The receiving line is a formal way of greeting your guests, and for them to be introduced to both families. It ensures that you meet with each one and share a few words. Many couples choose not to have a receiving line because of the time it takes to greet each guest individually, some think it old fashioned and prefer an informal “meet and greet”. However families are greeted together and this will save some time.

Things to remember if you do want to have a receiving line:

• If you are having a Toastmaster he or she will announce the names of each guest if you wish to keep everything Formal.
• If you choose to be traditional, the line up is as follows: Brides Mother, Brides Father, Grooms Mother, Grooms Father, Bride, Groom, Best Man and lastly the Chief Bridesmaid

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In our last entry on wedding traditions, we are going to take a look at the Brides outfit and the many superstitions and traditions involved.

There are equally an abundance of traditions and superstitions about the Bride’s outfit. Even today it is considered unlucky for the Groom to see the dress before the wedding. It was thought unlucky to try on the veil and dress together beforehand, or to finish the dress before the big day. Even now some mothers of the Bride sew in a lucky silver charm, tied with blue ribbon, to ensure happiness on the wedding day.

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In part two of our look at wedding traditions, we have chosen to cover the traditions involving finance and fertility.

The Dowry was a custom practiced by wealthy families who would pay an eligible Bachelor to take care of their Daughter. It was given on the understanding that he could keep the money or goods only if they remained married, if not – then it all had to be given back along with the Daughter. It was thought that the giving of a Dowry was the reason why the Bride’s parents traditionally pay for their Daughters wedding. Nowadays most families share the costs between them and the happy couple.

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There are many traditions that are associated with marriage. Some date back hundreds of years with virtually no change, while others have completely evolved! Over the coming week, we are going to cover some of the more common traditions of weddings of the past.

The choice of the wedding date was very important in ancient times as May was thought to be unlucky, where as June was said to be a certainty of happiness because the month was named after Juno, the goddess of love and marriage.
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