Scottish Wedding Folklore & Traditions - part 4

Please note it is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of any information, opinion or advice contained in the content below.

Continuation of the article by Tony Coogan:

A gent’s highland wedding outfit in its entirety consists of the following:

Bonnie Prince Charlie jacket and waistcoat, kilt, tartan flashes to match kilt, white hose, gillie brogues, kilt pin, sgian dubh, black belt with buckle, formal sporran with chain strap, wing collar shirt, black or coloured bow tie, and a piece of lucky heather on the lapel. He also has the option of wearing a fly plaid, which is anchored under the paulette on the shoulder of the jacket and secured by a large plaid brooch, (Cairngorm).

For the bride ’something old …. something new’ -

For the bride a universal custom is the ’something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue’ - of course the ’something new’ can be the bride’s dress! The ’something new’ at the wedding can become the ’something old’ or ‘something borrowed’ at the next generation’ s weddings. The bride sometimes wears a blue garter (symbolizing love) which plays a part later at the wedding reception. It was also traditional in some areas for the bride to put a small silver coin in her shoe to bring her good luck.

Something old -

A gift from mother to daughter to start her off for married life, and symbolising the passing on a bit of mother’s wisdom.

Something new -

A gift symbolising the new start married life represents.

Something borrowed -

The idea here is that something is borrowed from a happily married couple in the hope that a little of their martial bliss will rub off on the newlyweds.

Something blue -

There are two likely sources for this. Roman women used to border their robes with blue as a sign of modesty, love, and fidelity. Also blue is the colour normally associated with Mary the mother of Jesus who is often used to symbolise steadfast love, purity, and sincerity.

After the wedding ceremony, it is traditional for flowers, petals, or pretty paper confetti to be thrown at the departing couple. In some rural areas the couple throw coins to the children who have gathered outside the church to watch. This is called a “scramble”. This is the reason children make a bee-line for local weddings. As the couple leave the ceremony the groom dips his hands into his pockets (or sporran), and throws all his loose change out on the ground for the children to scramble for.

Another tradition frequently seen during the evening wedding festivities involves the bride throwing her bridal bouquet, usually white roses, over her left shoulder. Her female non-attached bridesmaids and other single women in the bridal party stand in a line behind her. The girl who catches the thrown flower posy is by tradition going to be the next in the group to get married.

Traditional wedding reception festivities can easily last all night and the newly-wed couple lead off the dancing. Before the evening is finished the bride and groom leave as quietly and secretly as they can and go to a pre -arranged destination for their wedding night - often leaving for the honeymoon the next day.

Free Newsletter

Sign up for the free Daily newsletter, filled with tips and ideas on getting married, marriage, weddings, diamonds, advice, wisdom and more. Your email address will be kept confidential and won't be shared. Easily unsubscribe at any time.

If you enjoy the free information available on this site, you're sure to enjoy the free newsletter as well:

Site Search Tags:

Share and Enjoy:

May 08 2008 11:22 pm | Wedding Tradition & Etiquette

Trackback URI | Comments RSS

About to Get Married . com

Marriage, Bride, Jewelry, Wedding Advice