BRIDES 2K: MISC FILLERS

 

Have to schedule your wedding ceremony and reception with a few hours between the two? Schedule something guests of all ages can participate in easily, like a croquet tournament or a car rally to get to the reception hall.

In a playful mood? Create reception centerpieces using sand buckets filled with pinwheels, noisemakers, kazoos and other similar contents.

Don’t forget the youngest guests. Have crayons and paper, even a few small games or toys, for them at the reception. This should make them feel special, and help prevent them from being bored.

An old Scottish custom has the groom giving his betrothed a silver teaspoon engraved with both their initials and their wedding date. The gift symbolizes his undying love and commitment to his bride.

Choosing a dress style that is simple and classic for your bridesmaids — a sheath, an A-line silhouette, or an Empire bodice — will work well for a group of women with widely differing sizes.

In some West African communities, it is not until the breaking of the bread that a couple is actually considered married.

A bride and groom of Greek heritage may challenge each other to a light-hearted test at their reception: each takes one end of a loaf of bread and together they pull it apart. Whoever is left with the larger piece is considered destined to be head of the household.

An epithalamium is a poem or song written in honor of the bride and groom.

Although most modern weddings take place on a Saturday, in English folk rhymes, Wednesday is said to be the best day for tying the knot.

Don’t want to throw just a bouquet in the air at the reception? Following a Scandinavian ceremony tradition, the bride wears a gold crown. After the ceremony, she is blindfolded and crowns a bridesmaid — the next to wed.

Superstitious Italian grooms carry a piece of iron on their wedding day to protect themselves from the evil eye.

In 9th Century Europe, many men broke casual promises of marriage. It was the Pope who instituted the idea of an engagement ring as a symbol of — and an investment in — the couple’s union.