Something Blue …

Something Blue ~ Are you or aren’t you the kind of bride to follow the tradition, or is that superstition, of something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue?

Ever thought about the meaning of the mantra most of us have known since childhood? I know I didn’t – understand it, I mean. Follow it, I did, only because I rather like the idea of tradition and the whole custom adds a sense of history to a wedding. My wedding lacked any frills or fancies so it felt like the least I could do, even if I was wearing a delicate shade of green.

I head for the internet, where I discover there is a sentence missing from the saying we follow – ‘and a silver sixpence in her shoe’ should be tagged on to the end.

A sixpence being the British coin used between 1551 and 1967, which makes this a quintessential British tradition that has the bride making use of five items that together will bring her good luck.

The something old represents history and continuity with the bride’s past, the something new is an assurance of the future, something borrowed should come from a happily married someone whose happiness will rub off on the bride, and the colour blue has, according to the history books, been associated with weddings for centuries.

The silver sixpence is there to embody riches and financial security. The coin should, apparently, remain in the shoe if it is really to affect future wealth.

Whilst shuffling down the aisle with a coin in your shoe is probably taking things a bit far, and is probably why so few of us actually know this last line of the tradition, the other three are relatively easy to round up and give one a sense of place; a sense of ritual.

Here are a few suggestions of items you can use for the various parts of the tradition … Something Blue.