Bridesmaids are an integral part of the traditional white wedding. It is an honour to be asked to act as a bridesmaid at a friend or relative’s wedding. There are many customs and traditions surrounding weddings and also bridesmaids. If you are going to be a bridesmaid, it is interesting to know some of these customs and traditions. Bridesmaids have been a part of weddings for a very long time. In more formal times no one of any consequence would attend a social event without attendants or a retinue. Obviously a bride on her wedding day is a person of great consequence and that is why, today, a bride usually has attendants. In olden times the more bridesmaids a bride had the wealthier her family was. In Ancient Rome the law required ten witnesses to legitimise a wedding. This legal requirement led to the ten witnesses being 5 male and 5 female, dressing exactly like the bride and groom to confuse evil spirits. In Anglo-Saxon times a bride’s woman led a party of maidens to collect the groom for the wedding; the groomsmen went to collect the bride. In more lawless times when evildoers might want to prevent the wedding, by kidnapping bride or groom, people thought that the friends of the other party to the wedding would have a great interest in the wedding going ahead as planned and would defend the bride or groom from villains if necessary. These days a bridesmaid does not have such onerous duties. She is usually an unmarried girl or woman, a married attendant is usually called a Matron-of-Honour. A bridesmaid can be a child or a woman. The wise bride chooses her bridesmaids with care; the senior bridesmaid should be someone with whom she has a close relationship, her sister or her best friend. The senior bridesmaid generally helps the bride in dressing for her wedding and managing her dress and train throughout the wedding day. Adult bridesmaids generally support the bride through the wedding planning process and the wedding day. Child bridesmaids have no duties except to attend the wedding. The bride chooses what the bridesmaids wear for the wedding. Their dresses were traditionally paid for by the groom although now usually the bride and groom pay for bridesmaids’ dresses between them. Traditionally the groom buys each bridesmaid a small gift to thank them for their attendance on his bride, although these days both bride and groom pay the bridesmaids’ presents. These gifts could be a small piece of jewelry, a bible something that will be a memento of the wedding day. It is a true honour to be asked to be a bridesmaid but be careful that you are not asked too often. There is an old superstition that says “Three times a bridesmaid, never a bride”. However, being a bridesmaid is fun, exciting and you get to support the bride on her special day. Category:Home › Other • Pomegranates: A newly discovered superfood • Where did the joke why did the chicken cross the road come from and why is it funny? • Can mothers diagnosed with bipolar disorder make good parents? • Spiritual evolution of human consciousness • Tips for getting a college basketball scholarship • Living with Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) • Caring for the caregiver • Technologys impact on society
