Peculiar wedding traditions that may seem odd to others but makes sense to those who uphold them - will continue with tradition because of the symbolized meanings behind them. Every culture on the planet will en-act some form of marriage ritual where man and woman bond in unison. Laws and norms in different countries may differ on how wedding ceremonies are conducted.
No matter the colour of a person`s skin there is one part of a wedding that will not alter and that of course is the wedding celebrations. Marriage is a special occasion celebrated by close friends and family. Guests join in the fun to wish the happy couple good fortune and health while at the same time filling their bellies and drinking the Shannon dry. In other words eat drink and be merry
An odd tradition that was carried out was where the wedding cake decorated in all its finery - piped cream swirls - pink sugar rosebuds all so pleasing to the eye was placed the night before the wedding under the brides pillow. The bride would rest her weary head onto the pillow and dream of the future. The wedding cake that once stood so grand was not quite so pleasing to the eye now.
Normally the real cake would be crumbled up and thrown at the married couple as a sign of fertility. It is because of this custom that we shower confetti/rice over the bride and groom after the ceremony.
Wedding cakes represented many things, e.g. the cake that stood the tallest with all the tiers and layers was classed as the most glamorous cake. Once again fertility was behind the tower building of the cake, the bride and groom would add the number of layers to their confectionary structure to denote how man children they would like to have.
How those famous words of tying the knot came about goes back in time in ancient tribal existence. During ancient tribal times the bride-to-be is wrapped in a sheeps fleece tied at the front in a knot. This symbolized virginity. It was the husbands place after consummating the marriage to untie the knot after the wedding night. Tribal clans and groups celebrated weddings and marriage ceremonies in all sorts of odd different ways. An odd tradition in ancient tribal times is where the best man is handed a very important if not dangerous role to play at the wedding. His duties entailed abducting likely brides from other tribes. How he would do this was by clubbing the maiden over the head and drag her back to the village in a very similar way of how we see the cave man with woman. The best man also takes on the role of minder throughout the wedding service where he is appointed to apprehend or fight off angry relatives of the bride with his battleaxe. Today in modern society we are not so barbaric, the only thing we have in common of the days gone by are the (old battleaxe)
A tribal battleaxe was a tool and ours is a fool - the mother in law. (Not all)
