WEDDING CUSTOMS

It is customary, near the end of the reception, for the
single female guests to gather around the bride who will
throw her bouquet over her shoulder for one of them to
catch. Originally, the bride would actually throw one of
her shoes over her shoulder during this ritual. Tradition
says that whoever catches the bouquet shall be the next to
marry.

                     
It is believed that an unmarried male guest who keeps a
piece of wedding cake under his pillow as he sleeps will
increase his chances of finding a mate. An unmarried
bridesmaid who does the same will dream of her future
husband.

                         
The custom of throwing rice at the newlywed couple was to
symbolize fertility. In some cultures, it was not rice
which was thrown, but rather small cakes or pieces of a
crumbled cake.


In old England it was traditional to bake a ring into the
wedding cake as a symbol of bliss and happiness. The guest
whose piece of cake contained the ring, it was said, could
look forward to a full year of uninterrupted happiness.

                          
Another old English custom was to throw a plate with a
piece of wedding cake out of a window on the occasion of
the bride's first return to her family home after the
wedding. If the plate broke she could expect a happy
future with her husband - but if the plate remained intact,
prospects for the future became grim.

Cutting the wedding cake together, still a predominant
ritual at weddings, symbolizes the couple's unity, their
shared future, and their life together as one.