Wedding Bells Are Ringing

Weddings have a long history, which over the years, have spawned (is that the right word) a long list of traditions. We have the Wedding party, bachelor party, ring, bouquet, best man, bridesmaid and oh yes, the honeymoon. There are probably more traditions involved with planning a wedding than any other event we will attend in our lives. Some are very touching and yet others seem extremely silly.

Tying shoes to the bumper of a car? Where the heck did that come from? Well as a matter of fact, at one time the brides shoes were seen as a sign of authority and possession. After the wedding the father of the bride would take her shoes and hand them over to her new husband. The husband would then tap her on the head to show her that he was now the boss. I'll bet some of you ladies could tell us why this never caught on. Instead the tradition changed to tying shoes (his and hers) to the bumper of the car. Oh Yeah!! The honking of the horn came from the ringing of bells and exploding firecrackers to keep the evil spirits away from the open carriages the brides would travel in.

For you guys we have the "Bachelor Party" which was started in the 15th century among military men. The comrades of the groom, would get together and provide him with a sendoff in the form of a feast with lots of toasting going on. Of course, as with most traditions, we've managed to change a few things so that some bachelor parties are, shall we say, more entertaining than others.

In the beginning weddings were actually pretty simple events. The only requirement for a wedding was for the bride and groom to "consent" to taking each other as spouse. I guess that became rather boring and throughout the years other things were added to liven things up a bit, not to mention make some local merchants wealthy in the process.

So what we have now includes; special garments, invitations, cakes, gifts, rings, veils, bouquets, and much, much more. Well you better get started. There's a lot to do. You have plans to make, designs to select, money to spend and spend and spend. But take heart!! By going to my Budget Weddings site you can find all the latest articles, auctions, ads and videos that will help you plan the perfect wedding. Take a look and bookmark it so you can come back often. When you're all set, don't forget me, I'm not doing anything that day.

Tom Stabler is a retired Air Force veteran,
with a wide range of interests. His dream is to use his
websites to provide information to the masses on a wide
range of subjects.
http://www.tellmeaboutthat.com and http://www.mystudentloannow.com