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Have you ever wondered why a bride is supposed to wear white? Why the married couple exchanges rings? Or maybe why they throw rice? There are tons of wedding  traditions that we cherish but often do not know where they originated. Well, in honor of my husband who LOVES to read wikipedia articles on everything, here are some explanations to some classic traditions we know and love.

Oh, those wacky ancient frat boys. Apparently, and this is a hoot, a group of clansmen used to sneak into the family dwelling of a young girl and kidnap her, making her the bride of whoever happened to have killed the most wooly mammoths that week or something. Groomsmen are a relic of this romantic custom. I am left only to assume that bridesmaids served the historical purpose of allowing the bride to dress her friends in pink taffeta and take pictures of them, providing her with a little comic relief after having been stolen from her family’s home by a group of smelly Neanderthals.

As most people know, this tradition is left over from a time when women were considered property, the guardianship of which was transferred from the bride’s father to her husband. Personally, I think it can still be a special father-daughter ritual with a more updated meaning, although many brides today choose to have both parents walk them down the aisle, neither, or somebody else entirely.

This ritual goes back many moons, to a time even before celebrities wore knuckle-busting pink diamond engagement rings. The circular band is a symbol of everlasting love, which the Egyptians started the custom of wearing on the 3rd finger of the left hand because they believed that the blood flowed directly between there and the heart.

Nope, it hasn’t always served simply to shine the spotlight on the single girls so that the groom’s buddies knew where to direct their ever-so-subtle advances. Apparently it used to be good luck to try to take a piece of the bridal bouquet or even clothing from the bride after the wedding, so the bouquet toss was designed to placate potential troublemakers. It’s a similar story with the garter toss, only the groomsmen actually took bridal undergarments out of her dressing quarters for luck. At least, from the accounts that I’ve read, they didn’t actually remove the underthings off of the bride’s person…although I’m sure this was dependent upon whether or not there was an open bar at the reception.

This saying comes from Victorian times, although some of the components are much older. Something old (often a piece of jewelry, or the bride’s mother’s or grandmother’s wedding dress) usually signified ties with family and friends before marriage, which they hoped would remain strong as she entered this new stage of life. Something new signified wealth financial prosperity for the bridal couple. Something borrowed (think handkerchief or jewelry here, NOT underpants…save these for the ‘new’ or ‘blue’ categories, ladies) usually came from another bride in a happy marriage, and was supposed to beget that happiness to the new couple. Something blue originated from the fact that blue was an ancient biblical symbol of loyalty and purity, and brides used to wear blue ribbons in hair to signify these qualities. The silver sixpence coin in the shoe is usually replaced by a penny these days (the sixpence is fairly hard to come by lately; you’ll notice that you hardly ever get one with your change at the 7-11). This was another symbol of wealth, intended to attract fortune to the marriage. But a measly penny? Come on now…I think if you really want to end up rolling in the dough you might as well up the ante, here: Just tape a Benjamin to your bum, underneath those fancy blue skivvies.

Sharing the first piece of wedding cake 

A wedding tradition with Roman roots. The Romans believed that by eating the wedding cake together a special bond was created between the couple. The wheat used to bake the cake was symbolic of fertility and a “fruitful union”, while the cake’s sweetness was thought to bring sweetness to all areas of the couple’s new life.

The ceremonial kiss 

The kiss  concludes the wedding ceremony is said to represent the couple sharing and joining their souls. In Roman times the kiss “sealed” the couple’s agreement to join in a life-long commitment.

The boutonniere

This originates in medieval times when a knight wore his lady’s colors (through flowers) as a statement of his love. Flowers and bouquets have long been used in weddings. In addition to adorning the bride with flowers to promote good luck and good health flower meanings allow the bride to express her feelings for the groom. Orange blossoms signify purity, daisies loyalty, violets modesty and red roses signify true love.

Placing the wedding ring on the third finger of the left hand

This has two possible origins; ancient Egypt or 17th century Europe. The Egyptians believed the “vein of love” ran directly from the ring finger to the heart, therefore the ring was placed there to denote eternal love. During a 17th century wedding ceremony the groom would slide the wedding ring part way up the bride’s thumb, index finger and middle finger as the priest said “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”. As the ring finger was the first free finger, the ring was placed there.

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press play… from tim and jane on Vimeo.
via here

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Supplies

1. print out from  computer on white card stock.

2. Glue dots

3. Awl

4. Scallop circle punch 1.5″

5. Embroidery floss and needle

6. Corner rounder punch

Print your guest’s name from your computer in a cursive font on to card stock.Start poking holes with an awl, following the curves of the name Take a long piece of embroidery thread and start embroidering the name. (The best way to do this is to go up through the first hole, down through the second, up through the third hole, down through the second, up through the fourth hole, down through the third … etc.)

Create a top folded place card from matching card stock and then adhere some patterned paper to that card.

Adhere your embroidered name piece with foam adhesive to the place card. Take a small bud and adhere it with glue to the end of your embroidery.

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Again, I am falling in love with the idea of serving individual desserts to your wedding reception or bridal shower! It is unique, thoughtful, and looks beautiful when presented correctly. On the blog Our Best Bites, I found this amazing idea of single serving pies. How sweet would it be to make these as dessert options for your wedding events. Read below to hear what they have to say:



Pie in Jar
This is the type of jar you’ll need.

They’re half-pint jars, but short and squatty instead of tall and skinny  Mine are made by Kerr (Here’s the link to buy them from Amazon). They’re stinking cute as is, don’t you think? Something about a short squatty jar makes me giddy with the thoughts of fun things I could put inside. Ya know, like PIE.
Step 1: Pie Dough
The first thing you’ll need is dough. You can use any pie dough you like. Here’s a great tutorial on making a basic crust. That particular recipe will make 4 jars. You can also use the all-butter crust from this post. Or if you’re really in a pinch, even a store bought crust will do.
Step 2: Make a topper and line the jar
Roll out a small handful of dough. This is just for the tops of your pies, so eyeball about that much. Grab the ring part of your jar and use that as your cookie cutter. Brilliant, right? Cut out the tops and set aside.

Use the rest of the dough to line the jars. (No, you do not need to grease them) The great part is that there’s no rolling required! Just take little pieces and press them in. Make sure it’s pressed all the way up to the top of the jar, or pretty close to it.


Step 3: Fill ‘er up
You’ll need about 1/2 C filling for each jar. You can use any filling your little pie-craving heart desires, even (gasp) canned! You can also use the same method shown in the galette post to use any fruit you happen to have around.
Here’s the basic recipe (for 4 pies)
2 C prepared fruit (pitted, diced, peeled, etc.)
2 T sugar- brown or white (use more or less depending on sweetness of fruit)
2 T flour- (again, more if your fruit is super juicy like cherries, less if it’s pretty dry)
1 T butter (divided between the pies)
Seasonings/flavorings- cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and almond extract, citrus zest etc)

Play around with it and come up with something yummy! I made 2 different pies in my pictures: one, a cut-down version of Kate’s Apple Pie and one with fresh cherries and almond extract.

When your filling is all combined, divide it between the jars and dot a pat of butter on top (about 1/4 T)

Step 4: Top it off
Make sure your “lid” has a vent so steam can escape. You can use a knive to make a couple of slits or a tiny cookie cutter to make it decorative. 

When your topper is ready, slip it onto the top of the pie. It will be large enough that the outside edge goes up the side of the dough-covered jar a bit, as show in the picture below. Then use your finger, or a fork, to press the 2 pieces of dough together to seal. And nobody even think about mentioning the state of my fingernails.

Another option is to do a crumb topping. I put a basic crumb topping on my cherry pies and they were sooo yummy.

Crumb Topping (for 4-6 pies)
1/4C brown sugar
1/4 C flour
2 T oats
1/4 T cinnamon
3 T cold butter
Combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter. Add oats and stir to combine.

And I couldn’t help but try a mini lattice on one. Eeek! Dying of cuteness overload. (Click here for a how-to on a lattice pattern)
** Optional step here that I HIGHLY reccomend: Brush pie tops with butter and sprinkle with sugar at this point. Yumminess highly instensified!
Step 5: Freeze ‘em!

Ready for this? When your pies are all done and topped, place metal lids back on and seal them tight. Then pop these little cuties in the freezer. There they will stay until you find yourself having an insatiable craving for home-baked goodness. You’ll be reaching for the crumbs at the bottom of the keebler box when suddenly your eyes will light up because you remember you have THESE sitting in your freezer.

Or when you have unexpected guests in need of impressing, or a friend needing to be cheered up, or it’s Thursday…I can think of a million reasons why one should have a constant supply of fresh pie in the freezer.
Step 6: Bake ‘em

Now first let me say that one of the biggest concerns from everyone is about the jars breaking in the oven. All I can say it that I’ve baked hundreds of these and never once has a jar broken. These are canning jars- they are designed to be boiled, pressure cooked, etc. So it’s different than putting any ol’ piece of glass in the oven. They bake just fine! But if you’re freaking out then my advice would be this: remove lids from jars and place jars on a baking sheet. Place baking sheet in a COLD oven. Then turn the oven to 375. That will give the jars a chance to warm up slowly as the oven preheats. If you’re really worried you can always let them sit at room temp for a bit first before putting them in a cold oven. Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and the middles are bubbly. If you’re baking them fresh and not frozen they take about 45 minutes.

Depending on your filling you can pop them right out of the jar and onto a plate like so:


Or just eat them right out of the jar. There’s something way more fun about eating it right out of the jar…

And if you have oozing cherry filling, that might be the only option!

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For the cupcake lovers out there (I know there  are many of you), here is an adorable seating card idea that is delectable and fun! What a nice treat to send your guests to their seats than with something edible.

Materials
Double-sided scrapbooking paper of your choice (in colors that match your wedding)
Mini heart hole punch (or any design that you want)
Circular sticker labels in matching colors
bone folder
Colored Permanent Markers (use wedding colors)
Bamboo sticks
Scrapbooking tape
Cupcakes

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Oh Martha Stewart, how I love you! Today’s craft featured on marthastewart.com helps you create you own adorable sachets. What a great idea (and very cost efficient and simple) to use as gifts for your guests or to put in a welcome basket for when your guests arrive to your wedding.


Materials:
Envelopes of various sizes and color.
Thick pin (a sewing needle that is on the thicker side would be best)
Template of what you want to put on the envelope on paper

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