Ask The Wedding Guide: Where could I purchase what is called a sixpence.  Jackie

Reply:

Jackie,

Today, most brides who want to follow the "something old, something new and a sixpence in your shoe" wedding tradition simply use a penny or another coin as a symbol of the six pence.  I don't believe six-pence are in current circulation. However, if you have your heart set on a sixpence try one of these places:  coin collectors who deal in British coins , wedding accessory shops who deal in wedding tradition items, wedding supply compaines with wedding tradition items.

Why does wedding tradition suggest a bride wear or carry something old. Wearing something old is a bride’s acknowledgment of her family and the past. Family heirlooms, jewelry or a family member’s wedding dress, are often given to a bride to keep and use in their wedding ceremony. The Victorian rhyme (something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver six piece in her shoe) contributes to the long-standing popularity of this wedding tradition.

An alternative meaning to the something old wedding tradition is linking friends in hopes that the Continue reading "Something Old Wedding Tradition" »

Unlike most wedding traditions, the Unity Candle is a relative newcomer. Its appearance was first noted in the early 1970s, but it has become quite popular since then. The addition of the Unity Candle gives the couple’s mothers a place in the wedding ceremony, and adds a time within the ceremony itself for celebration and reflection.

The Unity Candle ceremony actually consists of three candles: two tapers with a pillar in the middle, all typically white. The taper candles, which are lit by the mothers of the couple at the beginning of the ceremony, represent the individual families from which the bride and groom come. Later, the bride and the groom each seize a taper and direct its flames into the Unity Candle, thus symbolically uniting their families Continue reading "Why a Unity Candle?" »

Rice has long been seen as a symbol of fertility. Years ago, wedding participants would cover the newly wed couple with blessings for a productive marriage by tossing grain, nuts, or rice at them. The hope was that the couple would have plenty of children to help manage their farmlands.

Today, wedding participants shower the couple with blessings for long life and prosperity. Although traditional, rice is not typically thrown. Urban legend has it that uncooked rice harms wild birds, but this is myth only. A large amount of rice (or grain!) scattered on the ground, however, does present danger: it can Continue reading "Why throw rice?" »

Jumping the Broom is a wedding tradition with confusing origin. Many believed that Jumping the Broom originated as a wedding tradition in the Southern U.S. during the period of slavery. As a way around the master’s ban on marriage, slaves created Jumping the Broom commitment ceremonies, which later became wedding traditions for the African-American community. Although some may believe it's history creates a negative connotation, it is actually a greatly revered cultural wedding tradition in many modern African-American weddings; providing that even bondage couldn't deny the importance of the marriage commitment.

However, the tradition of Jumping the Broom has a greater connection to African Tribal Rituals where Jumping the Broom is a show of respect for their ancestors. In the African Tribal ritual, placing of Continue reading "A Wedding Tradition: Jumping The Broom" »