March 3, 2010 by Alan Dodson.

In the old days of”Marriage by Capture,” the bride had to be dragged or carried across the threshold because she was being kidnapped, and therefore would not have gone peacefully into the groom’s home. In earlier times, people thought that a family’s demons followed the woman and to keep her family demons from going into the groom’s home, she was carried across the threshold upon her entering for the first time. In the times of the Romans, when men ALWAYS opened doors for ladies, this would just seem like a natural thing to do, but they believed it to be such bad luck for the bride to trip or stumble crossing the threshold of her new house, that if it were to happen, the marriage would be doomed to failure. So the groom would carry his bride over the threshold thus making sure she didn’t trip.

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March 3, 2010 by Alan Dodson.

Why do Brides carry bouquets? The Ancient Egyptians had the bride carry strong smelling herbs and flowers which were believed to ward away evil. The Romans did the same, most often choosing rosemary to symbolize fidelity and fertility, as well as to scare off evil spirits. The Greeks carried ivy to symbolize endless love. Orange blossoms, (the world renowned wedding flower) were chosen by the Spaniards, to represent happiness and fulfillment, because the orange tree flowers and bears fruit at the same time. We have the Victorians to thank for the rose being the flower of choice for most weddings. The Victorians were obsessed with attributing meanings to flowers and popularized the red rose as an emblem for passionate true love. A single red rose still bears that meaning today.

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