Exchange of rings is an ancient tradition

The purpose of the exchange of rings during the wedding ceremony is to signify to everyone in attendance that the bride and groom belong to each other. This exchange between the bride and groom takes place while they say their wedding vows which often includes traditional wedding vows such as to “have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer and poorer," etc. These vows date back to the 1500s, but the exchange of rings actually dates back to 6,000 years ago.

 

Ring exchange dates back 6,000 years

 

While the Ancient Egyptians didn’t wear wedding rings to symbolize marriage or commitment, papyrus scrolls and other relics which date back 6,000 years offer evidence of the exchange of braided rings crafted from hemp or reeds between spouses. Even back then, they believed the circle to be a symbol of eternity and the ring to be a symbol of perpetual love between spouses. They wore the rings on the third finger of their left hand because they believed that finger to be connected directly to the heart through the vein called the vena amoris which means "vein of love". This theory is also one of the reasons the engagement ring and/or wedding ring is placed on the ring finger today in western cultures.

Middle Ages exchange of rings

 

During the Middle Ages, the exchange of rings and a promise or vow constituted a legal marriage. However, monarchs were known to manipulate this practice to their advantage to get out of an unwanted marriage. This led to the custom of two rings -- an engagement ring and a wedding ring.

Today’s ring exchange

 

Today the ring exchange is a big part of the wedding ceremony. The introduction to the exchange of rings clarifies the symbolism and meaning behind the giving of the rings by the bride and groom.

Along with the exchange of rings at the wedding ceremony, the giving of the engagement ring is traditionally also an exchange with a promise. The first recorded giving of a ring with the promise of marriage is found in the first book of the Hebrew Bible and dates back to the late Bronze age. It was a nose ring.

Photo credits: wikimedia, wikipedia

Before the White Gown: The Symbolism Behind Historic Bridal Fashion

 (Updated November 2025)

Today, the color of the wedding dress is based on what the bride thinks will make her happy, but most of the time, when you think of a bride in western culture, you envision the white wedding dress, bridal veil, and the whole package that goes with them. However, if you look at the history of wedding gown color, the white wedding gown is a newer tradition. In fact, buying a dress specifically for the wedding is a relatively new practice. For most of history, brides typically wore their best dress to the ceremony even if it was black. In fact, black and dark colors were popular because stains and imperfections were less noticeable and the dress could be worn again.

Wedding dress color meanings

Weddings of the Middle Ages and immediately following were often more a matter of politics than love, and so the bride wore a dress that made her family look good. Brides from wealthy families often wore bold colors in fabrics like velvet and silk and layered in furs. But when it came to lower-class everyday folk, colors of dresses held symbolic meanings which nixed some colors and made others more popular. But even in ancient times the meaning of colors was often debated.

• Blue wedding dress: In 1870, blue dresses made a popular choice because they were the color of heaven and represented purity, virtue and a connection to the Virgin Mary. Brides who wore blue thought their husbands would be true to them, and this is the reason many modern brides carry something blue on their wedding day. A blue wedding dress is still popular today and thought to be the color of water representing calmness and peacefulness. In modern tradition, blue signifies stability, security and lifelong loyalty.

 

• Red wedding dress: In Medieval times, red was reserved for nobility and the wealthy, and in Victorian times it was avoided because it was the color of "scarlet women" and hussies. However, it is the traditional color in the Eastern cultures of China, India, Pakistan, and Vietnam, and today, red wedding dresses are growing in popularity in the West and thought to symbolize positives like passion and being in love (think Valentine’s day).
• Pink wedding dress: Pink was thought to be the best color to wear for May weddings because it complemented most complexions. However, some thought it to be an unlucky color which can be seen in sayings of the time like, “Marry in pink and your fortunes will sink!”
• Green wedding dress: You would think that since green is the color of hope and new growth that it would be a top choice for a wedding dress, but it was actually one of the few colors that were avoided in the Middle Ages because it was considered unlucky. Why? Because it was the fairies’ color and you certainly didn’t want to draw their attention during a time of transition.
• Yellow wedding dress: Bright yellow wedding dresses were trendy back in the eighteenth century, but before then it was considered an “unholy” shade to wear in church and was associated with heathen and non-Christians.

History of white wedding dress

Many people think of the white wedding dress as a symbol of virginity, but that wasn’t the original meaning. That symbolism was connected to the blue wedding dress while the white dress actually was tied to wealth and royalty, except in France where white was the color worn when in mourning. Examples of brides wearing white can be traced back as early as 1406, the 1840 marriage of England’s Queen Victoria to her cousin Prince Albert.

During the Great Depression, when times were difficult most people didn’t have money to spend on a gown they would never wear again. For this reason, brides returned to the tradition of wearing their best dress which tended to be a darker color. But in the second half of the 20^th century, following an economic boon, white became the popular color choice for wedding dresses again.