About Wedding Traditions & Meanings

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Wedding invitations: Evolution from town crier to paperless


Have you ever wondered how wedding invitations were handled before the invention of the printing press? In Medieval England, the town crier or bellman was in charge of passing on all the latest news, proclamations and other important information. This included wedding invitations! In this day when we need a count of how many people are attending, can you imagine wedding invitations delivered to the general public like this? In those days, everyone who heard the announcement was basically invited.

Oral wedding invitations

Wedding invitations delivered by the town crier were accompanied by the ringing of a loud hand bell in order to draw attention to the message being delivered. The message started with “Oyez” (pronounced oh yay) which is derived from the French ouïr (to listen). It basically means, “here this.” He announced the names of the bride and groom along with the time and date of the wedding. As long as you were not among those shunned by the family, if you heard the announcement, you were invited to the wedding. However, such announcements were reserved for important weddings among nobility and aristocracy, not everyday commoners. Common people had to just trust word of mouth to get the invitations out.

Hand penned wedding invitations

During the Middle Ages, some of these well-to-do couples commissioned monks to hand pen their invitations using their expertise in calligraphy. Such invitations were elaborate and hand delivered, and those who received them were most likely able to read.

Evolution of the wedding invitations in the newspaper

Once Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1447, the town crier’s responsibilities gradually changed with the advent of newspapers, and it became commonplace to place wedding invitations in the local newspaper. In the mid-1600s, engraved wedding invitations came on the scene. These were similar to wedding invitations today. By the Victorian-age, these wedding invitations were commonly used in America, but because of the unreliability of the postal system of the day they were often hand delivered until the early 1900s. Even then, a double envelope system was used to ensure the invitation would arrive without being spoiled reroute. Today the double envelope system is still commonly used but now it's more a matter of tradition. 

Commercially printed wedding invitations came into vogue in the 1950s making wedding invitations more affordable for everyone. Today, the use of letterpress is popular, as well as digital printing, with several outlets making wedding invitations convenient to personalize and buy online.




Affordable wedding invitations online

The following online venues offer a vast selection of affordable wedding invitations:



Photo credits: pixabay, Wikimedia, pexels


Wednesday, April 11, 2018

The story behind the wedding kiss tradition


“You may kiss the bride.” We hear these words at the end of the marriage ceremony. It’s time for the wedding kiss. Should it be romantic, should it be long or short? What is wedding kiss etiquette? Or is there really such a thing? The question I have is why? Why do we even have a kissing custom? I thought it would be fun to look at this Western wedding custom and see why it is that married couples exchange a kiss at the end of their wedding ceremony. How did it start, and what does it mean?

Wedding kiss custom – What it means?

Like many wedding traditions and customs, the history behind the wedding kiss isn’t cut and dried. Originally, when the bride kissed the groom it was assumed it would be their first kiss. Plus, in ancient Rome, kissing was a legal bond. The practice sealed all contracts, and as we’ve talked about in earlier posts, marriage was considered a contract. Among Christians, it is suggested by some that the exchange of a wedding kiss symbolized the exchange of souls between the bride and groom which they thought fulfilled the Scripture that “the two shall become one flesh” (Mark 10:8). But today, the meaning of the wedding kiss most commonly represents the bride's and groom's love, devotion, and respect for each other.


Wedding kiss etiquette

When it comes to wedding kiss etiquette, I have to put my two cents in here. Don’t overthink it or it could end up being an unnatural, awkward kiss that leaves you feeling you wished you’d done it differently. Other than that, I’d have to say “know your audience.” Be considerate of those attending your wedding. And it’s a good idea to check with the venue where the wedding is taking place. Ask if they have any guidelines regarding the wedding kiss. Other than that, there isn’t a specific set of “rules” to dictate the length of your wedding kiss or any other aspect of the affectionate exchange.

Things to consider for your wedding kiss

Other than the kiss itself, there are a couple of things to consider associated with the kiss. Think about the lipstick you choose. Some brides like to wear a striking red for their wedding. It can look great in your wedding photographs, but it doesn’t look great if it happens to be smeared on your teeth, your husband’s collar, or other places where you don’t really want it. When choosing your wedding day lipstick red is fine if that's the look you're gong for but whatever color you choose find one that is long-wearing and fast drying. That way it should still look good after your kiss and even after you enjoy a meal at your wedding reception.

The bottom line when it comes to your wedding kiss itself is not to rush it, and don’t overthink it. Just let it be natural and it will highlight the love the two of you share and reveal the comfort you share your relationship.

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Photo credits: pixabay, pixabay