
holding hands, giving spoken consent, and signing a marriage contract. The groom and his family, followed by the bride and her
family, and then all the guests would then parade to the new house. A feast would take place to celebrate the union and the happy
couple would receive gifts from the guests. Roman weddings also gave us the term, "tying the knot" which comes from brides
often wearing an elaborately knotted girdle which the groom had to untie before he could spend the first night with her.
In medieval times, bouquets of herbs, flowers, garlic, and grains were used to keep evil spirits away. These bouquets also masked
odors because people did not bathe often, especially during the winter. Yuck !
Early weddings generally had brides wearing veils as a symbol of submissiveness to their husband. In the 16th century, headdresses
were added to the veil. It wasn’t until 1840, when Queen Victoria wore a white dress that the tradition of white bridal gowns began.
Before this time, the bride simply wore her best dress to her wedding. Queen Victoria also started the fashion trend of a lace veil.
During Queen Victoria’s day, the length of a dress’ train generally symbolized the wedding couple’s rank at court with a longer train
meaning the couple was more important in court.
Nearly every civilization since the ancient Egyptians has used rings to symbolize the marital union. The circle of the ring symbolizes
the eternity of the union. The ancient Egyptians first put the wedding ring on the third finger because they believed there was a vein
that went from the third finger directly to the heart.
The first diamond engagement ring in recorded history was in 1477, when Archduke Maximillan of Austria gave a diamond ring to Mary of
Burgundy as a betrothal gift. The diamond ring has been the traditional engagement ring ever since.
The wedding cake was originally in the form of small wheat cakes which each guest broke over the bride’s head - to ensure luck and
fertility. The traditional tiered wedding cake tradition started in medieval times when guests added tiers to a cake as a challenge to
the wedding couple. If the couple could kiss over the highest tier, the marriage was destined to be a prosperous union.
The honeymoon was not always the vacation that we know of today. In medieval times, the wedding couple would disappear from full moon
to full moon after the wedding ceremony and would be supplied with a honey wine, called meade – which was thought to lower sexual inhibitions.
Almost every bride knows the saying, "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a sixpence in her shoe."
This saying originated in Victorian times. "Something old" symbolizes the continuity of the bride’s family. "Something new" represents
optimism for the future. "Something borrowed" symbolizes the superstition that the happiness from another person will rub off on the bride. Blue
is the color of fidelity, good fortune, and love. A sixpence stands for a future of prosperity.
The Top 5 Reasons
to Have an Edible Wedding
- Why not - your guests are only there for the food anyway !!!
- Everything is disposable – no waste – leave a smaller carbon footprint !!!
- Nobody will go hungry waiting for dinner – they can eat the centerpieces.
- Your guests can bring goodies home for their children who were upset because they were left with the babysitter.
- Flowers are boring, they die ... cookies live on your hips forever !!!
Our Edible Gifts are perfect for weddings, birthdays, communions, christenings, graduation, corporate/business events or promotions, holidays, and more!!
