Modern weddings can be as costly and complicated as a major theatrical production. Nonetheless, in the midst of co-ordinating caterers, boutonnieres, seating plans and cakes, most bridezillas ensure they're in compliance with a number of old superstitions, however awkward it makes arrangements. Even these days, when co-habiting is commonplace, a bride rarely spends the night before the wedding with her husband-to-be.
Weddings are a hotbed of superstitions because many people believe that what happens on that day sets the tone for the whole marriage - and with divorce rates soaring, it seems that newly-wed couples need all the good luck they can get to ensure a long and successful partnership.
Here are some more unusual techniques from around the world for showering the happy couple with good fortune. Guests can also be recipients of nuptial luck, making everyone a winner on wedding day.
Old English Superstitions
Wedding dress pins are very lucky objects. Forget tossing the bouquet - give out the pins to your single friends and they should be sending out their own wedding invites within the year. Married ladies might also like to receive them as gifts - they are meant to be especially useful for picking winning horses when placing bets.
Watch the wedding video carefully, especially when it comes to the exchange of vows. An old Yorkshire superstition suggests that whoever speaks the loudest dies first.
“Rubbing up against the bride” used to be an established way of getting good luck, and not something restricted to drunken uncles at the tail end of the reception.
Note to jilted lovers: many ceremonies now miss out the traditional invocation to anyone who knows “just cause” to prevent the marriage going ahead. If you still want to make a protest, wait outside the church with a handful of rue (an evergreen shrub thought to suppress fertility) and, when everyone else is throwing rice, toss a handful at the happy couple chanting “may you rue the day.” That will teach them.
Make Sure Your Dress Has Deep Pockets
As well as secreting “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” about her person, the bride does well to carry the following objects up the aisle.
Finland
Carrying a match will keep love burning bright throughout your marriage.
Sweden
Mom supplies a silver coin for the bride's right shoe, while Dad sticks one in the left to ensure a prosperous union.
Greece
If she longs for a sweet life, the bride conceals a lump of sugar in her glove.
Africa
Cowrie shells are an important part of necklaces and dress trimmings as they encourage fertility.
Korea
Ducks - who supposedly mate for life - form part of the wedding procession.
China
Red is a very lucky color for weddings, and an open red umbrella will protect the bride from evil spirits as she progresses up the aisle.
What The Guests Can Do
It's not all up to the bride and groom. Friends and family have an important role to play too, not just with tying tin cans to the wedding car to scare off evil spirits.
Czech Republic
A bride wakes to find a newly-planted tree in her yard, decorated with painted eggshells and colored ribbons. She had better keep it well-watered, for tradition holds she will live as long as the tree does.
Another tree superstition still holds in Bermuda. The wedding cake is topped off with a tiny sapling. This is planted at the couple's new home, and it grows along with their relationship.
Switzerland
Guests are given colored handkerchiefs by a bridesmaid. In return they pony up a coin to fill the new couple's treasure chest, although these days it's to be hoped the coin is accompanied by a substantial check.
