If you liked it, then you shoulda put a ring on it!

It seems like everyone I know is getting married. And, although I hate weddings with every fiber of my being, I always wish the best for the happy couple. So if you or someone you know is getting married soon, make sure you follow as many of these wedding superstitions as possible.


These come from the book Signs, Omens, & Superstitions. Published in 1918 and written by Milton Goldsmith.

• Throwing money over the heads of the bride and groom as they leave the reception insures fortune.
• In Scandinavia, someone should get up and sing a song or make a speech. But they should figure out some way to cause a loud crash in the middle and interrupt it. This brings good luck.
• In Germany, everyone should old pottery and dishes and smash them in the street outside the church. If a piece is not destroyed, it will bring bad luck.
• Sprinkling the bride with wheat or rice brings fertility.
• In Slavic countries, you should always pour a beer over the groom's horse. (Or car.)
• On the night before the wedding, at the rehearsal dinner, the groomsmen take the bride's stockings and the maids take the groom's, and they throw them back over their heads. If they manage to hit the bride or groom, whoever threw it will soon marry.
• In Yorkshire, after the bride and groom leave, the cook pours  a kettle of hot water on the doorstep to insure another wedding will take place soon.
• For good luck, the bride should be carried over the threshold of her new home by her nearest living relatives.
• For good luck, each maid should throw away a pin. If they get stuck with a pin, it's bad luck.
• In Brittany, if a girl fastens a pin onto the bride's dress, she will marry soon.
• It's unlucky to get married in a church if there's an open grave in the graveyard.
• It's unlucky to be married in green. (White was not much used for weddings until the twentieth century.)
• Orange blossoms bring good luck.
• In the Middle Ages, it was bad luck if the bride or groom saw a cat, dog, lizard, snake, or rabbit. However, seeing a wolf, spider, or toad brought good luck.
• It's bad luck for the bride to see her reflection after she's completely ready. She should always save some small item to put on just before she walks into the church.
• A cat sneezing the day before a wedding is good luck.
• On his wedding day, the groom should rub the elbow of every male he speaks to. It's good luck.
• In China, if a betrothal is being arranged, it is postponed if anything breaks or is lost that day.
• In the Scottish Highlands, it is very bad luck if a dog runs between the couple on their wedding day.
• It's a bad omen if a bride does not weep on her wedding day. It means there will be tears later on.
• It's bad luck to marry during a thunderstorm.
• It's bad luck to marry someone whose name begins with the same letter as yours.
• If a younger girl marries before her older sister, the sister should dance barefoot at the reception.
• A clot of soot falling down the chimney during the reception is a bad omen.
• It is bad luck if the bride breaks a dish at the reception.
• If your pet bird dies the day after you're married, it's a bad omen. However, a bird chirping on the window sill the next morning is a good sign.
• Meeting a funeral procession going to or from a wedding is bad luck. If the funeral for a man, the groom will die young. If it is for a woman, the bride.
• A single woman should never read the program all the way through. If she does, she'll never marry.
• If there is a beehive nearby, you should inform the bees and decorate their hive. It brings very good luck.
• If someone sits or stands between the bride and groom during the reception, they will soon marry.
• New Year's Eve is a lucky day to get married.
• Getting engaged on Easter foretells money; on Ascension (40 days after Easter), health; on Trinity (1st Sunday after Pentecost), a large family; on Whitsuntide (Pentecost, 7th Sunday after Easter), domestic happiness.
• May is not terribly lucky for marriages, as its namesake goddess, Maia, had nothing to do with marriage.
• June is very lucky for marriages, as its namesake, Juno, is the Roman goddess of marriages.
• June is also lucky because the longest day of the year falls in June, which symbolizes a long and happy marriage.
• Mars, named for the god of war, is also unlucky.
• However, in Asia, May is considered lucky, because that's when orange blossoms are in bloom.
• A wedding on Valentine's Day is good luck.
• Being married during a thunderstorm is bad luck, unless the sun comes out right after.
• Wedding on a Sunday is good luck, wedding on a Friday is bad luck. All the other days are luck-neutral.
• Marrying during a snowstorm is lucky. The couple will never be wealthy, but will always be happy.
• The following days are always lucky for a marriage:
• Jan 02 04 11 19 21
• Feb 01 03 10 19 21
• Mar 03 05 12 20 23
• Apr 02 04 12 20 22
• May 02 04 12 20 23
• Jun 01 03 11 19 21
• Jul 01 03 11 19 21 31
• Aug 02 11 18 20 30
• Sep 01 09 16 18 28
• Oct 01 08 15 17 27 29
• Nov 05 11 13 22 25
• Dec 01 08 10 19 23 29
• Wedding cakes have been a tradition since Ancient Rome. When a Roman couple married, they ate a cake made from wheat or barley flour in the presence of ten witnesses. Then the unmarried women present each kept a few crumbs to insure they would find a husband.
• The maids each cut a small bite of cake, pass it through the bride's ring, and eat it. Doing so will insure they will meet their future husband within the year.
• A single lady should put a piece of wedding cake under a pillow. If she dreams of a man, they will marry.
• If a plain gold ring is baked into a wedding cake and a single lady finds it, she can propose to the bachelor of her choice.
• Bridesmaids date from Anglo-Saxon times. Back then, the maid chosen to escort the bride to the church would marry within the year.
• If a maid stumbles on her way down the aisle, she will never marry.
• The groom customarily gives each of his attendants a small gift. If a groomsman loses his gift, he will never marry.
• Throwing a shoe over a bride or at a groom as they leave the reception is a tradition of uncertain origin. A shoe is a traditional symbol of authority, so throwing it over a bride's head represents her no longer being under her parents' authority. Throwing a shoe at the groom is an act of mock retaliation for taking the bride away from her friends.
• Throwing shoes after the happy couple means a long and happy life for the bride. This dates back to the Renaissance, at least, and I think it may be the basis for the tradition of tying shoes to the back of a car.
• In Scandinavia, the bride throws one of her shoes back into the crowd. Whoever catches it will be the next to marry.
• In Scotland, all the guests bring old shoes to throw at the newlyweds, but they always collect the shoes and bring them back home.
• On the Isle of Man, someone should always wait outside the groom's door to throw a shoe at him as he leaves for the church.
• Also on the Isle of Man, if wedding guests can steal one of the bride's shoes, they hold it for ransom until the groom treats all the guests to something.
• In ancient Peru, an Incan man would ask a girl's father for permission to marry. Then he would ask the girl. If she consented, he would put a new pair of shoes on her feet and lead her back to his house.
• In Russia, you should throw an old shoe or broken pottery at the couple's door for their good luck.
• In Hungary, the groom drinks a toast to his bride out of her slipper.
• In Orthodox Judaism, a childless widow is expected to marry her husband's brother. However, if she declines, she unties then reties his shoes. Then she can marry whomever she pleases.