Wedding flowers and the superstitions tied to them

Wedding traditions are often rooted in superstition. Believe it or not, this even includes wedding flowers. In fact, wedding superstitions linked to flowers can be traced back to ancient Rome, ancient Greece, Asia, and elsewhere around the globe. While some ancient cultures didn’t actually carry or use flowers exactly like we do today, the plants they chose to incorporate in the wedding can be traced back as the precursor of the wedding flowers we have today. Of course, we don’t believe the superstitions they held back then, but isn’t it fun to know where some wedding traditions got started and why?

Wedding superstitions associated with flowers

Among wedding superstitions these are associated with flowers.

• In ancient Rome, brides carried a bouquet of herbs which symbolized faithfulness and fertility. They believed it warded off evil spirits.
• In ancient Greece, brides carried ivy, which actually has a history of being a plant of superstition. For instance, ivy growing against the side of a house was believed to keep witches away. The ancient Greeks thought that it prevented drunkenness, and when the bride carried ivy at her weddings it was thought to be a symbol of never-ending love for her spouse.
• In Victorian times, the bride tossed her wedding bouquet to a friend as she left the celebrations. This practice is still pretty commonplace today, but back then it was thought to keep that friend safe because it warded off evil spirits and brought her luck. This evolved into a tradition of its own as it came to mean that the single woman who caught the bouquet would be next to marry.

  

   Merigolds were eaten because they were thought to be aphrodisiacs!

   

  
  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

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• Brides actually ate the flowers they carried in Tudor England. They traditionally carried marigolds dipped in rosewater which ranged in flavors from spicy or peppery to bitter. The reason they ate them? They were thought to be aphrodisiacs!
• In the Middle East tradition, a bitter herb called artemisia is included in the bridal bouquet to make certain that marriages will survive the bitter times as well as harmonious times.
• In Asia, the mothers of brides and grooms in Thailand drape Thai wedding flower garlands around the couple’s shoulders as a wish for good fortune in the life together.
• In South Asia, at the end of Indian wedding ceremonies, the groom’s brother sprinkles flower petals over the newly married couple to protect them from evil.

  

   A white rose represents purity.

Wedding flowers meaning

In the Victorian era, people were also fascinated by “meanings” of different flowers. This is the time when the idea that the meaning of the rose represented true love became popular. Since then, the rose is a favorite wedding flower, but the meaning has evolved to depend on the flower's color with a white rose representing purity and a pink rose signifying joy.

Crowns of orange blossoms traditionally worn by the bride and groom in a Greek Orthodox wedding were thought to symbolize virginity and purity.

Today various popular wedding flowers are thought to have different meanings. For instance, just the flowers that grow in my front garden include the daffodil which represents new beginnings, the hydrangea which means to consider, and the iris which represents perseverance. Just think, if your creative, your floral arrangements can tell a story all their own on your wedding day!

Photo credits: pixabay, pixabay, Wikimedia