Wedding Invitations

It’s not unusual during wedding planning for brides to find their grooms aren’t terribly enthusiastic about much of the hard work involved. But even the busiest groom typically finds one part of the wedding planning process to be his favorite: the cake-tasting appointment at the bakery (or, better yet, multiple appointments at multiple bakeries!).

Wedding cakes have been a part of weddings for just about as long as brides, grooms, and even wedding etiquette. Did you know, for instance, that many hundreds of years ago, wedding guests each brought a small cake, which were stacked on the table in levels and layers. This wasn’t just potluck dessert: if the bride and groom were able to kiss over the top of the stack it was considered good luck.

Nowadays, it’s not unusual to find a second cake at a wedding reception: the groom’s cake. The groom’s cake can serve many purposes, from dessert at the rehearsal dinner, to an alternative choice to the wedding cake at a reception. It’s customary for the groom’s cake to be displayed next to the bride’s cake, and later cut and put into boxes for guests to take home. Legend says that single women are supposed to sleep with a slice under their pillow the same night they receive it — and if they do, they will dream of their future husband. Boxed slices of groom’s cake can also serve as wedding favors.

While wedding etiquette doesn’t specify who may cut the groom’s cake, you and your groom may decide to honor the groom’s cake as they do the wedding cake, and cut the first piece together.

The weather on a couples’ wedding day is one of those issues that, try as hard as you might, just cannot be controlled. While most brides dream of a beautiful, sunny day for their wedding day’s weather, the truth is that a rainy wedding day could actually be even more desirable. After all, there’s a superstition out there that says it’s good luck for the newlyweds to have a rainy wedding day. Even better? Seeing a rainbow on your wedding day…and it’s hard to find rainbows without first having rain.

Of course, not every wedding takes place on a sunny Saturday afternoon in June. There’s a great many weddings in other seasons and times of day. I’ve been to snowy weddings, evening weddings, even an early-morning wedding (that one was very challenging to be on-time for). The weather – good or bad – had practically zero negative effect on the weddings, ceremonies, or even the marriages. Well, okay, maybe there was that one time the caterer slipped on some ice and dropped the wedding cake, but the odds of that happening again are astronomical.

Wedding etiquette doesn’t really have a position on wedding day weather, but wedding planners would advise – especially for brides and grooms having an outdoor wedding – that a backup plan be in place in case of foul or even merely unpleasant wedding-day weather. Shortly before my brother’s wedding, massive rainstorms filled the weather forecasts, and we bought every umbrella in town so that his wedding guests could enjoy the ceremony. In the end, the rain stopped almost exactly an hour before the ceremony and didn’t start up again until the happy couple was off on their honeymoon.

Have you ever wondered why we throw rice or confetti at the bride as she and her groom parade away after the wedding ceremony? Perhaps this is why…As far back as the seventeenth century people would throw grain at the bride as she departed the church.

Horse shoes have been well known as good luck for many years. As to why, I’ll have to research that one out for you. This old tradition has been forgotten by many, but nevertheless, once in a while you’ll see a bride wearing a horseshoe around her wrist. Real ones are awfully heavy, so fake (light weight) ones that share the same good luck symbolism have been manufactured.  So if you as a soon to be bride are ever given a horse shoe, you’ll know why. You may also want to check with the giver if they actually intend you to wear it on your wedding day.  

If you’ve ever watched the movie “Mary Poppins”, you’ll notice an entire song dedicated to how lucky Chimney Sweeps are. (That’s another one that I will have to find out the “why” for you). It was considered good luck for a Chimney Sweep to kiss the bride as she exits. So if you see a random guy kiss the bride on her way out, he may be a Chimney Sweep. I can see the advertisement now….”Professional Chimney Sweep – available for weddings, birthdays and yearly sweeping”.

That’s all for now. Keep an eye out in wedding etiquette, as I will try and find out the “why” behind some of the superstitions and traditions for you. Have a great day.