When planning a wedding most women try to incorporate wedding traditions. These wedding traditions either come from family traditions or things we are taught by media. But do we know what the origin of these traditions?

Do we know why we decide to put them into the wedding ceremony? Well luckily for you we have done some research and have given you some of the meanings for some wedding traditions that you might often hear at a wedding. So let us start with…

Tossing the Bouquet – This is a tradition that stems from England. Women would try to rip a piece of the brides wedding gown for luck in hopes that it would bring them love. The tossing of the bouquet was a way for the bride to get away from the crazy women in hopes of keeping in wedding dress in one piece.

Now the bouquet is tossed at the end of the reception and all single women are required to participate in catching it in hopes of finding love for the coming year.

Throwing the Garter – Like tossing the bouquet, the throwing of the garter is done by the groom. It is said that the garter tradition started in Medieval England and France where the bride would actually be the one to throw the garter instead of the groom. Having a piece of the brides wedding gown brought luck the garter would be a piece that was meant to give out.

With drunken men at the reception the bride was at risk of being harmed so the groom would step in and throw the garter to protect his bride. Tradition later changed where the groom would be the one to through the garter while the bride would through the bouquet.

Jumping the Broom – You would probably see this tradition more in an African-American wedding. This tradition started in slave times when it was legal for slaves to be married. This was a way for the slaves to show the commitment in front of their community and a way to make the marriage legal in their eyes.

Breaking of Glass – This is a Jewish tradition that happens at the end of the ceremony where the wine glass is wrapped around a napkin and the groom steps on it breaking the glass. The main significance of this tradition is the destruction of the temple of jerusalem, the holiest place in all of Jewish history.

Diamond Engagement Rings – This is a tradition that resulted from clever marketing by De Beers. It wasn’t until after World War II that diamond rings became a staple for grooms to present to their brides.

Anyway, Beyond4Cs.com is an awesome website to check out and do research especially if you know nothing about diamonds. The website provides great information on buying proposal rings.

The other meaning is a reminder of how fragile a relationship can be and how much work it takes to take care of it. Either way, after the wine glass is broken, people yell out “mazel tov” which means good luck.

So now you have some meaning behind some wedding traditions. Have your own traditions? Let us know, we love hearing from you and as always happy wedding!