Why do brides carry bouquets?｜Here’s a little-known fact! Why do brides carry bouquets at weddings?
2024-08-10
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While the bridal bouquet isn’t exactly a wedding necessity—the show could technically go on without it—it’s still a pretty integral part of the ceremony. To put this in perspective, just imagine how odd it would seem for a bride to walk down the aisle empty-handed.
While a bouquet isn't required for a wedding—it can technically go on without one—it's still a very important part of the ceremony. To better understand this, imagine how strange it would look for a bride to walk down the aisle empty-handed.
So where did the tradition come from? Though some have suggested wedding flowers were originally used to mask body odor before frequent bathing became the norm, that’s a misconception. In fact, the earliest bridal bouquets didn’t contain very many flowers, if any—instead, they mostly comprised herbs. According to Reader’s Digest, ancient Romans were the first to adopt the practice of sending their brides down the aisle with bundles of herbs, which symbolized things like fidelity and fertility.
So where did this tradition come from? While it’s been suggested that wedding bouquets were originally used to cover up body odor since frequent bathing wasn’t the norm back then, this is actually a misconception. In fact, the earliest bridal bouquets didn’t feature many flowers — instead, they were mostly made up of herbs. According to Reader’s Digest, the ancient Romans were the first to adopt the practice of having brides walk down the aisle holding a bouquet of herbs, which symbolized fidelity and fertility.
Dill, already a known aphrodisiac at the time, was especially common in those bouquets, and it was also often served at wedding receptions to help the bride and groom prepare to consummate their bond. Garlic was sometimes used in the bouquets, too, since it was thought to protect the bride from bad luck or evil spirits.
Dill, a known aphrodisiac at the time, was particularly common in these bouquets and was often served at wedding receptions to help the bride and groom consummate their marriage. Garlic was also sometimes used in bouquets as it was believed to protect the bride from bad luck or evil spirits.
Over the following centuries, people started to introduce other flora into their wedding bouquets, flowers included. As Snopes reports, marigolds gained popularity in 16th-century England as a symbol of faithfulness and endless love, because marigolds are so faithful to the sun—blooming in daylight and closing their petals at night. And, like dill, they were considered an aphrodisiac.
In the following centuries, people began to add other plants, including flowers, to wedding bouquets. According to the rumor-debunking website Snopes, in 16th-century England, marigolds became increasingly popular as a symbol of fidelity and endless love because they were faithful to the sun, always blooming during the day and closing their petals at night. And, like dill, marigolds were also believed to have aphrodisiac properties.
Then, during the Victorian era, floriography (the language of flowers) became a prevalent fad, and people began to send each other carefully assembled bouquets of flowers with specific meanings, which your handy floral dictionary could help you decipher. According to Atlas Obscura, pennyroyal meant “You must leave,” for example, while a pineapple would clearly convey to your lover that you think they’re perfect.
Later, during the Victorian era, flower language became a popular fashion, and people began to send each other carefully matched bouquets with specific meanings. At that time, there were small flower language dictionaries to help decipher the meaning of the bouquets. For example, mint meant "you must go", and bromeliads would clearly convey to your lover that you think he/she is perfect, according to the Secret Map website.
Secret flower messages fell out of fashion as the world shifted focus to World War I, but bridal bouquets never did—though you might want to make sure yours doesn’t contain any pennyroyal, just in case your soon-to-be spouse happens to be a closet floriographer.
After the outbreak of World War I, flower language slowly fell out of fashion, but bridal bouquets have survived to this day, though you might want to make sure they don’t include mint in case your significant other happens to be a hidden flower language connoisseur.
Source:chinadaily
Editor: ChenDawei
Senior Editor: PangBo
