Page 22 - Copshaholm Curriculum Book_2015

The Victorian Wedding

The wedding day was the most important event in a Victorian girl=s life. It is the day
her mother has prepared her for from the moment she was born. The Victorian girl knew no
other ambition. She would marry, and she would marry well.

Naming the Day
The wedding itself and the events leading up to the ceremony are steeped in ancient

traditions still evident in Victorian customs. One of the first to influence a young girl is
choosing the month and day of her wedding. June has always been the most popular
month, for it is name after Juno, Roman goddess of marriage. She would bring prosperity
and happiness to all who web in her month. Practicality played a part in this logic also. If
married in June, the bride was likely to birth her first child in Spring, allowing her enough
time to recover before the fall harvest.

June also signified the end of Lent and arrival of warmer weather. That meant it was
time to remove winter clothing and partake in one=s annual bath. April, November and
December were favored also, so as not to conflict with peak farm work months. October
was a lucky month, signifying a bountiful harvest. May, however, was considered unlucky.
“Marry in May and rue the day,” an old proverb went. But “Marry in September=s shine, your
living will be rich and fine.”

In the Southern United States, April was favored, as it was cooler and a bride=s
favorite flowers were in bloomBjasmine and camellia.

Brides were just as superstitious about the days of the week. A popular rhyme goes:
Marry on Monday for health,
Tuesday for wealth,

Wednesday the best day of all,
Thursday for crosses,
Friday for losses, and

Saturday for no luck at all.
The Sabbath day (Sunday) was out of the question.

The Wedding Apparel
Once the bride chose her wedding date she could begin planning her apparel, the

most important item of which was her wedding dress. Brides have not always worn white for
the marriage ceremony. In the 16th and 17th centuries, for example, girls in their teens
married in pale green, a sign of fertility. A mature girl in her twenties wore a brown dress,
and older women even wore black. From early Saxon times to the 18th century, only poorer
brides came to their wedding dressed in whiteBa public statement that she brought nothing
with her to the marriage. Other brides wore their Sunday best.

Color of the gown was thought to influence one=s future life:
WhiteBchosen right
BlueBlove will be true

YellowBashamed of her fellow
RedBwish herself dead
BlackBwish herself back
GreyBtravel far away