take on tradition

Sure, weddings are steeped in tradition. But did you ever stop to wonder how all those customs started? From wearing white to tossing the garter, here are the origins of some of the most common wedding customs.

the white wedding dress

Trendsetting Queen Victoria elected to wear a white ball gown, instead of royal silver, for her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840. After her nuptials, brides wearing white became de rigueur (before that, donning a color or your best dress was the thing to do), and contrary to current beliefs, white symbolized wealth, whereas blue was the color of purity.

the veil

Now largely a fashion statement, veiling originally served more “practical” purposes. The tradition has several possible origins, with one of the oldest theories tied to the ancient practice of wife kidnapping, when grooms would capture their wife of choice by throwing blankets over their heads to conceal them. Roman brides, on the other hand, used the veil as a form of protection to ward off evil spirits. In some places, the veil