History of flower girls

Today, flower girls are a pretty standard (but precious) part of most wedding parties. Some brides choose to have one flower girl, while others may have several. They are an adorable wedding tradition, but have you ever wondered about the history of flower girls? Like many wedding traditions the origins are not 100 percent certain. Some sources say the origin of flower girls goes back centuries to Ancient Rome while others suggest the tradition got its start in Britain.

Ancient Rome flower girls didn't carry flowers

The tie to ancient Rome goes back to young attendants who carried sheaves of wheat and herbs to ensure blessings of prosperity and fertility to the married couple. By the Medieval times, it was bouquets of garlic which were believed to ward off evil spirits.

Elizabethan Era flower girls

It was during the Elizabethan Era that the tradition of scattering flower petals came into practice.  At that time, brides followed a path of petals from their house to the church. To create this path, flower girls followed musicians in a wedding procession and carried a gold-plated rosemary branch and a silver cup adorned with ribbons and filled with flower petals and rosemary sprigs. This cup was known as the bride's cup, and the petals were considered a symbol of fertility and thought to give the couple good luck.

 

Victorian Era flower girls

In the Victorian era flower girls looked more like the flower girls of today. They were young and innocent and dressed in a simple white dress which was sometimes adorned with a colored sash made of satin or silk. She carried a gorgeously decorated basket filled fresh blooms or wore a floral hoop on her head. The circular shape of the hoop was symbolic of true love which has no end -- the same meaning bestowed on wedding rings.

In Western Europe, the tradition of including children as attendants in weddings also included a ring bearer and often included other attendants in the wedding party, too. Many royal and society weddings still follow this tradition today with two or more flower girls.

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History of wedding cake toppers

If I say wedding cake topper, what do you picture? It might be a miniature bride and groom, wedding bells or some other similar ornamentation with a wedding theme. While the history of wedding cakes dates back to the Roman Empire, it was nothing like wedding cakes as we know them today. Instead they were unsweetened loaves of bread which were crumbled over the bride for good luck. And wedding cake toppers as we know them haven't been around all that long either. They became a growing trend with middle class and affluent American families before the American Civil War. By the 1890s, they were quite common.

Those original wedding cake toppers weren't anything extravagant. Cakes were decorated with things like flowers, bells, or other small objects related to the bride and groom. Often these toppers were handmade by a family member or a professional wedding cake baker using frosting, icing, or non-edible materials like plaster of Paris.

Wedding cake toppers popular after World War I

Decorative cake toppers grew more popular after World War I. It was in the Roaring 20s that High Society in the U.S. adopted the custom of using figurines of the bride and groom atop the wedding cake. Popularity of this tradition grew quickly after Emily Post, American etiquette expert, mentioned them in her 1922 best seller that said, "wedding cake is an essential of every wedding reception," and went on to comment on the placement of the bride and groom figurines in the description of a beautifully decorated cake. In the early 1900s wedding cake toppers were made from glass, paper, or wood until they started being commercially made.

First commercially made wedding cake toppers

Along with this, American retailers like Sears & Roebuck started to market and sell cake toppers showcasing a bride and groom. By 1924 you could find an assortment of two-inch tall bride and groom toppers made from wax and featuring differences like groom without a hat or wearing a top hat. The bride could be purchased without a veil or wearing a cloth veil. By 1927, the Sears catalog had an entire page devoted to wedding cake ornaments.

With their growing popularity, wedding cake toppers started to be mass produced commercially in the U.S., Europe and Asia. They were available in the usual bride and groom side-by-side pose along with a selection of alternative poses. And during or following the War, the groom was sometimes depicted wearing a military uniform. Along with this, groom figurines could also be purchased a wearing police or fireman uniform, too.

Sparkling Love Cake Topper

Aside from bride and groom figurines, today we have toppers like cupids, hearts, love birds and sometimes even a framed picture of the couple. The tradition of adding a decorative ornament topper to the wedding cake has been joined with the tradition of removing and saving the memento as well as freezing the top layer of the cake to be eaten by the bride and groom on their first anniversary.

 
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Historical roles of best man and bridesmaids

Most wedding traditions we know today stem from some rather unexpected origins. Take the wedding party, for example. A couple of centuries ago, the "best man" wasn’t responsible for planning bachelor parties, holding onto the ring, or giving a witty wedding toast. Instead, his role was far more serious. He served as armed backup for the groom, especially if the groom needed to kidnap his bride from disapproving parents. Even the term "best" didn’t mean best friend. It meant the groom’s strongest ally; the man best with a sword. 

Best man was chosen because he was "best" with a sword.

The Best Man: From kidnap to guard Duty

The tradition of the best man is thought to have originated among the Germanic Goths, at a time when men were expected to marry within their community. With too few eligible women to go around, bachelors often had to raid neighboring villages to claim a bride. The groom needed someone dependable at his side, and his “best” man was chosen for his fighting skills and loyalty.

Even the modern arrangement of the ceremony reflects this history—the bride stands to the groom’s left so his right hand is free to draw a weapon if necessary.

But the best man’s job didn’t end once the wedding vows were spoken. He stood guard beside the groom throughout the ceremony, and later, even kept watch outside the newlyweds’ chamber to protect them from angry relatives or to make sure the bride didn’t try to escape.

 

Bride kidnapping

The Bridesmaids: Decoys in Disguise

While the best man relied on strength, bridesmaids played their own protective role with clever disguise. In ancient times, bridesmaids dressed in gowns similar to the bride’s so that, as the group approached the church, evil spirits, jealous ex-lovers, or would-be kidnappers couldn’t easily single her out.

Bridesmaids wore dresses similar to the bride's.

Even the groomsmen joined in the protective strategy by wearing matching suits, creating a wall of confusion to deflect curses, stones, or attackers.

And as for the maid of honor? Her role was decidedly practical. She was expected to create and put up all the wedding decorations.

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